Tesla, a major electric-vehicle company by market capitalization, was incorporated in 2003.
Tesla was incorporated as Tesla Motors in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk joined the company as an early investor and became chairman, while JB Straubel and Ian Wright were also important early members of the founding team.
The company's first production vehicle was the Tesla Roadster, introduced in 2008. It used lithium-ion battery cells and a modified Lotus Elise platform, helping demonstrate that an electric sports car could offer substantial performance.
Elon Musk became Tesla's chief executive in 2008 and is strongly associated with the company. However, saying he alone founded Tesla oversimplifies its early history: the company was incorporated before Musk joined and had multiple founders and early leaders.