Tesla has faced several highs and lows in its nearly 20-year history, and today the automaker hardly resembles the pre-IPO startup it once was. In a recent report, Forbes shared a long timeline of Tesla’s major innovations and accomplishments, alongside the company’s biggest headaches and the movement of its stock price to where it is now.
Below is an abridged timeline of some of Tesla’s most important innovations, achievements and challenges, as well as its evolving stock price once becoming publicly traded.
(Note: Forbes has adjusted historical prices to account for stock splits.)
2003: Tesla Founded
July 1: Tesla founded by Martin Eberhard; before Elon Musk and IPO stock price
2004: Elon Musk Invests In Tesla
February: Elon Musk invests $6.5 million into Tesla
2006: Tesla Secures $105 Million In Funding, Stock Price Pre-IPO
July 19: Tesla unveils Roadster
Tesla Roadster. Image courtesy of David Havasi, CleanTechnica
August 2: Tesla and Musk reveal “Master Plan” to move from coal to solar and to produce affordable EVs
2007: Eberhard Steps Down As CEO, Tesla Cuts Staff To Lower Burn Rate
August: Co-founder Eberhard resigns, moves to the role of President of Tech; Michael Marks becomes CEO
November: Ze’ev Drori takes over for Marks
2008: Eberhard Officially Leaves, Tesla Narrowly Avoids Bankruptcy
January: Eberhard officially leaves the company
February 1: First Roadster rolls off the production line
October: Musk takes over while Tesla is on the brink of financial collapse
November: Tesla narrowly avoids bankruptcy
2009: Eberhard Sues Tesla, Model S Announced
March 26: Tesla announces the Model S
June: Martin Eberhard files libel, slander lawsuit against Tesla claiming he was forced out of the company. Tesla gains $465 million U.S. DOE loan that would later be repaid in May 2013 with $12 million in interest.
August: Tesla’s first time achieving corporate profitability. Eberhard drops lawsuit against Musk.
September: Tesla gets $82.5 million in funding
2010: Tesla Goes Public, Partners With Major Automakers
January 29: Tesla files S-1 Form with SEC to initiate IPO
April 20: Daimler gains 10-percent stake in Tesla for around $50 million
May 21: Toyota gains Tesla stake through $50 million stock purchase
June 29: Tesla debuts IPO stock price at $17 per share (actual stock price after stock splits: $1.59).
2011: Model S Introduced
October: Tesla introduces Model S prototype with 320-mile range
Stock price: $1.58
2012: Tesla Ends Roadster, Launches Superchargers
January: Tesla ceases production of the Roadster
Stock price: $1.52
February 16: Tesla unveils Model X SUV
Stock price: $2.28
June 22: Tesla delivers first Model S
Stock price: $2.25
September: Tesla launches Supercharger stations in California
Stock price: $1.93
2013: Tesla Turns First Quarterly Profit
May 8: Tesla turns its first quarterly profit
Stock price: $3.72
2014: Tesla Launches Giga Nevada, Autopilot
February: Tesla opens “Gigafactory” Nevada
Stock price: $13.22
September: Tesla builds first cars capable of including Autopilot software
Stock price: $18.61
2015: Tesla Reveals Energy Products, First Model X Delivered, Autopilot Rolls Out To Customers
April 30: Tesla reveals Powerwall and Powerpack
Stock price: $13.99
September 29: Tesla delivers first Model X
Stock price: $16.44
October 14: Tesla launches Autopilot to customers
Stock price: $15.99
2016: Tesla Announces Model 3, SolarCity Deal Initiated
March 31: Tesla unveils mass-market Model 3
Stock price: $15.32
May 4: Musk targets half a million vehicles yearly in 2018, a million in 2020
Stock price: $14.84
June 21: Tesla initiates SolarCity deal
Stock price: $14.64
July 20: Musk reveals Master Plan, Part Deux with rooftop solar, market expansion, Autopilot advancements, and future carsharing platform (that still hasn’t been debuted)
Stock price: $15.22
August: Tesla debuts Autopilot 8.0 software
Stock price: $15.33
October: “Full Self Driving” hardware included in new builds
Stock price: $14.25
November: Tesla closes SolarCity deal sparking lawsuit; acquires Grohmann Engineering
Stock price: $12.72
2017: Tesla Changes Name, Launches Model 3
February: Tesla drops “Motors” from name
Stock price: $16.62
July 28: Tesla launches Model 3
Stock price: $22.34
November 16: Tesla announces new Roadster and Semi
Stock price: $16.62
2018: Tesla Reports Losses, Twitter & SEC Go Crazy Over Elon Musk Tweet
January 3: Tesla delays Model 3 production targets a second time
Stock price: $21.37
February 6: SpaceX sends Musk’s Tesla Roadster to Mars as test payload
Stock price: $22.26
April 3: Musk announces Tesla doesn’t require any more capital
Stock price: $17.84
May 3: Tesla shares hit a slump
Stock price: $18.96
July 1: Tesla meets goal of over 5,000 Model 3 units per week
Stock price: $22.34
August 1: Tesla reports biggest loss yet
Stock price: $20.06
August 7: Musk tweets that Tesla has “funding secured” to take Tesla private
Stock price: $25.30
September: SEC fines Tesla and Musk $20 million each, requires Musk to step down from Tesla board
Stock price: $19.26
2019: Tesla Unveils Cybertruck, Model Y, Giga Shanghai Starts Production
February 25: SEC files for contempt against Elon Musk
Stock price: $19.92
March 3: Tesla unveils Model Y
Stock price: $19.02
October 23: Tesla begins production at Giga Shanghai
Stock price: $16.98
November 21: Tesla unveils Cybertruck
Stock price: $23.66
2020: Tesla Breaks Valuation Records, Delivers First Model Y Units
January 10: Tesla breaks U.S. automaker valuation record at $86 billion
Stock price: $31.88
March: Tesla delivers the first Model Y units
Stock price: $49.57
June 10: Tesla’s market valuation grows to $180 billion
Stock price: $68.34
June 15: Tesla unveils first 400+ mile range vehicle with Model S Long Range Plus
Stock price: $66.06
July: Tesla turns a full year’s worth of profits
Stock price: $106.16
August 31: Tesla 5-for-1 stock split goes into effect
Stock price: $166.11
October: Tesla begins FSD beta testing
Stock price: $149.39
December 21: Tesla lands S&P 500 spot
Stock price: $235.22
2021: Tesla Delivers First Model S Plaid, Surpasses A Trillion-Dollar Valuation
January: Tesla announces it will accept cryptocurrency
Stock price: $243.26
June: First Model S Plaid delivered
Stock price: $207.97
August 19: Tesla hosts first AI Day
Stock price: $224.49
October 25: Tesla surpasses $1 trillion valuation
Stock price: $341.62
December 1: Tesla moves headquarters to Texas
Stock price: $365.00
2022: New Lawsuits And Gigafactories
February 11: Tesla faces racial discrimination lawsuit
Stock price: $286.67
March 22: Tesla opens Gigafactory Berlin
Stock price: $331.33
April 7: Tesla opens Gigafactory Texas
Stock price: $352.42
June: Tesla cuts 10 percent of salaried staff
Stock price: $246.79
August: California accuses Tesla of misrepresenting Autopilot and FSD
Stock price: $297.28
August 25: Tesla 3-for-1 stock split goes into effect
Stock price: $296.07
September: Tesla hosts second AI Day
Stock price: $287.81
Onlookers may be able to garner many valuable lessons from Tesla’s history, but suffice it to say that it has been a long and winding road, full of both failures and successes. With a new Gigafactory location set to be announced this year and continued expansion of the company’s innovations across worldwide markets, the next decade is likely to be a Tesla-dominated one — even more so than the last decade.
Originally published by EVANNEX. By Peter McGuthrie
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