Tesla, Inc. (formerly Tesla Motors, Inc.) is an American automotive and energy company based in Palo Alto, California. The company specializes in electric car manufacturing and, through its SolarCity subsidiary, in solar panel manufacturing. Tesla was founded in July 2003, by businessmen Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, under the name Tesla Motors. The company's name was derived from physicist Nikola Tesla. In early Series A funding, Tesla Motors was joined by Elon Musk, J. B. Straubel and Ian Wright, all of whom are retrospectively considered co-founders of the company. Musk, who serves as chairman and chief executive officer, said that he envisioned Tesla Motors as technology company and independent automaker, aimed at eventually offering electric cars at prices affordable to the average consumer. Tesla Motors shortened their name to Tesla in February 2017.
Source: Wikipedia