Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning co-founded Tesla in California in 2003.
The company was incorporated as Tesla Motors in July 2003. Eberhard and Tarpenning aimed to create electric vehicles that could compete with conventional cars in performance and appeal, rather than being treated only as low-speed or specialist transportation.
Elon Musk joined Tesla's board as chairman after leading the company's first major investment round and became a central figure in its development. Musk was not one of the two original founders, although Tesla's later success made him its most publicly recognized leader and executive.
Tesla's first production vehicle was the Roadster, which entered production in 2008 and used lithium-ion battery cells. The Model S followed in 2012. Rivian, Lucid Motors, and Fisker are separate electric-vehicle companies with different founders and corporate histories.