A photograph shows an electric car charging in 1905.
A photograph shows an electric car charging in 1905.
With a rise of interest in â€œgreen energyâ€ fueling the expansion of automobile companies such as Tesla, one might assume that the electric car is a relatively recent invention. A photograph purportedly showing an electric vehicle from 1905, however, suggests otherwise: < Charging an electric car, 1905. Follow us on Instagram https://t.co/lZW5cbBPnP pic.twitter.com/ABWshJASpn â€” History Lovers Club (@historylvrsclub) July 10, 2017 > This is a genuine photograph of an electric car charging in the early 1900s. However, according to the Library of Congress, this picture was taken several years later than claimed â€” in 1919, not 1905 â€” Â and shows a Detroit Electric charging up between stops on a promotional tour between Seattle and Mt. Ranier in August 1919: < The plugged-in car featured in the photo which initially caught my eye was a Detroit Electric, a vehicle produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company from 1907 to 1939. The photo is part of a group of promotional images showing the auto on a trip from Seattle to Mount Rainier. Other photographs from the group show the car wending its way through the mountains of Washington. > Here are two more images showing this early electric car on its first promotional tour: The photographs also donâ€™t show the worldâ€™s first electric car, just an early one; London inventor Thomas Parker claimed to have produced an electric powered vehicle as early as 1884. Hereâ€™s a photograph of Parker in one of his earlier models:
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