The year 2008. The global economy was in crisis. Companies from big investment banks to General Motors were sinking.
Elon Musk’s company Tesla was in its early stages. The situation became so bad due to the recession that the booking amount taken from the customers for the first car was also spent.
He borrowed money to meet his expenses. At that time, he started living under great stress. His girlfriend Talula Relay recalled the incident and said –
‘He started talking to himself, spreading his hand loudly and shouting. Many times he used to scream and clap even in sleep. It seemed that he would have a heart attack anytime.
Today Tesla is the largest e-vehicle company in the world with a market capitalization of ₹ 84 lakh crore. The second largest market capitalization company is BYD, which is a Chinese company with a market capitalization of ₹ 11.8 lakh crore.
Tesla is now starting its showroom in India as well. It will be inaugurated on 15 July in Mumbai. In such a situation, here we are telling the success story of Tesla, which was on the verge of drowning, in six chapters …
Chapter – 1: Start of tesla
Tesla’s story begins with engineers Martin Aberhard and Mark Torpening. He laid the foundation of Tesla Motors in 2003. Later Ian Wright and JB Strawel also joined the team.
Eberhard and Torpaneing met in the 1980s. He previously worked together in a company called Nuvomidia. It was here that he made a rocket book reader.
Martin liked sports cars and wanted a car that was fast and did not harm the environment. At that time there was a war going on in the Middle East. Concerns about global warming were increasing. Martin felt that buying a petrol engine was not a good idea. It was from here that Tesla’s concept came.
Martin and Mark noticed that the lithium-ion battery used in the book reader could also be modern for cars. He prepared a prototype with a small company called AC Propulsion, which later became the basis of Tesla Roadster.
However, it was not easy to build a car. He had no experience of the car industry and the suppliers found a danger to work with them. Nevertheless, he shared with companies like Lotus and started Tesla on 1 July 2003.
Chapter – 2: Elon Musk arrives
Elon Musk is Tesla’s biggest face today, although he was not its founder. In 2004, Musk invested $ 65 million in Tesla and became the president of the company. This amount is equal to Rs 56 crore. The $ 2 million was also invested by other investors.
When Tesla Motors started, Elon Musk was working in SpaceX. At the same time, he met JB Strawel. Strawel was a young engineer and fan of electric cars. Strawel himself converted a porsche into an electric car in his garage.
Strawel told Musk about a small company called AC Propulsion, which used to make electric cars. Both tested the Tzero car of the AC propulsion, which had a lithium-ion battery.
Musk liked this car so much that he tried to convince Tom Gauge, CEO of AC propulsion, but the gauge was not ready for it. Gauz then transported Musk to Martin, who started Tesla Motors in collaboration with Tarpanning and Ian Wright. It was from here that Musk entered Tesla.
Chapter-3 : First car roadster
Tesla’s first car was Roadster, which was to be built on the chassis of Lotus Elies. The company plans to keep the price low by using maximum existing parts of Lotus. But Musk did not approve of this. He wanted the roadster to be so beautiful and impressive that people were stunned to see him.
Musk came from Los Angeles every week to Silicon Valley, participating in the design meeting and saw the car models. His advice was not just a suggestion. He wanted every change to be implemented.
He made five important changes:
1. Door layout: Musk found the roadster door very small. He reduced the door frame to 3 inches. This changed the layout of Chassis and increased the price of $ 2 million.
2. Seats: Musk tightened Lotus seats. He wanted the seats to be widened. Women will be able to sit in it easily. Eberhard found this change useless, as it had to resume the test.
3. Headlights: Musk found the headlights of Lotus “ugly”. He decided to install headlights, increasing its price by $ 500,000.
4. Carbon Fiber Body: Musk used more strong and light carbon fibers instead of Lotus’s fiberglass. This made the painting of the car expensive, but it became more strong and light.
5. Electric Door Handle: Eberhards were satisfied with a simple door handle, but Musk selected the electric touch-sensitive handle, which became part of Tesla’s “cool” image.
These changes increased the price and production time of the roadster. The current services of Lotus were no longer available and Tesla had to explore services for many new parts.
In July 2006, Tesla launched a roadster prototype at Santa Monica Airport. The event also attended California governor and actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Clooney. Strawel took Schwarzenegger as a test force. The program received a lot of coverage, but all the credit was given to Aberhard.
Due to these changes, the price and construction time of the roadster increased. The current services of Lotus could not be available and Tesla had to find services for many new parts.
In July 2006, Tesla launched a roadster prototype at Santa Monica Airport. Stars like California Governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney attended the event. Strawel gave Schwarzenegger a test drive. The event received a lot of coverage, but all the credit for this went to Eberhard.
Musk wrote a note on Tesla’s website – in which he said that Tesla aims to operate the hydrocarbon economy with solar energy. By launching the roadster in the high-end market, Tesla will turn to cheap motors. This plan made Tesla’s path easier.
The prototype of the roadster broke the old image of electric motors. This car can catch a speed of 0 to 60 mph in four seconds. Stars like Schwarznegger and Clooney deposited one million dollars for this. Steve Jobs also praised the roadster.
Chapter – 4 : Crisis on Tesla
In 2008, the global economy was in crisis. Large financial institutions like Lehman Brothers started bankrupt. This crisis also severely affected the car industry. Large vehicle manufacturers like General Motors and Chrysler wanted government relief package. At that time Tesla was a small startup company. In such a situation, it was almost impossible for him to raise investment.
In the first half of 2008, he used customer deposits to buy Tesla. Some Tesla officials and board members felt that this money should have been placed in the escrow and not spent. However, Musk said, “Either do this, otherwise we will end.”
By September 2008, the situation worsened. Musk used to bubb, shake and scream throughout the night. His female friend Tallullah says, “I used to think that he would die from a heart attack. Sometimes he could go to the toilet and vomit. Tallullah could stand up holding his head.”
He kept working day and night, every time in the hope of a miracle. By the end of 2008, everyone was thinking that Musk would have to choose one of SpaceX and Tesla. If she applies all her energy in one, then at least she can survive. If they share both, then both will be drowned.
One day his friend Mark Junkosa said in the SpaceX office, “Brother, leave these two. If SpaceX is close to your heart, forget Tesla.” Musk said – No, if I leave Tesla, it will prove that electric motors do not work, and the dream of permanent energy will remain incomplete. SpaceX cannot be abandoned, otherwise we will never be able to become multiple species.
In late 2008, Musk listed its current investors for equity investment of $ 20 million. One of these investors, Vantage Point Capital, was not ready for it. After several difficulties, the Vantage Point also agreed to the plan and Tesla survived.
Chapter – 5: Success in ice cars
In 2008, Tesla launched the first high-demonstration electric sports car, roadster,. It competed with ice sports cars like Porsche. This attracted people’s attention to EVS.
Companies like Ford, GM no longer take EVs seriously. By the time Tesla launched roadster and model S, these companies specialized in hybrid cars. Tesla developed the lithium-ion battery.
Tesla introduced self-riding technology (autopylat), which was not previously found in ice cars. This feature became a major reason for attracting customers. In addition, Tesla created charging infrastructure.
Musk’s presence and controversial statements on social media gave him an open publicity. After the launch of the roadster, Hollywood celebrities Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney sold it. This promoted the brand.
Tesla’s most sales are from the sale of electric cars (model 3, model Y, model S, model x, cybercat, Tesla Semi). In 2024, Tesla added 17.8 lakh cars and earned $ 81.5 billion, or about 6.90 lakh crore rupees from the sale of cars.
Tesla also gets a regulatory credit to create zero-furore vehicles (ZEV), which she sells to vehicle manufacturers who do not follow the emission rules. In 2024, Tesla earned $ 2.76 billion (about 0.24 lakh crore rupees) from these credits, which is 54% higher than 2023. Since 2014, Tesla has earned $ 11.4 billion (Rs 0.98 lakh crore) from them.
Chapter – 6 : Who is the real founder
Tesla was established on 1 July 2003. Its early founders were Martin Eberhard and Mark Torpening. Later Ian Wright and JB Strawel also joined the initial team. Elon Musk joined the company in 2004 as an investor and board chairman. There is a dispute over who Tesla’s “founders” are.
1. Ian Wright: Right separated in early 2005. He was contributing to engineering, but differences increased between him and Eberhard. Both demanded Musk to expel each other from the job.
Musk consulted Strawel. He said that it would be better to expel Aberhard. Musk then decided to expel Wright from the job. Wright later started his own company RightSpeed Technology.
2. Martin Eberhard: Aberhard often did not pay attention to Musk’s advice, which increased stress. In 2007, Tesla was struggling with financial crisis. Musk put more money in the company, but was unhappy with the leadership of Aberhard. In 2007, the board decided to remove Aberhard from the post of CEO. Musk supported this.
First Michael Marx and then Ziv Dry became interim CEO. In 2008, Musk herself took over as the CEO. Eberhard gradually separated from the company.
Eberhard filed a lawsuit in 2009. He claimed that he was unfairly evacuated and was distorting the story of Musk Tesla and described himself as the founder.
Then there was an agreement between the two sides. In this agreement, it was decided that five people – Eberhard, Torpening, Right, Musk and Strawel – would call themselves co -founder of Tesla.
3. Mark Torpening: Tarpening started Tesla in association with Aberhard, but he was not very active in leadership. When Eberhard was fired and the company turned out to be upheaval, Tarpaning also decided to leave the company. He did not openly argue with Musk.
4. JB Strawel: He became the Chief Technology Officer of Tesla and remained in the company till 2019. He was one of the early founders who stayed in Tesla for a long time. Strawel himself left Tesla in 2019. Subsequently, he started his own company Redwood Material, which works as a battery recycling. He had good relations with Tesla and Musk.
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