Electricity is a great transportation fuel from an energy security perspective since unlike in the 1970s, today only 2% of U.S. electricity is generated from oil. It’s also a great transportation fuel from a sheer fun to drive perspective:
Electric motors differ from gasoline engines in lots of ways, but the torque curve is the most startling. In a car with a gas engine, you press the accelerator, the engine rotates faster, and its torque output rises to reach a somewhat-flat plateau. At that point, the car accelerates smoothly as the engine spins ever faster. Eventually, the torque starts to fall off, and it’s time to drop the engine’s speed back below the sweet spot, shift up to the next gear, and start over. Why do sports cars have so many gears? To make sure the engine is revving in its maximum torque zone at just about any speed. Spin it too slow, though, and the engine stalls.
The motion in a gas engine comes from repeatedly compressing and exploding a mix of fuel and air in one piston after another. In an electric, by contrast, motion is generated from the constant magnetic force created when electric current runs through wire coils inside the motor. As a result, the torque curve comes on at full strength as soon as an electric motor begins to spin—its maximum torque is at 0 RPM—and fades in a fairly constant curve as it spins faster. You don’t need to idle it to keep it running. You can see the difference between electric and gasoline torque curves in this chart. Get in a Prius and press the pedal, and you’ll feel it—instantaneous and silent, smooth and steady.
What’s the upshot of all this? A hotshot driver who masters the skill of coordinating gas pedal, clutch pedal, and shift lever can take a 500 horsepower Corvette from standstill to 60 miles per hour in four seconds. You—and I do mean you—could do the same thing in a [pure electricity powered] Tesla. Just stomp your foot down.