Tesla Timeline
Tesla from its 2003 founding by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning through the Roadster, Models S, 3 and Y, the Gigafactories and Autopilot, to robotaxis, the Cybercab and Optimus production in October 2026.
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Key events
AC Propulsion unveils the tzero electric sports car prototype, inspiration for the Roadster
Tesla Motors incorporated by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, named after Nikola Tesla
Elon Musk leads $7.5M Series A and becomes chairman
JB Straubel joins as chief technical officer
Agreement with Lotus to supply Elise-based gliders for the Roadster
Roadster prototype unveiled at Santa Monica Airport
Musk publishes "The Secret Tesla Motors Master Plan"
Eberhard pushed out as CEO; Michael Marks becomes interim CEO
First customer Roadster delivered
Elon Musk becomes CEO amid the financial crisis
Last-minute $40M funding round closes, saving Tesla from bankruptcy
Model S prototype unveiled in Hawthorne, California
Daimler buys a ~10% stake in Tesla for $50M
U.S. Department of Energy approves $465M loan
Toyota partnership and $50M investment; deal to buy the NUMMI plant in Fremont
IPO on Nasdaq at $17 a share (TSLA), raising $226M
Model S deliveries begin
Supercharger network unveiled with six California stations
Tesla reports its first quarterly profit (Q1 2013)
DOE loan repaid in full, nine years early
Musk opens Tesla's patents: "All Our Patent Are Belong To You"
Dual-motor Model S "D" and Autopilot hardware unveiled
Tesla Energy launched with Powerwall and Powerpack batteries
Model X deliveries begin
Autopilot enabled by over-the-air software update (v7.0)
Model 3 unveiled; about 325,000 reservations within a week
First fatal crash with Autopilot engaged, in Williston, Florida
Musk publishes "Master Plan, Part Deux"
Gigafactory Nevada grand opening
All new Teslas ship with "full self-driving" hardware (HW2)
Acquisition of SolarCity completed (~$2.6B)
Company renamed from Tesla Motors to Tesla, Inc.
First 30 Model 3s handed over to customers
Tesla Semi and second-generation Roadster unveiled
Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, then the world's largest lithium-ion battery, goes live
Shareholders approve Musk's 2018 performance-based pay package
Model 3 "production hell": tent assembly line built at Fremont, 5,000/week reached at end of June
Musk tweets "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420
SEC settlement: Musk and Tesla each fined $20M, Musk steps down as chairman
Groundbreaking for Gigafactory Shanghai, Tesla's first factory outside the U.S.
Model Y unveiled
Autonomy Day: in-house Full Self-Driving computer (HW3) revealed, robotaxi plans outlined
Cybertruck unveiled; "armor glass" windows crack on stage
First Shanghai-built Model 3s delivered to customers
Model Y deliveries begin
Passes Toyota to become the world's most valuable automaker
Battery Day: 4680 tabless cell and structural battery pack unveiled
Full Self-Driving Beta released to a small group of customers
Tesla joins the S&P 500
AI Day: Dojo supercomputer and Tesla Bot (Optimus) humanoid robot announced
Market value passes $1 trillion after Hertz orders 100,000 cars
Headquarters officially moves from Palo Alto to Austin, Texas
Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg opens with first Model Y deliveries
Gigafactory Texas opens with the "Cyber Rodeo" party
AI Day 2022: first walking Optimus prototype shown
First Tesla Semi trucks delivered to PepsiCo
Model Y becomes the world's best-selling car of 2023
Investor Day: Master Plan Part 3 and Gigafactory Mexico announced
Ford agrees to adopt Tesla's NACS plug, followed by GM and most other automakers
Cybertruck deliveries begin at Gigafactory Texas
Optimus Gen 2 unveiled: 10 kg lighter, 30% faster walking, hands with tactile sensors
Tesla released video of its second-generation humanoid, with Tesla-designed actuators and sensors and fingertip touch sensing able to handle an egg without breaking it.
Delaware court voids Musk's 2018 pay package
Layoffs of more than 10% of the global workforce announced
Shareholders re-ratify Musk's pay package and approve reincorporation in Texas
"We, Robot" event unveils the Cybercab and Robovan
Tesla reports its first annual delivery decline (1.79 million in 2024)
"Tesla Takedown" protests spread as Musk leads DOGE; sales slump in Europe
Robotaxi service launches in Austin, Texas
Shareholders approve a pay package for Musk worth up to $1 trillion
2025 deliveries fall 8.6% to 1,636,129, the sharpest annual decline in company history
Tesla announces end of Model S and Model X production, converting Fremont lines to Optimus
Tesla opens its first lithium refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas
NHTSA escalates its FSD probe to an engineering analysis covering about 3.2 million vehicles
Cybercab production begins at Gigafactory Texas; Robotaxi live in seven U.S. metros
New Roadster unveiled in Texas; driverless "flying" demo lifts off on cold-gas thrusters
Early Optimus Gen 3 production begins on a high-volume line at Fremont
Musk announced it on the Q3 2026 earnings call. The line is planned for 1 million robots a year, a 10-million-a-year line is planned for Giga Texas, and deliveries to outside companies are targeted for the end of 2027. Some earlier reports put the start of production in mid-2026.
48 more in the interactive timeline.
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