If I didn't put that qualifier there would be comments talking shit about musk. Read the rest of this comment section and it's clear as day.
The prius did not sell incredibly well. That is completely false. It sold well enough to be profitable but even a standard Corolla sold more year after year. It took a decade or more before any other serious options existed.
The previous paragraph covers your next question. You have your history wrong about how well the Prius sold and how long until EV's became desirable.
A better wording would have been that the new Prius is more desirable than the previous generations. Which reinforces the previous Prius not "being cool."