No, I would say give credit where credit is due.
Yes, in theory the technology was around but no one else managed to put it in a car that seats a family, is safe and has a decent range.
Yes, electric motors and their variable speed controllers existed. Yes lithium batteries existed.
But no one had reengineered them to fit into a car. Telsa battery packs were designed by them. How to package them, how to cool them, how to manage them. All done in house by Tesla or Panasonic.
Same with their drive motors. They aren't off the shelf motors. All custom designed by Tesla to do the job and be reliable in the dynamic enviroment of a car.
Then there's the software to control it all.
It is quite amazing really that a company that wasn't a car company could build a car so successfully. Look at all the other manufacturers that have been building cars for 100 years. They are still playing catch up now!
I'm not a member of the Tesla fan club per se but the only reason the ev industry is where it is today is because of them. Call it good marketing ( backed up by a good product ) if you like but unless you can name another company that got the publicity and actually delivered the product at the same time the I think Tesla deserves the accolades .
Make no mistake. Tesla will probably get run over in the end by the big boys. Merecedes are going to have 132 electric models by 2025 . Every type of vehicle they make will have an electric version. The competition is coming and coming fast. Big established manufacturers and new players as diverse as Dyson, the vacuum cleaner people.
Henry Ford didn't invent the motor car but he absolutely revolutionised the car industry.
I reckon Tesla is in a similar vein.