The Wheego LIFE [0] was built with a lithium iron phosphate battery back in 2011. The body shell was Chinese, but the electric part of the car was built in the US. Apparently it was a crap car, but tesla definitely isn't the first US company to produce a car with lithium iron batteries.

That said, chemistry has come a long ways, the Wheego is more like a hotrodded golf cart than an actual car. That was the norm for 2011 though.

[0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/eco-nomics/2012/03/14/can-tiny-...