Tesla

Electric vehicle, energy storage and solar company.

Electric vehiclesEnergy storageAutonomous drivingRoboticsPublic company

IPO^{Source [1]}Last verified Oct 2, 2026

About Tesla

Tesla designs, develops, manufactures, sells and leases fully electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems. Its 2025 annual report describes the company as focused on bringing artificial intelligence into the real world through products such as Full Self-Driving (Supervised), its Robotaxi service and the Optimus robot program.^{Source [1]}

The company reports two segments: automotive, which includes vehicle sales and leasing, regulatory credits, used cars, service, paid Supercharging and insurance; and energy generation and storage, which covers Powerwall, Megapack and solar products. It generally sells directly to customers rather than through dealers.^{Source [1]}

Tesla was incorporated in Delaware in July 2003 and has five recognized co-founders under a 2009 lawsuit settlement: Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, Ian Wright, JB Straubel and Elon Musk. Musk joined the board in April 2004, became CEO in October 2008 and took the company public in 2010.^{Source [1]}^{Source [4]}^{Source [2]}

Tesla reported total revenues of $94.83 billion for 2025, down $2.86 billion from 2024, and had 134,785 employees worldwide at the end of 2025. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and its shares trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.^{Source [1]}

What happened

Incorporated in Delaware on July 1, 2003, went public in 2010, acquired SolarCity in November 2016 and converted to a Texas corporation on June 13, 2024. It is a publicly traded company, and Elon Musk has been its CEO since October 2008.^{Source [1]}^{Source [3]}^{Source [5]}^{Source [4]}

Timeline

2025-09Board granted Musk a performance-based restricted stock award, the 2025 CEO Performance Award.^{Source [4]}
2025-06Launched its Robotaxi autonomous ride-hailing service, using Model Y vehicles.^{Source [1]}
2024-06-13Converted from a Delaware corporation to a Texas corporation.^{Source [1]}
2022Began early production and deliveries of the Tesla Semi.^{Source [1]}
2018-11Named Robyn Denholm chair of the board.^{Source [6]}^{Source [4]}
2018-09Settled SEC charges; Musk agreed to step down as chairman, and Tesla paid a separate penalty.^{Source [7]}
2016-11Completed its acquisition of SolarCity.^{Source [5]}
2010Completed its initial public offering.^{Source [4]}
2009-09A lawsuit settlement allowed five people, including Eberhard and Musk, to call themselves co-founders.^{Source [2]}
2008-10Elon Musk became chief executive officer.^{Source [4]}
2004-04Elon Musk joined the board of directors.^{Source [4]}
2003-07-01Incorporated in Delaware.^{Source [1]}

Products and brands

Model 3 and Model Y: Mid-size sedan and compact SUV built on a shared platform.^{Source [1]}
Model S and Model X: Full-size sedan and mid-size SUV, the company's highest-performance models.^{Source [1]}
Cybertruck: Full-size electric pickup truck with a stainless steel exterior.^{Source [1]}
Tesla Semi: Commercial electric truck, in early production and deliveries since 2022.^{Source [1]}
Full Self-Driving (Supervised) and Robotaxi: Driver-assistance software and an autonomous ride-hailing service launched in June 2025.^{Source [1]}
Optimus: AI robot program the company is working to develop and commercialize.^{Source [1]}
Powerwall and Megapack: Lithium-ion battery storage for homes and for utility-scale and commercial sites.^{Source [1]}
Supercharger network: Fast-charging network for Tesla and, under the NACS standard, other automakers' vehicles.^{Source [1]}

How it makes money: Revenue comes mostly from selling and leasing vehicles directly to customers, plus regulatory credits, services such as paid Supercharging, insurance and FSD subscriptions, and sales of energy storage and solar products. In 2025 the automotive and services segment produced $82.06 billion and energy generation and storage $12.77 billion.^{Source [1]}

Leadership

Elon Musk	Technoking and Chief Executive Officer^{Source [4]}	Since 2008
Vaibhav Taneja	Chief Financial Officer^{Source [4]}	Since 2023
Tom Zhu	Senior Vice President, APAC and Global Vehicle Manufacturing^{Source [4]}	Since 2023
Robyn Denholm	Chair of the Board^{Source [4]}^{Source [6]}	Since 2018

Funding and financials

Revenue: $94.83 billion (fiscal 2025)^{Source [1]}
Net income attributable to common stockholders: $3.79 billion (fiscal 2025)^{Source [1]}

Notable acquisitions

SolarCity^{Source [5]}

2016

People on Founded, and where they went next

1 person on record, connected to 10 other companies.

Person	Here	Also built
Elon Musk	Co-founder, Chairman, CEO, Technoking2004 to now	xAI2023 to 2026AcquiredX Corp.2022 to 2025AcquiredThe Boring Company2017ActiveNeuralink2016ActiveOpenAI2015 to 2018ActiveSolarCity2006 to 2016AcquiredSpaceX2002 to nowIPOPayPal2000IPOX.com1999MergedZip21995 to 1999Acquired

Sources

Tesla, Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for fiscal year 2025, SEC EDGAR, 2026-01-29. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Tesla Had 5 Founders. Why Did Only Two Get Really Rich? (Alan Ohnsman, Forbes), Forbes Africa, 2021-11-11. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Tesla, Inc. 2025 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A), SEC EDGAR, 2025-09-17. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Tesla, Inc. Form 10-K/A (Part III: directors and executive officers), SEC EDGAR, 2026-04-30. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
SolarCity Corporation Form 8-K: completion of merger with Tesla, SEC EDGAR, 2016-11-21. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Announcing Robyn Denholm as Tesla's New Board Chair (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1), SEC EDGAR (Tesla, Inc.), 2018-11-08. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Elon Musk Settles SEC Fraud Charges; Tesla Charged With and Resolves Securities Law Charge, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2018-09-29. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

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