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Tesla (Zubayer)

Tesla, Inc. (/ˈtɛslə/  TESS-lə or /ˈtɛzlə/ TEZ-lə[a]) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it designs, manufactures and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices

Tesla's headquarters
Gigafactory Texas, Tesla’s headquarters, just outside of Austin, Texas

from home to grid-scale, solar panels and solar shingles, and related products and services.

Tesla was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning as Tesla Motors. Its name is a tribute to inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. In February 2004, Elon Musk led Tesla’s first funding round and became the company’s chairman; in 2008, he was named chief executive officer. In 2008, the company began production of its first car model, the Roadster sports car, followed by the Model S sedan in 2012, the Model X SUV in 2015, the Model 3 sedan in 2017, the Model Y crossover in 2020, the Tesla Semi truck in 2022 and the Cybertruck pickup truck in 2023.

Tesla Model Y
The Model Y is a mid-size crossover SUV

Tesla is one of the world’s most valuable companies in terms of market capitalization. Starting in July 2020, it has been the world’s most valuable automaker. From October 2021 to March 2022, Tesla was a trillion-dollar company, the seventh U.S. company to be so, and has been so again since November 2024.[6] In 2023, the company led the battery electric vehicle market, with 19.9% share. Also in 2023, the company was ranked 69th in the Forbes Global 2000.[7]

Tesla Motors
Tesla Motors insignia as seen on a Tesla Roadster, c. 2010
Founding (2003–2004)

The company was incorporated as Tesla Motors, Inc. on July 1, 2003, by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.[8][9] They served as chief executive officer and chief financial officer, respectively.[10] Eberhard said that he wanted to build “a car manufacturer that is also a technology company”, with its core technologies as “the battery, the computer software, and the proprietary motor”.[11]

Ian Wright joined Eberhard and Tarpenning a few months later.[8] In February 2004, the company raised US$7.5 million (equivalent to $12 million in 2023) in series A funding, including $6.5 million (equivalent to $10 million in 2023) from Elon Musk, who had received $100 million from the sale of his interest in PayPal two years earlier. Musk became the chairman of the board of directors and the largest shareholder of Tesla.[12][13][10] J. B. Straubel joined Tesla in May 2004 as chief technical officer.[14]

Tesla Model 3
The Model X is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV

A lawsuit settlement agreed to by Eberhard and Tesla in September 2009 allows all five – Eberhard, Tarpenning, Wright, Musk, and Straubel – to call themselves co-founders.[15]

Roadster (2005–2009)

Elon Musk took an active role within the company, but was not deeply involved in day-to-day business operations.[16] The company’s strategy was to start with a premium sports car aimed at early adopters and then move into more mainstream vehicles, including sedans and affordable compacts.[17]

Tesla Roadster prototype
Tesla Roadster (second generation)

In February 2006, Musk led Tesla’s Series B venture capital funding round of $13 million, which added Valor Equity Partners to the funding team.[18][13] Musk co-led the third, $40 million round in May 2006 which saw investment from prominent entrepreneurs including Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and former eBay president Jeff Skoll.[19]

A fourth round worth $45 million in May 2007 brought the total private financing investment to over $105 million.[19]

In August 2007, Eberhard was asked by the board, led by Elon Musk, to step down as CEO.[20] Eberhard then took the title of “President of Technology” before ultimately leaving the company in January 2008. Co-founder Marc Tarpenning, who served as the Vice President of Electrical Engineering of the company, also left the company in January 2008.[21]

 

 

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