The e-Golf was more or less literally a Golf with a different engine. The Leaf was a fairly normal hatchback, very similar to other hatchbacks popular in Europe and Asia. Tesla’s first ‘normal’ car was the model 3 (the S was too high-end/expensive to qualify), which came far later than either.
Actually, I think one lesson to the manufacturers from the first-gen was that you shouldn’t make electric cars too similar to normal cars. The e-Golf, in particular, people often didn’t realise it even existed. Second-gen electric cars like the i3/4 and Hyundai Ioniqs are notably weirder-looking than the first gen.
(Again, I do think that for America specifically the early electric cars were not well-targeted, which was more or less inevitable; the US is a more difficult market than Europe or China due to the range requirements, and also a much smaller market for electric cars than either.)
I was actually thinking of the Roadster. Based on a Lotus Elise. It looked good, it was thrilling to drive. It totally broke through the lines people had drawn in their minds around the idea of what an electric car could be.
Actually, I think one lesson to the manufacturers from the first-gen was that you shouldn’t make electric cars too similar to normal cars. The e-Golf, in particular, people often didn’t realise it even existed. Second-gen electric cars like the i3/4 and Hyundai Ioniqs are notably weirder-looking than the first gen.
(Again, I do think that for America specifically the early electric cars were not well-targeted, which was more or less inevitable; the US is a more difficult market than Europe or China due to the range requirements, and also a much smaller market for electric cars than either.)