I know I am just an old mechanical designer who knows close to nothing about electricity but why can't an electric vehicle charge itself?
I would have thought that would have been in Engineering 101 !!! You can't get more energy out than you put in. HOWEVER, consider that electric motors are also generators. While the motor is used to propel the vehicle, it can generate power when used as a brake or when coasting down a hill. So, if you were going for a long drive and it was all downhill, the vehicle could charge itself. However it would not generate sufficient enegy to make the full uphill return trip
