How is it that Tesla Motors can build an all electric sports car that does 0-60 in four seconds, get’s 250 miles to the charge and produces no emissions, while Detroit, with all it’s R&D money and resources, can’t produce an effective electric car?
I would suspect part of the answer is below, snipped here: The engine and transmission of a conventional car need lubricating oils, filters, coolant, clutches, spark plugs and wires, a PCV valve, oxygen sensors, a timing belt, a fan belt, a water pump and hoses, a catalytic converter, and a muffler  all items requiring service and aftermarket replacements (which the auto companies sell), and all items that aren’t needed in an electric car. Simply put, Detroit hasn’t found a good enough model to replace the existing aftermarket revenue. Remember, the role of the comsumer is to support the corporation….
When you build a car that’s electric, you start with one built-in advantage: Electric cars just don’t have to be as complex mechanically as the car you’re probably driving now. Sophisticated electronics and software take the place of the pounds and pounds of machinery required to introduce a spark and ignite the fuel that powers an internal combustion engine.
For example, the typical four-cylinder engine of a conventional car comprises over a hundred moving parts. By comparison, the motor of the Tesla Roadster has just one: the rotor. So there’s less weight to drive around and fewer parts that could break or wear down over time.
But the comparison doesn’t end with the counting of moving parts. The engine and transmission of a conventional car also need lubricating oils, filters, coolant, clutches, spark plugs and wires, a PCV valve, oxygen sensors, a timing belt, a fan belt, a water pump and hoses, a catalytic converter, and a muffler  all items requiring service, and all items that aren’t needed in an electric car.
Tesla Motors – how it works