Tesla's electric charge towards half a billion mark: A complete timeline
Market value of Tesla on Tuesday (US time) breached $500 billion in what is a stunning continuation of the EV-maker's rise. While Tesla has been the world's most valuable automaker for quite some time now - a massive achievement considering it has left traditional car giants like Toyota and Volkswagen eating dust, its charge to become the seventh most valuable company on Wall Street is both astounding and shows no signs of pausing. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk is powering his way to the bank too and recently surpassed Bill Gates to be the world's second richest person with only Amazon's Jeff Bezos ahead of him now.
The rise and rise of Tesla and Elon Musk is what dreams are made of. While critics, skeptics and doubters have, in the past, cast aspersions on how the EV maker functions, its style of doing business and its product and expansion plans, their numbers are increasingly becoming fewer. Jumping ship, many are now predicting Tesla to continue its march, even as the California-based company looks at ramping up production still further and possibly entering new markets including India.
Here's a timeline to chart the meteoric rise of Tesla over a little more than a decade since Musk took over as the CEO.
2003: Contrary to what some assume, Tesla was not founded by Elon Musk. It was established by Martin Eberhand and Marc Tarpenning in July of 2003.
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2008: Musk takes over as CEO of Tesla. Roadster EV was showcased for the first time this year as well in what was a statement of intent from the company about what it is capable of. Roadster was the first ever Tesla product to hit assembly lines.
2010: Tesla took the big and bold step of going public in June. The company also purchased land in Fremont in California which is now home to its main assembly line.
2012: Tesla Model S deliveries begin. Many feel it is the Model S EV that truly established Tesla as a formidable player in the EV space.
2013: Silencing doubters, Tesla reported its first quarterly profit in the month of May.
2015: Tesla rolls out Model X, its first electric SUV.
2017: Tesla starts rolling out Model 3 units. In many ways, it is the comparatively affordable Model 3 that acts as a catalyst to propel Tesla forward. Here is an EV maker that previously has rather expensive and aspirational cars but now gave an option to more and more people to come aboard to experience what it had to offer.
2019: Tesla establishes its fist overseas assembly plant - in China's Shanghai. The facility becomes home to Model 3 for the massive local market and rockets Tesla's fortunes.
2019: Elon Musk unveils Cybertruck, an EV pick-up with the claimed performance capabilities of a sportscar. The EV's unconventional design receives mixed responses but it still manages to generate a whole lot of buzz.
2020: Tesla becomes the most valuable automaker in the US ever.
2020: Tesla becomes the world's most valuable automaker.
Musk has a maverick way of doing business, something that has often been called out for in the past. Tesla doesn't even indulge in marketing and yet its brand image and its product are widely recognized around the world - even in countries where it isn't present yet. As such, here is an EV maker that has changed the rules of how the game of making cars is played, compelling rivals to not just get up and take note but scuttle to emerge out of their own respective slumbers.
