Tesla (2008)

Even Tesla probably didn’t realize how important its first car, the Tesla Roadster, would be to not just Elon Musk’s own company, but the wider industry as well. This Lotus Elise-based sports car was not only the first mainstream electric car with a usable range (of around 150-200 miles), but also totally reversed perceptions of electric cars with sweet performance, with 0-60mph acceleration of under four seconds. Tesla didn’t look back, and the industry has been playing catch-up with it ever since. In leading the world to electification, the last car company in this story must also be one of the most important.

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