Martin Eberhard co-founded Tesla and became its first chief executive.
Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning founded Tesla Motors in 2003. The company was created to develop electric vehicles that could compete with conventional cars in performance and desirability, rather than being limited to small or utilitarian designs.
Elon Musk joined Tesla’s board as chairman after making a major investment in 2004. He later became chief executive in 2008, after Eberhard and subsequent leaders had left the role. Tesla’s Roadster, launched in 2008, used a modified Lotus Elise chassis and lithium-ion battery cells.
A frequent misconception is that Musk founded Tesla alone. He was an early major investor and became the company’s best-known leader, but Tesla’s original founders were Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.