I’m inclined to think a diesel hybrid using less explosive batteries like zinc air might be a reasonable alternative. Need better electrolyte and more energy storage for zinc air and that could put it over the top.
Less explosive? How much less? I wouldn’t want to ride in any vehicle that has any chance of its battery blowing up or catching on fire on its own no matter how low the risk.
But energy is energy. You have to store a lot of energy in a small sized brick in order to move a 2000 vehicle down the road and for 300 miles.
I guess that the same can be said for gasoline. And there is probably more energy stored in a tank of gasoline than a battery pack because gasoline engines are less efficient.