Search Electric cars energise the presidential campaign Mon, 2012-10-29 16:48 Ahead of the presidential election, we look at the state of electric motoring which has proven a microcosm for the role that government ought to play in America's recovery. Last month saw electric battery company A123 Systems file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after production problems and weaker than expected demand for electric vehicles which were the largest users of the company's lithium batteries. Fuelling the debate is the fact that A123 was the recipient of $250 million of government loans which prompted Mitt Romney to challenge president Obama about his commitment to sponsor alternative energy with government cash. Adding pressure to the argument is the lacklustre track record of the $5 billion invested in the domestic electric car industry. This is highlighted by reports that many taxpayer funded plants have recently idled or been shut due to low demand for this relatively pricy emerging technology. Looking at investor sentiment in the electric vehicle sector, we see high short interest in many of the companies involved in electric vehicle production and development. Pure play electic A123's demise was directly linked to weakening demand for the technology. Short sellers were fully aware of that fact with the company seeing over 15% of its shares out on loan prior to its bankruptcy filing. This number represented nearly all the available supply of shares in lending programs. The other three pure play electric car companies worldwide see similar bearish sentiment with high short interest.