This was before Tesla was a public company, let alone worth more than Ford. Before the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt were introduced. Before “Electric Avenue” — the first one, at Portland State University — was built.
“We were getting together in 2010, huddling around pizza boxes in a room at the Portland Development Commission that they lent to us,” Tim Miller recalled.
Some in the group of eight or so people, like Jesse Oliver at AmFor Electronics, were hoping to burrow existing…