I mean... A more accurate description might be, "They had already taken one step in the right direction, 15 years ago, all they had to do was make any further steps in this direction any time since then!"
I don't think people realize just how much thoughtful design went into the original Nissan Leaf and just how well designed it was. Sure, it's ugly as sin and a glorified golf cart with respect to it's range but it's also a rock solid EV and very forward thinking EV.
In terms of safety, it came standard with backup cameras and low speed noise features that are now mandatory on all EVs in the US. In 2013 they introduced a heat-pump option and had features like heated seats and steering wheel to reduced the climate control draw on the meager battery.
The Tesla Model 3 that came out 5 years later didn't have low speed noise, heat-pump, or heated steering wheel. Though they were added later.
In terms of reliability, it just works, so many other EVs are completely unreliable and suffer from numerous issues, many of which have nothing to do with the EV platform. Tesla, Lucid, and VW all have or had issues with door handles. GM couldn't seem to make water proof batteries that didn't explode. Kia's EVs go through 12v batteries faster than a vibrator goes through AA batteries. BMWs are great right up until you DC Fast Charge them, at which point they like to go into limp mode and throw faults.
more like culture problem per se, this is what happen to (almost) all of CE automaker seriously, EV is more like electronic on wheels rather than "traditional cars"
I kind of see many people that already have work there that have decade experience don't or can't "changes"
