Sadly it's not an EV 😞
It's an Autoped, one of the very first mass-produced motorized scooters.
Introduced: 1915 (in the United States, later also manufactured in Germany by Krupp around 1919).
It had a small gasoline engine (sometimes 155cc) mounted above the front wheel, with the frame doubling as the fuel tank.
Riders controlled speed and braking by pushing or pulling the handlebar column forward or backward.
It was marketed as a convenient, modern way for city dwellers (including women, messengers, and even postal workers) to get around without needing a car.
The woman in the photo is suffragette Lady Florence Norman who famously rode one to work in London.
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