In 2023, more than 7 percent of cars sold in the United States were electric vehicles. In some parts of the world, such as Norway, EVs make up a whopping 20 percent of cars on the road. In California, where I live, almost 60 percent of people looking for a car in 2021 said they would at least consider getting an EV.

This upswing in demand comes after years of flagging sales. As recently as 2010, fewer than 100,000 cars on U.S. roads were EVs. That number crossed the 1 million mark in 2018, up more than 80 percent over the prior year.

What explains this seemingly unexpected surge over the past few years?

The key word here is “seemingly.” And the answer reveals an interesting history that most people are completely unaware of.

ONE GREAT STORY EVERY DAY

I teach entrepreneurship at the USC Marshall School of Business, and I’ve been studying the EV market for more than a decade. When I ask students, “How long have EVs been comme