Does anybody know how hard it is to make an electric car?

Just wondering how hard it is.  It seems to me what's keeping it down is... the price.  (Duh, Spottedcat.)

Yeah, I know.  But why  is it so expensive to produce the batteries for an electric car, and yet we can afford to bring oil in, not only from the reaches of Alaska, but from all over the world, including the Middle East (where wars pop up far too regularly for my comfort) and Venezuela?  How many lives has that cost?

How much is a life worth?  Ask someone who has just had someone they love die in a conflict over oil.

So here's my thought.  We live in the United States.  If capitalism is our king, why does this country not support the electric car industry?  This is the United States.  Can this government give rewards to colleges and universities that develop better batteries?  Can the government give a huge reward to the company/person/organization that makes a battery that is affordable to people of modest income?

Oil is big industry.  I know this.  I guess I'm frustrated because we are at the mercy of big oil companies, who, despite their ads, are not doing much of anything to move this country on to other sources of energy to power our vehicles.  They have their stockholders to keep happy, and that is not only their first priority--it is their only priority.  The environment, the men and women of our military who are risking their lives, and the tiny bank accounts of those of us struggling to make ends meet do not matter.

I'd love to drive an electric car of some kind.  I'd love to be able to afford to convert my car to electric.  I can't do it.  I can't afford it.  I am permanently tied to the oil industry to provide me with transportation.  And I don't like that.

-Spottedcat