Who was the CEO of Tesla when the Model S was launched in 2012?

Elon Musk was Tesla’s CEO when the Model S launched in 2012.

Musk joined Tesla as an early major investor and became chairman in 2004. After Martin Eberhard was removed as CEO and Ze’ev Drori briefly led the company, Musk became chief executive in October 2008. He therefore had held the role for several years when Tesla introduced its second production vehicle.

The Model S was unveiled as a prototype in 2009 and entered series production at Tesla’s Fremont factory in June 2012. Tesla delivered the first production cars to customers on June 22, 2012. The luxury electric sedan was central to Tesla’s plan to move beyond the limited-volume Roadster and demonstrate that an electric vehicle could compete with premium gasoline cars.

The wrong options reflect real Tesla history. Martin Eberhard was an early co-founder and CEO, while Ze’ev Drori led Tesla from 2007 to 2008. J. B. Straubel was a major technical executive and later chief technology officer, but not CEO. Musk’s title was briefly styled “Technoking” in 2021, but he retained the CEO position.