For 20 years, Toyota rejected the very idea of EVs. The world’s most profitable large automaker argued that its gasoline hybrids would be the best and most practical way to slash vehicle emissions. Until, that is, its hydrogen fuel-cell cars were ready for primetime in 2030 or so.But my, what a difference a few years makes. A few years saw the birth and rise of one specific California startup carmaker in particular: Tesla—which has hundreds of thousands of devoted fans, millions of cars on the road, and is likely to become the first ground-up U.S. carmaker in almost 100 years to survive. Toyota’s decades-long bet made it the leader in hybrids, granted. But that didn’t do a thing to make it an EV leader—where, in fact, it trails most other makers. Now it has to play aggressive catchup.
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