Who was the first person to serve as CEO of Tesla before Elon Musk took the role in 2008?

Martin Eberhard was Tesla’s first chief executive officer before Elon Musk took the role in 2008. Eberhard co-founded Tesla Motors with Marc Tarpenning in 2003 and initially served as the company’s CEO.

Eberhard and Tarpenning created Tesla to develop electric vehicles that could challenge the performance and appeal of gasoline-powered cars. The company’s first vehicle program became the Tesla Roadster, which used lithium-ion battery cells and a powertrain related to technology developed for the Lotus Elise.

Musk joined Tesla’s board as chairman in 2004 after leading the company’s initial Series A investment. Eberhard left the CEO position in 2007, and several leadership changes followed. Musk became Tesla’s CEO in 2008, the same year the Roadster entered production.

JB Straubel was Tesla’s chief technology officer and a co-founder, but he was not the company’s first CEO. Marc Tarpenning was also a co-founder, while Eberhard held the initial chief-executive role.