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How do car accelerators work with electric motors?

I hope this is not a silly question, but I'm trying to understand how EVs work. How does the accelerator on electric vehicles work?

avatar
Chanice Boyd · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
No question is too silly for us. Electric cars acceleration works much like automatic cars.
Not much gear work is involved; they go forward and reverse, just like the other car types. So let’s look at the process that happens when you press on the accelerator pedal.
When you step on the accelerator:
  • Power is converted into an alternate current from the battery to the motor.
  • The accelerator pedal tells the controller how much to adjust the vehicle’s speed.
  • The motor begins to turn the wheels through its own systems.
  • Lifting the accelerator will activate regenerative braking.
  • When braking, the car starts to decelerate, and power in the motor gets sent back to the battery.
The main difference between how an
electric car
and a regular car behave when using the accelerator is just the fuel required to give the motor power.
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