This Electric Car Beat Tesla by 100 Years — Then Henry Ford Killed It

100 years before Tesla, the Detroit Electric car was already revolutionizing transportation. Discover how this early electric vehicle dominated the 1910s—until Henry Ford's Model T and the booming oil industry crushed it forever. In a quiet Detroit factory in the early 1910s, a polished, battery-powered automobile rolled across the floor without a crank handle, exhaust, or engine noise. Produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company, the Detroit Electric offered 60 to 80 miles of range and overnight home charging. It was so reliable and refined that even Henry Ford’s wife, Clara Ford, reportedly preferred it over her husband's noisy gasoline machines. But if early electric cars were cleaner, quieter, and easier to drive, why did they disappear for nearly a century? This documentary explores the forgotten history of the first electric vehicles, the invention of the 1912 electric starter, and how the economies of scale from Ford’s assembly line shifted the world toward gasoline. It wasn't a failure of technology—it was a casualty of timing, expanding highway infrastructure, and an America obsessed with long-distance travel. What you'll discover in this documentary: • The 1910s EV Experience: How lead-acid batteries powered early electric cars before Tesla. • Why urban drivers and women preferred electric vehicles over dangerous hand-crank gasoline cars. • Clara Ford's electric car preference and the Anderson Electric Car Company's rise. • How Henry Ford’s Model T assembly line crashed the price of gas vehicles. • The 1912 Electric Starter: The single invention that saved the gasoline engine. • Range Anxiety in the 1900s: Why expanding road networks rewarded liquid fuel over overnight charging. • The Texas & Oklahoma Oil Booms: How cheap oil sealed the fate of the electric car for 100 years. About This Documentary: This film investigates the rise and fall of the Detroit Electric Car and the competitive automotive landscape of the 1910s. Using historical context, period advertisements, and industry archives, we explore why the internal combustion engine defeated battery-powered transportation and delayed the modern electric vehicle revolution for a century. Disclaimer: This documentary is based on historical records, automotive industry archives, and accounts from the early 20th-century automobile industry. Interpretations of market dynamics and consumer preferences reflect historical analysis of the period. Subscribe for more deep dives into forgotten history, suppressed inventions, and the technologies that almost changed the world! 👇 Join the Discussion: If the electric starter hadn't been invented in 1912, do you think electric cars would have won the 20th century? Let us know in the comments! #DetroitElectric #ElectricCarHistory #HenryFord #ModelT #TeslaHistory #ForgottenInventions #AutomotiveHistory #EarlyElectricVehicles #AndersonElectricCar #Documentary #TechHistory #ElectricVsGas #VintageCars#ForgottenInventions#AheadOfItsTime#LostTechnology#VintageInnovation#HistoryOfTechnology