Revenge of the Electric Car

Revenge of the Electric Car is a 2011 American feature documentary directed by Chris Paine, the filmmaker behind Who Killed the Electric Car?. Rather than treating the electric vehicle as a technological curiosity, the film follows the commercial and personal struggle to bring electric cars back into mainstream production. Its central period runs from 2007 through the end of 2010, encompassing the global financial crisis, the collapse and restructuring of major automotive companies, and the emergence of a new generation of battery-powered vehicles. The documentary follows four principal figures whose approaches represent different routes into electric mobility. Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is shown attempting to establish Tesla as a viable car manufacturer while confronting production delays, engineering difficulties, financing pressure, and skepticism about whether a start-up could compete with established automakers. General Motors vice chairman Bob Lutz represents the legacy-industry response. Lutz had been associated with GM's effort to develop the Chevrolet Volt, a range-extended electric vehicle, while the company went through bankruptcy after years of emphasizing large trucks and sport-utility vehicles. Renault-Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn is presented as another major industry challenger; he committed substantial corporate resources to developing mass-market battery-electric vehicles and sought to position the Renault-Nissan alliance ahead of competitors. The fourth principal participant is Greg Abbott, known as Reverend Gadget, a California-based craftsman and television personality who advocates independent electric-car conversions. His work contrasts with the capital-intensive programs of Tesla, General Motors, and Renault-Nissan by presenting electrification as something that can also be pursued by small workshops and individual builders. The film additionally features interviews with electric-car enthusiasts and technology figures, including actor Danny DeVito, who owned both a Chevrolet Volt and a General Motors EV1, and internet entrepreneur and Tesla customer Jason Calacanis. The film functions as a sequel in subject matter to Paine's 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?, which examined the cancellation of General Motors' EV1 program and the withdrawal of many early electric cars from the market. Revenge shifts the focus from disappearance to attempted revival. It documents the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla Roadster as examples of vehicles associated with the renewed electric-car movement and explores the business rivalry, policy environment, manufacturing challenges, and personal ambitions behind them. Revenge of the Electric Car had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 2011, coinciding with Earth Day. David Duchovny, Elon Musk, Carlos Ghosn, and Bob Lutz attended the premiere. The film received a theatrical release beginning October 21, 2011, with initial openings in Los Angeles and New York followed by additional metropolitan releases. It later aired through PBS's Independent Lens in 2012 and received an encore broadcast in 2013, when growing public interest in Tesla and the launch of the Model S helped renew attention. Material from the documentary was also used in a 2014 CBS 60 Minutes profile of Elon Musk. Reviews were generally favorable, emphasizing that the film combines automotive technology with a character-driven account of executives, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts working under unusually difficult economic conditions.

Revenge of the Electric Car was made as a thematic continuation of Chris Paine's 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?. The earlier film focused on the withdrawal of early electric vehicles, particularly General Motors' EV1, and asked why promising electric-car programs had been abandoned. The later documentary examines a different phase of the story: the effort to rebuild an electric-vehicle industry during a period of severe economic stress. Filming follows developments from 2007 through 2010. This period was marked by the global financial crisis, falling confidence in the automotive sector, and the near-collapse of several established manufacturers. Against that backdrop, Paine follows four people pursuing markedly different electric-car strategies. Elon Musk and Tesla are shown trying to turn a technology start-up into a functioning vehicle company. Tesla's ambitions were accompanied by substantial production, engineering, and financial risks, making its progress a central source of tension in the film. Bob Lutz provides the perspective of a major incumbent. As General Motors' vice chairman, he was involved in the company's effort to develop the Chevrolet Volt while GM faced bankruptcy and the consequences of an earlier emphasis on trucks and sport-utility vehicles. The film presents the Volt as an attempt to reconcile electric propulsion with concerns about range, consumer acceptance, and the manufacturing capabilities of a traditional automaker. Carlos Ghosn represents a third route. As chief executive associated with the Renault-Nissan alliance, he backed a large-scale electric-vehicle program and committed significant resources to competing in the pure-electric market. His story reflects the international and strategic dimension of the emerging electric-car competition, including the desire to establish an early lead over rivals such as Toyota. Greg Abbott, working under the name Reverend Gadget, supplies a smaller-scale and more individualistic perspective. His electric-car conversions and fabrication work suggest that electrification was not limited to large corporations. The film uses his activities to contrast independent experimentation with the regulatory, capital, engineering, and supply-chain demands facing automakers. Additional interviews broaden the documentary's cultural and consumer context. Danny DeVito discusses his experience as an electric-car enthusiast and owner of both a Chevrolet Volt and an earlier EV1. Internet entrepreneur Jason Calacanis appears as a Tesla customer, illustrating the role of technology-oriented early adopters in supporting the new market. The film's narrative centers on the transition from prototypes and discontinued programs to vehicles intended for production and wider public use. It highlights the Tesla Roadster, Chevrolet Volt, and Nissan Leaf as important examples of the electric and electrified vehicles entering the market around the early 2010s. Its focus is not simply on vehicle specifications; it also examines leadership, corporate survival, manufacturing execution, and the competing personalities behind the projects. The world premiere took place at the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, Earth Day. The film then received a theatrical release beginning October 21, 2011, initially in Los Angeles and New York before expanding to other metropolitan areas. Reviews were largely positive, with critics noting its combination of technology reporting, business drama, and personal storytelling. PBS later broadcast the documentary through Independent Lens in 2012 and repeated it in 2013. In 2014, excerpts were used in a CBS 60 Minutes feature on Elon Musk, giving the film additional exposure during Tesla's rising public profile.

• 2014

  Footage featured on 60 Minutes

  [1]Revenge of the Electric Caren.wikipedia.org

  Scenes from the film appear in a CBS 60 Minutes profile of Elon Musk.

• 2012

  PBS Independent Lens broadcast

  [1]Revenge of the Electric Caren.wikipedia.org

  PBS airs the documentary through Independent Lens.

• 2011

  World premiere at Tribeca

  [1]Revenge of the Electric Caren.wikipedia.org

  The film premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, Earth Day.

• 2011

  United States theatrical release

  [1]Revenge of the Electric Caren.wikipedia.org

  The documentary opens theatrically on October 21 in Los Angeles and New York and subsequently expands to additional metropolitan markets.

• 2010

  Primary filming period concludes

  [1]Revenge of the Electric Caren.wikipedia.org

  The documentary's central chronology reaches the end of 2010, covering the period in which the Tesla Roadster, Chevrolet Volt, and Nissan Leaf became symbols of a renewed electric-car market.

• 2007

  Documentary period begins

  [1]Revenge of the Electric Caren.wikipedia.org

  The film begins following its principal subjects as they attempt to revive electric-car production and commercialization.

A character-driven automotive and technology documentary positioned as a follow-up to Who Killed the Electric Car?, focusing on the commercial revival of electric vehicles and the people attempting to make them viable during the 2008 financial crisis.

• Feature documentary film · 2011

  Revenge of the Electric Car

  The core documentary follows Elon Musk, Bob Lutz, Carlos Ghosn, and Greg Abbott as they pursue different paths toward electric-car production or conversion during the 2007–2010 period. It combines interviews, observational footage, and automotive-business reporting to examine technological development, corporate competition, personal ambition, and the effects of the global financial crisis.

1. 1Revenge of the Electric Caren.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official websiterevengeoftheelectriccar.com