TIMES ARE tough for Tesla. Lately sales of the firm’s pricey electric vehicles (EVs) have fallen around the world. Yet in Bangladeshi cities, a humbler namesake is flourishing. Battery-powered rickshaws—jokingly named “Bangla Teslas” by locals—are upending urban transport. The guess is that there are now more than 4m (up from 200,000 in 2016), transporting tens of millions of people every day. They are perhaps the world’s biggest informal EV fleet.

Cycle-powered rickshaws have long been a popular way of getting around Bangladesh’s cities. They are often daubed with colourful paintings. The UN has recognised them as part of Bangladesh’s “intangible cultural heritage”. But around 2007 some drivers began retrofitting their machines with imported Chinese electric motors and lead-acid batteries. Nowadays small firms in the informal sector make and sell these e-rickshaws from scratch.

This is good news for rickshaw drivers. A “pedal-rickshaw puller makes barely 200 taka and crawls like a tortoise” says Shakilur Rahman in Dhaka, the capital. “I can earn around 1,500 takas a day ($12.50) from my Tesla.” This is because e-rickshaws can go at up to 40kph, four times faster than pedal ones. “This is risky,” concedes Mr Rahman. “But anyone can handle it”.

Much evidence disagrees. Many e-rickshaws are flimsy contraptions not suited to the speed an electric motor can fling them. Accidents are becoming more common. A local NGO estimates that there were 870 fatal crashes involving e-rickshaws in 2024. By April this year the death toll had already reached 378. One national daily called it an “apocalypse”.

E-rickshaws’ lead batteries are another problem. When they reach the end of their lives, they are melted down by unlicensed recyclers. This releases fumes that contribute to lead poisoning, which is already a national scourge. UNICEF reckons that about 35m Bangladeshi children have dangerously high levels of lead in their blood.

Encouraging drivers to replace their batteries with less toxic (but more expensive) lithium ones would make things a bit safer. Tiger New Energy, a startup, in effect offers them by subscription: drivers who use its service can instantly swap a run-down battery for a freshly charged one at kiosks dotted around town, saving time and money.

As for cutting crashes—that must fall to the government. Previous attempts to ban e-rickshaws have caused uproar. In June the country’s interim government, which took over after a revolution last year, prepared draft rules that would tighten speed limits and make registration mandatory. But similar regulation has sputtered before, due to weak enforcement. Will these fresh efforts provide better brakes?

Bangla Teslas” give Musk a run for his money

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