Tesla, Inc. ( TESS-lə or TEZ-lə) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, it designs, manufactures and sells battery electric vehicles (BEVs), stationary battery energy storage devices from home to grid-scale, solar panels and solar shingles, and related products and services.
Tesla was founded in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning as Tesla Motors. Its name is a tribute to inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. In February 2004, Elon Musk joined as Tesla's largest shareholder; in 2008, he was named chief executive officer. In 2008, the company began production of its first car model, the Roadster sports car, followed by the Model S sedan in 2012, the Model X SUV in 2015, the Model 3 sedan in 2017, the Model Y crossover in 2020, the Tesla Semi truck in 2022 and the Cybertruck pickup truck in 2023. In June 2021, the Model 3 became the first electric car to sell 1 million units globally. In 2023, the Model Y was the best-selling vehicle, of any kind, globally. In January 2024, the Model Y became the best-selling BEV in history.
Tesla is one of the world's most valuable companies in terms of market capitalization. Starting in July 2020, it has been the world's most valuable automaker. In October 2021, Tesla temporarily became a trillion-dollar company, the seventh U.S. company to do so, and did so again in November 2024. In 2023, the company led the battery electric vehicle market, with 19.9% share. Also in 2023, the company was ranked 69th in the Forbes Global 2000.
Tesla has been the subject of lawsuits, government scrutiny, and journalistic criticism, stemming from allegations of multiple cases of whistleblower retaliation, worker rights violations such as sexual harassment and anti-union activities, safety defects leading to dozens of recalls, the lack of a public relations department, and controversial statements from Musk including overpromising on the company's driving assist technology and product release timelines.