Are electric tillers powerful enough for hard soil?

Verified-purchase and high-trust community reviewers report mixed results. Several r/gardening and r/vegetablegardening posters note that lightweight electric units 'bounce' on dense, compacted clay and work best after ground has been broken once, or on softer soil. For a first-time break of hard ground, most reviewers steer toward a gas rear-tine machine; for ongoing maintenance, electric is praised for being quiet, cheap to run, and low-maintenance.