Tesla Motors was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning in San Carlos, California. The founders named the company after inventor Nikola Tesla. Elon Musk led the company's Series A funding round in 2004 and joined the board as chairman. JB Straubel and Ian Wright also joined as co-founders in the early period.
The company's first vehicle, the Tesla Roadster, was delivered to customers in 2008. The Roadster was a high-performance sports car built on a modified Lotus Elise chassis, demonstrating that electric vehicles could achieve compelling performance. The Roadster was produced in limited quantities and served primarily as a proof of concept and brand-building exercise.
Martin Eberhard was replaced as CEO in 2007 amid disputes with the board over costs and management. Elon Musk became CEO in October 2008, during a period of severe financial difficulty for the company. Tesla came close to bankruptcy in late 2008 before securing emergency financing.
Tesla's Model S sedan, launched in 2012, was the company's first mass-market vehicle and its first built on a purpose-designed electric vehicle platform. The Model S received critical acclaim for its performance, range, and technology, winning numerous automotive awards. The Model S established Tesla as a credible luxury vehicle manufacturer.
Tesla completed its initial public offering on NASDAQ in June 2010, raising approximately $226 million. The IPO was the first for an American automaker since Ford Motor Company went public in 1956.
The Model X SUV launched in 2015, followed by the more affordable Model 3 sedan in 2017. The Model 3 was Tesla's first attempt at a mass-market vehicle priced for mainstream consumers, with a starting price around $35,000. Production of the Model 3 was plagued by manufacturing difficulties in 2017 and 2018, a period Musk described as "production hell." The company ultimately resolved the issues and ramped production significantly.
Gigafactory Shanghai opened in January 2020, dramatically expanding Tesla's production capacity and reducing costs through local manufacturing for the Chinese market. Gigafactory Berlin opened in March 2022, providing European manufacturing capacity. Gigafactory Texas opened in April 2022 and became the production site for the Cybertruck.
The Cybertruck, Tesla's stainless steel pickup truck, was unveiled in 2019 and began deliveries in November 2023 after multiple delays. The vehicle's unconventional angular design generated significant media attention.
For full-year 2025, Tesla reported total revenue of $94.83 billion, down 2.93% from 2024, marking the company's first annual revenue decline. Vehicle deliveries fell 8.6% to 1,636,129 units. Tesla announced plans to wind down production of the Model S and Model X, with the Fremont plant to be converted to production of the Optimus humanoid robot.