Who Founded Tesla? It Wasn't Elon Musk

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Elon Musk is often credited as the sole creator of Tesla, but in reality, two other people founded the company before Musk entered the picture. Like Apple and Google, Tesla has become a household name for many people. Teslas are best known for their autonomous driving features, incredible speeds, long range, and fast charging. While larger companies like Ford, Chevy, and Subaru are also entering the EV space, Tesla remains the company to beat.

At the head of Tesla today is Elon Musk. While Musk was relatively unknown a few years ago, he's since become just as popular as Tim Cook or Jeff Bezos. Along with being in charge of Tesla, Musk is also credited with founding SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company. Whether someone knows Musk for his involvement with those companies or frequent Dogecoin posts on Twitter, his impact on the world is hard to ignore (for better or worse).

Related: Model 3 Vs. Model Y: Which Cheaper Tesla Is Best For Range?

Despite Musk's popularity, there's one accolade that people often get wrong. Elon Musk is frequently referred to as Tesla's CEO and founder. However, only one of those is true. Musk got involved with Tesla in 2004 and was appointed CEO in 2008. But he wasn't one of the founding members when Tesla Motors was established in 2003. Instead, the co-founding title belongs to two other individuals.

Tesla was officially founded by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning on July 1, 2003. While both men have since left Tesla, they played a huge role in the company's beginning. In addition to co-founding Tesla, Eberhard served as CEO up until December 2007, when he was asked by Tesla's board of directors to step down from the company. Tarpenning took on the role of VP of Electric Engineering,