Tesla was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. By 2004, Elon Musk became a lead investor and chairman of Tesla’s board of directors. Finally, after helping them with their first funding round Elon Musk was appointed CEO of Tesla Motors in 2008. By then, he reportedly invested $70 million from his own pockets into the company. Elon was definitely dedicated to them.
Back in 2008, Tesla released the Roadster and became known as the company that built the fastest production electric car on the market. It impressed many, but of course, there were skeptics which complained that it was a Lotus Elise stuffed with batteries. Even though that is partially true, it still raised the bar for electric vehicle performance. No other production EV could compare to it at the time.
Tesla then released the Model S, which was the next best electric car in the world. In addition to the fact that it was rare for car companies to launch and succeed during their time, Tesla became the first American car company to go public since Ford and finally started delivering the Model S in 2012. The Model S was a first in many regards: It was the first electric luxury sedan, it was fast, it had plenty of interior room, and it had a small trunk in the front, plus a large rear one.
Tesla reached a crossroads in 2013. They were on the verge of bankruptcy. They were on the verge of selling to Google, but cancelled negotiations after they finally started turning a profit that year. Sadly, they weren’t in the clear for long, as an EV maker’s worst nightmare happened — three Model S vehicles caught fire due to battery damage. EV opponents love harping on the fire hazard of lithium-ion batteries, despite the fact that EV fires are rare compared to gasoline-powered vehicle fires.
To add insult to injury, Tesla’s stocks still plummeted after they reinforced the Model S battery packs. Tesla now has more than 50,000 vehicles on the road, and charging stations which cover virtually the entire United States. It is impressing prospective buyers more than ever with better models. There is a saying that success is determined by perseverance during hardship. It couldn’t be more true! Tesla is proof of this.
h/t electrek
