The popularity of the automobile was staked on price. Gasoline engines are what made cars cheap enough for average people to buy them. Otherwise, they'd have just stayed toys for rich people, and equipment for businesses.
However, a Model T is quite a bit more complex to manufacture than a Baker Electric. What you are thinking of is probably the reason for why IC cars won over steam cars.
Though the electric car existed it was never a contender for a mass adoption because of the same reasons why electric cars today aren't quite as good either, range and time to refuel.
But for those of us alive today to look back and read that once upon a time, humanity chose oil and it's attendant conveniences when they could have taken electricity with a few limitations...
I mean, if we were the ones making the choice for 1909 people in a time travel world, I want to imagine we'd go hell for leather getting them to "vote" electric car.