Selling only the Roadster, Tesla was a different company in 2009 yet to go mainstream. Credit: Joe Raedle via Getty
Despite releasing the Chevy Volt, a plug-in hybrid, later that year, GM and other auto industry executives discouraged the USPS from pursuing EV options. Credit: Bill Pugliano via Getty
The USPS boasted it had the "nation's largest alternative fuel fleet" in marketing materials while dismissing the idea of using them on a larger scale. Credit: Department of Energy.
DJ-5E Electruck produced by AM General in the 1970s. Credit: NARA
The USPS has had to keep using these 30 year old trucks. Credit: Robert Alexander via Getty
In the time the USPS pondered its next vehicle, Tesla went from selling a handful of sports cars to churning out EVs at two large factories, with two more on the way. Credit: Future Publishing via Getty

