Tesla’s Real Founder (No, Not Elon)

The man behind Tesla before Musk took over.

No, this isn’t about Elon Musk’s latest Twitter meltdown or the Cybertruck’s design choices. Instead, it’s about the guy who actually started the company before Musk swooped in and rewrote history. His name? Martin Eberhard.

It all started in 2000, when Martin, a newly divorced 40-something engineer, found himself in a classic midlife crisis. He wanted a sports car—because of course he did—but he just couldn’t bring himself to buy a gas-guzzling status symbol. That led to a wild idea: what if he just built his own?

Teaming up with his business partner, Marc Tarpenning, the duo founded Tesla Motors in 2003. Their plan? Take the lithium-ion battery tech they’d worked with in their previous e-reader startup (yes, e-readers) and slap it into something that didn’t look like a glorified golf cart. Instead of designing everything from scratch, they got crafty—partnering with AC Propulsion for motor technology and Lotus for the car body. The result? A prototype based on the Lotus Elise that would eventually become the Tesla Roadster. It was sleek, it was fast, and most importantly, it wasn’t your dad’s electric car.

But here’s the thing about starting a car company—it’s wildly expensive. By 2004, Tesla needed serious cash, and that’s when a guy named Elon Musk, fresh off selling PayPal, came knocking with a $7.5 million investment. Sounds great, right? Fast-forward a few years, and let’s just say things got Game of Thrones real quick.

By 2007, Martin got a call from Musk—who, by all accounts, sounded nervous—letting him know the board had met (without him) and decided he was no longer CEO. Instead, he was “promoted” to President of Technology, which is the corporate version of being told, “It’s not you, it’s us.” So, Martin quit.

Then came the lawsuit. In 2009, Martin sued Tesla for rewriting history—literally—claiming Musk was trying to erase him and Marc as the true founders. The suit even called out how Tesla was intentionally giving the public the wrong story, making it seem like Musk had built the company from the ground up. (Sound familiar?) Musk countered with his own lawsuit, and eventually, they settled out of court. The details? A mystery. But what’s clear is that the two haven’t spoken since.

And yet, despite all the drama, one thing is undeniable: without Martin and Marc, there would be no Tesla. No Roadster. No Model S. No meme-worthy Cybertruck. No car floating in space. So the next time someone tells you Musk founded Tesla, feel free to hit them with some fun facts.