I'm honestly not sure how true that is. I suspect, since they all seem to be on the same path, they looked at it 5 years ago and decided then was not the time, but were working all the same behind the scenes. A lot has changed in 5 years, and the economics start to make more sense, along with the cultural shift.
You may see it as being behind, I think it's more like good timing. Surly had Tesla had the timing right, they wouldn't have struggled so much with profitability and hitting their pricing targets. At least a few of the other giants would have jumped in, had it seemed like a market worth entering at the time. The fact that none did, and now they all are doesn't strike me as being caught off guard. These companies aren't dummies. Well, some are. But all of them? Not likely. Tesla has had a good run competition free, but they are in for some real challenges from companies that have a lot more experience and brand power than they do.
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