The image is small but this is the first electric car I ever drove. The owner of this car also had a number of other cars of similar vintage. The Baker still was operated as a daily driver in 1963 when i drove it. I do not know if it still is doing that. the electric cars of the era were far more reliable than were the ICE cars, but electricity supplies were most definitely not. Electricity then was a limited urban phenomenon. had the electrical infrastructure been in place the outcome might have been different, but combustable oils, gas and gasoline were becoming widely available, first for lighting, then much later for electrification. Had not Mr. Tesla and Mr. Edison perfected good electrical lighting the electrical revolution might not have had the 'killer app'. As we probably recall from industrial history the electrical motors and other innovations followed soon, but they did follow, not lead. Sadly, electric cars had their heyday before the infrastructure came to support them.
That, in part, may explain why Tesla is so preoccupied with Superchargers, a very wise choice IMHO.
It may also explain why hydrogen cars will be a non-starter, even despite their numerous attractions. Is there a 'killer app' to make ubiquitous hydrogen infrastructure a reality? I hope so, but I'd not count on it.
In the meantime I will wager that Elon is understating the energy storage pace of development. We might see something soon other than li-ion, maybe even the PSA compressed fluids or something like that. There are many possibilities.
For now I do love my Model S, but I do think it, too, is a transitional technology.
