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Diffusion of Innovation - Electric Vehicles 

The Diffusion of Innovation theory is an interesting one. It discusses why innovations or ideas are adopted or rejected by society and what influences the decision to adopt the innovation early, late, or not. According to the theory, five elements influence the spread of an innovation, those are: The innovation itself and how useful or interesting it is to the general public. The adopters and why they are adopting an idea can also influence others, especially these days when people follow influencers’ suggestions. The communication channels or how the idea is being spread. Time or how long the innovation has been around and how well known it is, and finally, the social system which may be friends or family or influencers adopting the innovation and sharing about it so others will adopt it as well. I have chosen to look at this theory through the innovation of the electric vehicle (EVs). In the 2020s, we see electric cars and hybrids all over the roads, but this is a late adoption of an earlier innovation.


The first successful EV in the US made its debut around 1890 thanks to William Morrison, a chemist from Des Moines, Iowa. His six-passenger vehicle was capable of a top speed of 14 miles per hour and was essentially an electrified wagon, but it helped spark interest in EVs. At the time, gasoline cars required manual effort to drive, shifting gears was hard, they needed to start with a hand crank and they were noisy and smelly, while electric cars were quiet and easy to drive with none of the toxic emissions of gas-powered vehicles. So why didn’t they catch on back then? EVs always had the five characteristics of innovations. It was a good idea, it was relatively easy to produce, it was compatible with the needs of the masses, people could try them out and easily see that they were a better quality vehicle than gas cars and better for the environment and they were simple to learn to produce and drive. The problem then was that EVs fell short in the area of elements that influence the spread of innovations. Yes, the innovation was a good one, yes, there were adopters, but communication channels were not extensive then, they had not been around very long and people were still wary of them and the social system was not helpful because there just weren’t enough people talking about them. When Henry Ford’s Model T was introduced in 1908, it made gas cars available and affordable. While an EV of the time cost about $1700, a Model T was only $650. With the discovery of Texas crude oil, gas became cheap and readily available for rural Americans, and filling stations began popping up across the country. In comparison, very few Americans outside of cities had electricity at that time. In the end, EVs disappeared in 1935. In the late 60s and early 70s, oil and gas prices were at an all-time high and Congress took note and passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 1976, authorizing the Energy Department to support research and development in electric and hybrid vehicles. EVs were again on the rise. Or were they? We have all sorts of electric and hybrid options now, from the Toyota Prius introduced in 1997 to the Chevy Volt in 2010, yet some still refuse to adopt this technology.


What has taken so long for this innovation to spread and become the primary choice for vehicles? We already talked about how EVs met all the criteria for a solid innovation, but in the past, they fell short of elements that influence spread. Now, we even have plenty of adopters. The tech has been around long enough that everyone is aware it exists, they have been persuaded by the fact that they have low emissions, they require less maintenance than gas cars and electricity is cheaper than gas, but what is taking so long in making the decision, buying an electric or hybrid car and trying it out for themselves? We hear about the idea that EVs are expensive, it is hard to find charging stations, charging takes too long (20 minutes), they don’t have enough range, and they will cause higher electric bills at home (but lower gas bills so it evens out), batteries are expensive batteries and they don’t do well in cold weather. So we are back to the adopters as the cause of the delay in a broader acceptance of electric vehicles. The communication channels exist but there are just as strong communications coming out of the gas and oil companies insisting EVs are dangerous or unreliable, so people sit on the fence, especially if their social system is influenced by Big Oil and is talking them out of trying an EV. In the end, EVs have always been a victim of five elements that influence spread, they have the five characteristics of good innovation, they have adopters that have gone through the five stages of adoption, and they even have three of the five elements that influence spread, but much like anything in our society, if the communication channels are disrupted or influenced by misinformation designed to keep the money in the right pockets, this will also influence the social system and it leaves innovations like EVs still struggling for adoption over 100 years after they were invented.