You’re right that the Tesla Roadster led the charge — no pun intended — for EVs as uncompromising vehicles. But I don’t think Nissan would’ve been Tesla: they

You’re right that the Tesla Roadster led the charge — no pun intended — for EVs as uncompromising vehicles. But I don’t think Nissan would’ve been Tesla: they didn’t think people would pay for a full-range EV (and still don’t, looks like?) and didn’t prioritize it. For many Americans that means the LEAF could not be their only vehicle. The supercharger network also played a huge role in normalizing EVs, in particular in making the Tesla Model S the first car you could convince yourself was a great car that “happened to be an EV”. The S isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have any huge, obvious EV-related deficits, like the LEAF’s range and charge time.