range is only important if it takes a significant time (more than the few minutes it takes to refuel gasoline) to charge, or if there aren't a critical mass of

range is only important if it takes a significant time (more than the few minutes it takes to refuel gasoline) to charge, or if there aren't a critical mass of charging stations. refuel time may be subject to physical constraints, but you could envisage a system where you exchange an empty for a full battery pack, much like you exchange a barbecue gas cannister instead of trying to fill it up yourself. this relies on the batteries being much more of a fungible commodity than they currently are. a critical mass of charging stations is a chicken-egg problem; decent range mitigates this, but ultimately needs a lot of infrastructure investment without short-term revenue guarantees.