They could focus on battery technology more for sure and much sooner than they did. Demand didn't drive it until much later primarily because they thought that combustion engine is good enough.
First electric cars existed already in 19th century by the way.
Maybe, maybe not. ICEs weren't developed in isolation - they were a part of the larger development, that of petrochemical industry, which is responsible for near everything we recognize as modernity. Rudimentary batteries are cool, but without petrochem, they'd be powering wooden cars with sheet metal exteriors, cleaned with fat and spring water, and moving slower than a horse.
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Steam should have been replaced with electric engines right away, bypassing whole combustion engine age.
They should have invented Li-ion batteries as well. What were they thinking…
I would have just went directly to fusion..
They could focus on battery technology more for sure and much sooner than they did. Demand didn't drive it until much later primarily because they thought that combustion engine is good enough.
First electric cars existed already in 19th century by the way.
How? That would have required massive investment not backed by any rational reason.
Only way ICE cars wouldn’t have won is if governments had decided to ban them, which would have been absurd.
That's still 19 centuries too late. They had simple batteries in ancient times; they should've doubled down on that back then. /s
The era of horses should have also been eliminated. Instead of horses, they should have gone directly to electric.
Maybe, maybe not. ICEs weren't developed in isolation - they were a part of the larger development, that of petrochemical industry, which is responsible for near everything we recognize as modernity. Rudimentary batteries are cool, but without petrochem, they'd be powering wooden cars with sheet metal exteriors, cleaned with fat and spring water, and moving slower than a horse.
I think we should have gone straight from steam to faster than light warp drives
who said we didn't? we just haven't observed them yet
(this is a bad relativity joke)
No, teleportation, duh.
working on it
Basically did, but then was promptly abandoned, because electric sucked really really badly.
Steam is a power generator.
Electric engines are a power consumer.
What you are saying here makes no sense.