Tesla has a huge lead over other automakers. See how the electric-car company's brand became so mighty. (TSLA)

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press For years, potential competitors kept an eye on Tesla as it absorbed all the risk of creating a viable market for electric vehicles. While the electric-vehicle market hovers in the single digits, the conventional wisdom was that Tesla would exhaust itself proving that consumers actually wanted to go electric. But with the EV market now poised to rapidly grow, Tesla finds itself with the most powerful brand, nurtured for more than a decade by charismatic, controversia...