Late great engineers: Oliver Fritchle - EV pioneer

The advertisements in Motor Age magazine described it as the “greatest electric car in the world” and “the only electric guaranteed to go 100 miles on one charge.” The year was 1908 and the vehicle was the Model ‘A’ Victoria Phaeton, built by the Fritchle Automobile & Battery Company. Critics dismissed the manufacturer’s claims as a publicity stunt, and so to prove them wrong – and to annoy his competitors – on 31 October 1908 the company’s proprietor, American engineer Oliver Fritchle, set off to drive his electric two-seater the 1,800 miles from Lincoln, Nebraska to New York City.

It was an historic feat and, having become an overnight celebrity, Fritchle watched the orders pour in. Blanket publicity ensured his company transformed from a local auto manufacturer into a household name. A century later, when Tesla announced its intention to make a luxury electric car that could “go more than 200 miles on a single charge”, the company described its plans in remarkably similar vocabulary to Fritchle’s advertisements. Though not identical. To be fair to Elon Musk, he’s not on record as saying his Model S was “the most attractive lady’s car ever offered to the public.”