Many reviewers seem to miss the point of this documentary, which is to document the varied approach businesses are taking to react to the new technology of the electric car. The comparisons captured between the Nissan approach versus the GM approach versus the Tesla approach are very revealing of the strengths and shortcomings of these different companies. Even Netflix gets it wrong when they categorize this movie as a Political documentary, when it is actually a Business documentary.This movie is an instant classic for business school audiences in particular, and yet is still entertaining and engaging enough for very general audiences. Without spoiling, one scene that is particularly revealing is when two competitor's see a third's production product at an auto show, and seem unable or unwilling to understand the threat to their respective businesses.Stunning access to a thrilling competition for a new technology in which the stakes could not be higher. Every MBA class in the world should see this movie as a precondition to graduate. 9 stars plus.

The movie is shallow in the look at the issues with the automotive industry today. They mistake the change in the consumer trends for something that is a real way forward.AS long as we don't have batteries, EV is useless. As long as electricity is produced from oil and gas, EV is useless.The cheerful mood for the idea through the movie is definitely nice. The underdog of Tesla "showing it to the big guys" is very nicely done. (but not true...) The thing I LOVE about this movie, is that it focuses on the technology under the dash - not the useless flashy touch this or that.It is a good thing that this movie exists, but it less of a true unbiased documentary than a popular mechanics view of US efforts to catch up.The one thing is that I'd like to see US manufacturers to focus on other ideas as well. (since only part of the EV cars is actually useful for the next 50 years) Rest of the world is not showing up with old technology and lost of smiles, they actually, quietly do something.

I wanted to see this documentary because I consider electric engines to be the future of the automotive industry, judging by the data that we now have. I have not seen the apparent prequel to this documentary, "Who killed the electric car?".I regularly refer to IMDb as an indication of whether I may like a movie or not, and was not expecting much from a movie with a 5.8 score. As soon as the movie started, I was surprised that it looked like a well-made, high production value documentary with substance and actual behind-the-scenes footage of the industry. It has many interviews with Elon Musk and Bob Lutz from GM made for the film and covers the subject matter from multiple approaches.It is a very enjoyable and informative documentary that actually made me feel good about the future.4/5

Contains spoilerRotEC is a movie not so much about the cars as about the people behind them. It covers the struggles, wins and losses of Bob Lutz of GM (Chevy Volt), Elon Musk (Tesla), Carlos Ghosn (Nissan Leaf) and Greg "Gadget" Abbott (Left Coast Electric). I was struck by several things. First, Bob Lutz and Elon Musk have a huge amount of swagger, personality and self-confidence, which may also be described as being "full of yourself". On the other hand, you probably need a lot of that to make it in the business. Lutz has been around for years in the industry, probably knows everybody, could walk away at any time and retire, but sticks with the job to preserve his "legacy". By the end of the movie, when he does retire, he reminded me of a former President or General, knowing that the world has moved on, and he's no longer critical to its functioning. It's bittersweet, but he might be called out of retirement at any time....As for Elon Musk, watching him was like watching a stunt flier at an air show who gets really, really close to the ground one too many times. As an aside, his entire family is pretty dynamic. His sister is a movie producer and his brother runs a social media business. Anyway, it seemed like most of the movie was just him telling Tesla employees, "C'mon guys, we have to get this done". I got the impression the movie didn't show the back room stuff where the hardball decisions were made. The movie was pretty good at showing you just how close to the edge of failure he seemed to live, when he had a warehouse full of cars needing rework, and creditors breathing down his neck. In spite of everything, all the people saying this is the end, get ready for bankruptcy, etc., Tesla survives, cars are delivered and now he's bringing up the Model S factory in Fremont CA. The best line in the movie about him was something to the effect of "I have to admire the guy, he's really doing something, as opposed to people who sit around and criticize and tell you how you will fail."As for Nissan, I've heard Ghosn speak before about the LEAF, but RotEC shows him as slightly cut-throat, which was new for me. He's pretty swaggering as well, but in an outwardly friendly way. I really enjoyed him telling a Nissan Exec, "Every day they aren't building a car is a good day for us." He got Nissan in a crouch, and I think he pounced when Nissan announced the price of the Leaf. Is Th!nk the first casualty? He probably has more up his sleeve...The guy I like best, and can relate to the best was Greg Abbott, referred to simply as Gadget. Man, if I knew half what that guy knows about building stuff, that would be pretty cool. He had this really great garage that did ev conversions, but it was burned to the ground by what the movie said was random arson. No cars, no tools, no shop, nothing. As he's digging around through the rubble, he finds an undamaged charge controller with its LED light still on. It brought a tear to my eye when he says "With this, I can build a car!" Go man, go. Eventually, he brings up Left Coast Electric again, and the movie closes with him and his wife driving from LA to Palm Springs in his awesomely cool ev conversion. It was a very upbeat and inspiring ending.