In this Tesla history, we briefly look at the origin, logo, facts, and information about the Tesla car brand.
Tesla, Inc. is an electric car manufacturer and a clean energy company based in Palo Alto, California, America.
Tesla ranks as the leading company in electric car production, which has seen the company rise to become one of the most prominent players in the automotive industry.
As the top player in the electric car market, Tesla has championed the “move from a mine-and-burn hydrocarbon economy towards a solar electric economy,” as revealed by its billionaire CEO, Elon Musk.
Tesla’s commitment to producing the best electric cars has seen the company become the bestselling battery and plug-in electric passenger car globally.
In 11 years of existence, Tesla has developed at a phenomenal rate that it challenges the reign of notable automotive giants in the electric car industry.
The rise of Tesla was one of the motivational factors that propelled automotive giants to venture into the electric car industry.
We’ll take a brief look at some facts and history of the world’s most recognized electric car brand.
Tesla Brand Information
- Date Founded: July 1, 2003
- Founders: Elon Musk, JB Straubel, Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, Ian Wright
- Headquarters: Palo Alto, California, U.S.
- CEO: Elon Musk
- Website: tesla.com
Tesla History
On July 1, 2003, Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard founded Tesla Motors with a focus on the production of electric cars.
The duo were inspired by General Motors’ EV1 electric cars.
Mark and Martin particularly were impressed at how battery-electric vehicles can provide high performance without low mileage.
A few months after Tesla Motors was founded, the company got its third employee, Ian Wright.
In February 2004, the three employees of Tesla Motors, along with Elon Musk, raised $7.5 million in Series A funding.
Musk, who contributed $6.5 million to the financing, was thus made the chairman of the board of directors while Martin Eberhard was appointed CEO.
In May 2004, a fifth employee, J. B. Straubel, joined Tesla.
As decided by a lawsuit settlement by Tesla and Eberhard, Tesla’s first five employees can be called Tesla co-founders.
Elon Musk was mainly involved in the production of Tesla cars, especially the Roadster, but did not handle its daily operations.
Musk was at the helms of affairs in designing various car components, such as the power electronics modules.
He also insisted that Tesla Motors should have a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer body.
His design of the Roadster earned the 2006 Global Green product design award and 2007 Index Design award.
Musk championed Tesla Series B $13 million funding that saw Valor Equity Partners become one of its funding teams.
In May of that year, Musk led the company to a $40 million funding, which saw Technology Ventures become part of the company.
The $40 million investment included top tech figures and venture capital firms such as Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, Jeff Skill, eBay’s former president, JPMorgan Chase managed The Bay Area, Equity Fund.
In May 2008, Tesla investment reached $100 million with a $40,167,530 investment.
Two years after the Tesla Roadster prototype was revealed, Tesla began producing the car in 2008.
To finance its operations, the U.S. Department of Energy offered Tesla a $465 million loan in January 2010, which the company repaid in 2013.
Thanks to the loan, Tesla purchased a factory in Fremont for $42 million, which became The Tesla Factory.
In June 2010, Tesla became the first American car company since Ford Motor Company in 1956 to launch its IPO in the NASDAQ.
The Model S, Tesla’s second car, was launched in June 2012, while the Model X, its SUV, was launched in September 2015.
To expand its clean energy efforts, Tesla bought SolarCity in 2016.
Tesla Motors rebranded to Tesla, Inc in 2017 and then launched the Model 3.
As Tesla expands its operations, the company earnings continue, but in 2019, its revenue of $24.6 billion came with a loss of $862 million.
That did not hinder the company’s progress as in 2020; the company market capitalization had increased to $206 billion, making it the biggest automaker by market capitalization.
Current Tesla Logo
According to Elon Musk’s explanation of the Tesla logo meaning, “Similar to SpaceX, the T is like a cross section of an electric motor, just as the X is like a rocket trajectory.”
The Tesla logo was designed by design firm RO-Studio, based in New Jersey.
Fun Tesla Facts
To make history, Tesla would have to produce 800,000 cars to become the highest-production automotive startup in 90 years.
Only six parts of the Tesla Model S need to be replaced regularly.
Though Tesla is the brainchild of Elon Musk, the company was not founded by him.
Tesla Cars come with a Dog Mode.
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