The Rise of Autonomous Vehicles

Tesla, Inc. (/ˈtɛslə/ TESS-lə or /ˈtɛzlə/ TEZ-lə[a]) is an American multinational automotive and clean energy company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles (electric cars and trucks), battery energy storage from home to grid-scale, solar panels and solar roof tiles, and related products and services. Tesla is one of the world's most valuable companies and, as of 2023, is the world's most valuable automaker. In 2022, the company had the most worldwide sales of battery electric vehicles, capturing 18% of the market. Through its subsidiary Tesla Energy, the company develops and is a major installer of photovoltaic systems in the United States. Tesla Energy is also one of the largest global suppliers of battery energy storage systems, with 6.5 gigawatt-hours (GWh) installed in 2022.

Tesla was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning as Tesla Motors. The company's name is a tribute to inventor and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. In February 2004, via a $6.5 million investment, Elon Musk became the largest shareholder of the company. He has served as CEO since 2008. According to Musk, the purpose of Tesla is to help expedite the move to sustainable transport and energy, obtained through electric vehicles and solar power. Tesla began production of its first car model, the Roadster sports car, in 2008. This was 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, and the Tesla Semi truck in 2022. The company plans production of the Cybertruck light-duty pickup truck in 2023.[8] The Model 3 is the all-time bestselling plug-in electric car worldwide, and in June 2021 became the first electric car to sell 1 million units globally.[9] Tesla's 2022 full year deliveries were around 1.31 million vehicles, a 40% increase over the previous year,[10][11] and cumulative sales totaled 3 million cars as of August 2022.[12] In October 2021, Tesla's market capitalization reached $1 trillion, the sixth company to do so in U.S. history.

Tesla has been the subject of several lawsuits, government scrutiny, journalistic criticism, and public controversies arising from statements and acts of CEO Elon Musk and from allegations of whistleblower retaliation, worker rights violations, and defects with their products.