In what year was Tesla, Inc. founded?

Tesla, Inc. was founded in 2003.

The company was incorporated as Tesla Motors, Inc., on July 1, 2003, in San Carlos, California. Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning established the business with the goal of creating electric vehicles that combined battery technology, software, and high performance.

Elon Musk did not originally incorporate Tesla, but he joined in 2004 as the lead investor in the Series A funding round, became chairman, and played a major role in shaping the company’s strategy. A 2009 legal settlement allowed Eberhard, Tarpenning, Ian Wright, Musk, and J. B. Straubel to use the title “co-founder.”

Tesla’s first production vehicle, the Roadster, arrived in 2008. The company later expanded from that low-volume sports car to the Model S sedan, Model X SUV, Model 3 sedan, and Model Y crossover. Tesla Motors adopted the name Tesla, Inc., in 2017, but the founding year remained 2003.