WELL, THAT was easy.

Twenty years and a million tears after General Motors’ senior scientists built a fleet of nimble, lovable all-electric cars (the EV1) and then crushed them—an episode told in Chris Paine’s film “Who Killed the Electric Car?”—GM has delivered the world’s first affordable, long-range EV, the Chevrolet Bolt, with an EPA-estimated range of 238 miles and an MSRP of $37,495, before the $7,500 federal tax credit.

GM...