21/06/24, 17.31 Tesla, Inc.

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Tesla, Inc.
American company
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Also known as: Tesla Motors

Written by Barbara A. Schreiber, Erik Gregersen
Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Updated: June 17, 2024 • Article History

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Formerly (2003–17): Tesla Motors

Tesla, Inc., American Date: 2003 - present
manufacturer of electric
Ticker: TSLA
automobiles, solar panels, and
Share Price: $184.86 (mkt close, Jun. 18,
batteries for cars and home power
2024)
storage. It was founded in 2003
Market Cap: $589.55 bil.
by American entrepreneurs
Annual Revenue: $94.75 bil.
Martin Eberhard and Marc
Earnings Per Share (Prev. Year): $2.23
Tarpenning and was named after
Serbian American inventor Nikola Sector: Manufacturing

Tesla. It quickly became one of Industry: Auto

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21/06/24, 17.31 Tesla, Inc. | History, Cars, Elon Musk, & Facts

the most recognizable CEO: Elon Musk

car brands in the world.

Origins and the Roadster

Tesla Motors was formed to develop an electric sports car. Eberhard was
Tesla’s chief executive officer (CEO) and Tarpenning its chief financial
officer (CFO). Funding for the company was obtained from a variety of
sources, most notably PayPal cofounder Elon Musk, who contributed more
than $30 million to the new venture and served as chairman of the
company, beginning in 2004.

In 2008 Tesla Motors released its first car, the completely electric
Roadster. In company tests, it achieved 245 miles (394 km) on a single
charge, a range unprecedented for a production electric car. Additional
tests showed that its performance was comparable to that of many
gasoline-powered sports cars: the Roadster could accelerate from 0 to 60
miles (96 km) per hour in less than four seconds and could reach a top
speed of 125 miles (200 km) per hour. The lightweight car body was made
of carbon fibre. The Roadster produced no tailpipe emissions, as it did not
use an internal-combustion engine. Tesla Motors found that the car
attained efficiency ratings that were equivalent to a gasoline mileage of 135
miles per gallon (57 km per litre). The vehicle’s electric motor was
powered by lithium-ion cells—often used in laptop-computer batteries—
that could be recharged from a standard electrical outlet. Despite a federal
tax credit of $7,500 for purchasing an electric vehicle, the Roadster’s cost
of $109,000 made it a luxury item.

In late 2007 Eberhard resigned as CEO and president of technology and

joined the advisory board of the company. It was announced in 2008 that
he had left the company, though he remained a shareholder. Tarpenning,
who was vice president of electrical engineering, supervising the
development of electronic and software systems for the Roadster, also left
the company in 2008. Musk took over as CEO. In 2010 Tesla’s initial
public offering raised some $226 million.

Tesla under Musk: Model S, Model 3, and Model Y

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21/06/24, 17.31 Tesla, Inc. | History, Cars, Elon Musk, & Facts

In 2012 Tesla stopped production of the Roadster to concentrate on its

new Model S sedan, which was acclaimed by automotive critics for its
performance and design. It came with three different battery options,
which gave estimated ranges of 235 or 300 miles (379 or 483 km). The
battery option with the highest performance gave an acceleration of 0 to
60 miles (96 km) per hour in slightly more than four seconds and a top
speed of 130 miles (209 km) per hour. Unlike the Roadster, which carried
its battery system at the back of the car, the Model S had its underneath
the floor, which gave extra storage space in back and improved handling
because of its low centre of gravity; this battery placement was used on
later Tesla models. The Tesla Autopilot, a form of semiautonomous
driving, was made available in 2014 on the Model S (and later on other
models).

Beginning in 2012, Tesla built stations called Superchargers in the United

States and Europe designed for charging batteries quickly and at no extra
cost to Tesla owners. Later versions of those stations also had the
capability of complete replacement of the Model S battery pack.

Tesla released the Model X, a “crossover” vehicle (i.e., a vehicle with

features of a sport-utility vehicle but built on a car chassis), in 2015. The
Model X had a maximum battery range of about 340 miles (547 km) and
seating for up to seven.

Tesla began building large factories it called Gigafactories to produce

batteries and vehicles. The first such factory opened in 2016 outside Reno,
Nevada. Gigafactories were opened in Buffalo, New York, and Shanghai,
China, and more Gigafactories were planned.

Because of demand for a more inexpensive vehicle, the Model 3, a four-

door sedan with a range of up to 353 miles (568 km) and a price of
$35,000, began production in 2017. The car had an all-glass roof, and
most controls were on a 15-inch (38-cm) central touchscreen. The Model 3
became Tesla’s best-selling model and the best-selling electric car of all
time, surpassing the Nissan Leaf.

The company also branched out into solar energy products. A line of
batteries to store electric power from solar energy for use in homes and

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businesses was unveiled in 2015. Tesla bought the solar panel company
SolarCity in 2016 and offered rooftop solar panels, a solar roof with
energy-generating tiles, and a large battery called the Powerwall to store
the power generated for use when the sun was not shining or as a backup
in case of a power outage. In 2017 the company changed its name to Tesla,
Inc., to reflect that it no longer sold just cars.

The following year Musk made a series of tweets about taking Tesla
private, claiming that he had secured funding. In September 2018 the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged him with securities
fraud, alleging that his tweets were “false and misleading.” Later that
month Tesla’s board rejected a proposed settlement from the SEC,
reportedly after Musk threatened to resign. However, news of the rejected
deal sent Tesla’s stock plummeting, and the board quickly accepted a less
generous settlement, the terms of which included Musk stepping down as
chairman for at least three years and that his tweets were to be pre-
approved by Tesla’s lawyers. However, he was allowed to remain as CEO.
In addition, both Tesla and Musk were fined $20 million.

Tesla released another crossover, the Model Y, in 2020. The Model Y was
smaller and less expensive than the Model X and shared many of the same
parts with the Model 3. Sales of the Model Y quickly became comparable
to that of the Model 3, and Musk expressed confidence that it would
become Tesla’s best-selling model. Tesla announced several models to be
released early in the 2020s, including a second version of the Roadster, a
semi-trailer truck, and a pickup truck, the Cybertruck, which had a boxy
angular design that excited controversy when it was first unveiled.
Barbara A. Schreiber

Erik Gregersen

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Tesla vehicles have an “autopilot” mode but are

classified as stage 2 under the stages of
automation.
© Roschetzky Photography/Shutterstock.com

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