Tesla is the electric-vehicle company founded in 2003 whose CEO is Elon Musk and whose shares trade under the ticker TSLA.
Tesla was established as Tesla Motors by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk joined as an early major investor and became chairman; he later became chief executive. The company’s first production vehicle was the Roadster, introduced in 2008 and based on the Lotus Elise platform.
Tesla’s Model S, Model 3, Model X, and Model Y helped move electric vehicles from a specialist market toward mass-market attention. Its business also includes energy-storage products, charging infrastructure, and solar-energy activities.
Tesla has frequently ranked among the world’s largest public companies by market capitalization, though its position changes with its share price. A common mix-up is treating Musk as Tesla’s founder; he was not one of the two original founders, although he became the company’s most prominent executive and investor.