On 31 August 1894, Philadelphia inventors Henry G. Morris and Pedro G. Salom patented their Electrobat, one of America's pioneering electric automobiles. The pair, who had experience with battery-powered streetcars, turned their attention to road vehicles as electric traction expanded beyond rails.
The first Electrobat was hardly lightweight. It weighed about 4,250 pounds, including a massive 1,600-pound lead-acid battery, and used steel tyres. Yet the concept evolved rapidly. Later versions were lighter, adopted pneumatic tyres and could reach around 20 mph with a range of up to 25 miles.
By 1897, Morris and Salom's technology had found an unexpected application: electric taxis. A fleet of Electrobat-based cabs began operating in New York, offering quiet, clean and relatively easy-to-drive urban transport. The venture even pioneered battery-swapping to keep taxis operating throughout the day.
Long before today's EV revolution, the Electrobat demonstrated that battery-electric mobility was already a serious transportation possibility in the 1890s.
