Who Killed the Electric Car?
2006 · Movie · PG · 92 min · ★ 7.2 · 80% critics
In the late 1990s, electric cars briefly appeared across California—quiet, quick, and free of tailpipe exhaust—suggesting a cleaner alternative to gasoline. This documentary traces how that early momentum unraveled, examining competing interests, public hesitation, and policy battles that helped push the technology off the road within a decade.
Also known as Who Killed the Electric Car
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Details
- Years
- 2006
- Release date
- 2006-08-04
- Language
- English
- Rated
- PG
- Runtime
- 92 min
- Critic score
- 80/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.2/10 (201 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you like issue-driven documentaries that mix investigation with advocacy and leave you debating who’s responsible; Not for you if you want a neutral tone or lots of engineering detail, like in Fed Up.
Pros: engaging mystery-like structure; eye-opening history lesson; timely energy debate | Cons: strong point of view; limited opposing voices; light on technical detail
Themes
- energy supply
- automobile industry
Cast & crew
Martin Sheen
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Mel Gibson
as Self
- CS
Chelsea Sexton
as Self
Tom Hanks
as Self (archive footage)
- RG
Reverend Gadget
as Self
Ed Begley Jr.
as Self
Directed by Chris Paine