Tesla was founded in 2003 and became one of the world’s largest companies by market capitalization.
Tesla was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk joined soon afterward as a major early investor and became chairman; he later became the company’s chief executive.
The company first gained broad attention with the Roadster, an electric sports car based on the Lotus Elise. It later developed the Model S, Model X, Model 3, and Model Y, helping bring battery-electric vehicles into the mainstream automobile market.
Tesla’s share price rose dramatically during the 2020 stock-market boom, making it one of the most valuable automobile companies ever measured by market capitalization. Its market value has been notably volatile, and market-cap rankings do not directly measure vehicle production, revenue, or profitability.