Gas vs. Electric Cars

I think it'll be just a matter of time before our governments outlaw gasoline as a propellant for cars,  Other jurisdictions have already done it!  Britain is the most recent, saying it will outlaw gasoline in 2040!  my question is; why?

A little over a hundred and ten years ago, the automobile was just coming into being.  Engineers and scientists experimented with different ways of fueling and propelling these new contraptions.  There were steam powered cars, methane powered cars, electric cars and gasoline powered cars all roaring around,

Eventually the gasoline powered cars won out, and the others faded away.  There were no laws outlawing them.  Gasoline just happened to be the most efficient and least expensive way of powering these new machines!

Now, environmentalists say we must stop using gasoline because it creates too much pollution.  Major car companies have all joined the race to create cars using other fuels, mostly electric powered though batteries.  These vehicles are becoming more efficient in every new model coming out but they are still more expensive then their gasoline powered equivalents.  Some of the processes making components and power for those electric cars create huge amount of pollution!

Why don't governments just stay out of it?  Gasoline won out in 1910 because it was the cheapest and most efficient.  When electric cars are the cheapest and more efficient than gasoline powered cars, they will win too!