[ezst]

> clutch, gearbox, then driveshaft are all gone, and they contributed to a huge waste of power which burned a lot of fuel for nothing.

Practically, they are replaced by even more "junk" in the form of literal tons of batteries weighing more than the part they replaced, the electric motor having to expend more energy to carry this extra weight around..

> what makes it a better option also for cars required modern development, especially in batteries and rare earth magnets which would have been unthinkable only a few decades ago.

Is it, though? I'd like hard facts on that. From what I can find, battery chemistry hasn't seen any breakthrough, only their cost has steadily decreased, in large parts thanks to economies of scale and an oversight for externalities mostly in the extraction and refining supply chain. Similarly, high efficiency electric motors have been a solved problem for a century. I think the whole charger infrastructure and finally getting to the end of the chicken and egg conundrum has more to do with EVs becoming a thing than some new tech having enabled it.