What Tesla did you rent? The base Model 3's curb weight is 3,552lbs. The first generation Bolt's curb weight is slightly heavier, at 3,563lbs. The long range Model 3 is 3,817lbs and the Performance model is 4,048lbs, but those tend not to be rentals.

And the cheapest Model 3 will have significantly more acceleration than the Bolt. Maybe the rental's acceleration was set to comfort mode. That reduces pedal responsiveness.

I didn't own a Bolt, but I did drive one and found it underwhelming. It had bad software, charged slowly, and then all of them were recalled due to battery fires. I don't seem to be alone in this opinion, as their depreciation has been pretty rough compared to other EVs from the same time period.

Model Y. The battery perf was also terrible, requiring a lot of time spent at the supercharger for less than 150 miles of driving. That could have been due to battery abuse as it was a rental car.

I'm not saying the bolt out-accelerates a tesla. That's silly. I'm saying the bolt was fast and nimble.

Software on mine was fine. Battery charging sucked but that wasn't a problem for me having had subsidized charging at work. Battery fires caused my bolt to receive a free, brand new battery so also not a problem.