Who Killed the Electric Car?

"A lack of consumer confidence... or conspiracy?"

2006 1h 32m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 207

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1996, electric cars began to appear on roads all over California. They were quiet and fast, produced no exhaust, and ran without gasoline... Ten years later, these cars were destroyed.

“A lack of consumer confidence... or conspiracy?”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Martin Sheen
Self - Narrator (voice)
Mel Gibson
Self
Chelsea Sexton
Self
Tom Hanks
Self (archive footage)
Reverend Gadget
Self
Ed Begley Jr.
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chris Paine
Writers: Chris Paine
Languages: English, French, Hungarian
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Hungarian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Electric Car Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Martin Sheen and Mel Gibson and Chelsea Sexton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A lack of consumer confidence... or conspiracy?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0489037 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris Paine directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, Hungarian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Released 20 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Hungarian.
4Part of the "Electric Car Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Martin Sheen and Mel Gibson and Chelsea Sexton carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A lack of consumer confidence... or conspiracy?".
8IMDB entry: tt0489037 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,000,000
Box office: $1,678,874
Return: 168% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006)

Part of

Electric Car Collection

A collection of documentaries covering the birth, death, and resurgence of electric cars in America circa the turn of the 21st century.

Also by

Chris Paine

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

rsanek2020-07-27
★ 7/10
Interesting albeit very biased perspective on early electric car attempts. The film could have spent more time on describing the older electric car technology -- I was unaware that in the early 1900s there were, in fact, already cars that didn't run just on gasoline. I found it laughable when, near the end of the movie, the creators assess that essentially everyone, including car companies, oil companies, CARB, even consumers (!) are to blame for electric's downfall. I think you could convince me of car & oil companies, but it's a real stretch to say that a regulator that simply didn't adopt stricter guidelines 'killed' an industry, or that people did because they didn't buy this amazing product. Overall, OK, but would not recommend unless you're really into electric cars.

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