Environmentally correct planners put all this public money to work to relieve the technology bottleneck they believed held back our transition to electric cars.
However, just as Apple kickstarted and is now driving the smartphone and tablet revolution, Tesla is starting to drive the transition to electric vehicles.
Corneli, whose company is a major provider of electricity in New York City and other markets, said that consumers will be more likely to begin making the transition to electric cars if car companies and energy providers can make electric cars that can perform as well or better than traditional vehicles while also matching them in price.
This transition is not about how many electric cars an automaker has on the road (Nissan will likely hold the pole position for a while with its all-electric Leaf).
Persistently high oil prices would clearly lead to substitution (electric cars, natural-gas-powered trucks) but the transition costs could be significant.