Elon Musk says he wants to be generous with his critics. But after years of battling an army of doubters in the rest of the auto industry and on Wall Street, the Tesla chief executive’s frustration is hard to contain.

It is almost a decade since his company’s Model S proved that electric cars could compete with the best on style and performance, and four years since its Model 3 brought the technology to a wider market. Over those years, Musk has not only had to build a market for electric vehicles almost single-handedly while fighting off bankruptcy, he has also waged a running battle with short sellers on Wall Street and started spats with regulators.

This year has brought a measure of vindication, as companies ranging from Ford to Volkswagen to Mercedes-Benz have unequivocally committed their futures to electric vehicles. Toyota became the latest on Tuesday, announcing a $35bn investment into building EVs.