People just discovering Elon Musk was not the original founder of Tesla but won title after 'bitter' legal battle
Elon Musk and Tesla go hand in hand, as the electric car company played a significant factor in his rise to fame and fortune - yet many are discovering that he didn't actually start the company, but instead won the title of 'founder' in a bitter legal battle.
It is undeniable that Elon Musk has become one of the most powerful people in the world. Not only is he the richest individual on the planet with a net worth nearly double that of the next highest, he also holds significant political power after becoming head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
While his fortunes began early on in life after taking major risks in his twenties that catapulted him into a millionaire, much of his success is owed to the explosion of Tesla as a company, and many consider his name synonymous with electric vehicles.
However, something you - and many others - might not know is that Musk isn't officially the founder of Tesla, and instead fought his way through a 'bitter' legal battle in order to claim the title.
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Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning are the actual founders of Tesla Motors, starting the company in July 2003. As reported by CNBC, the pair met Musk at a gathering for Mars Society, where all three shared an enthusiasm for space exploration well before Musk began SpaceX.
Musk's first involvement in the company was just under a year later, as he invested around $6,500,000 in the first funding round, which he'd earned from the sale of PayPal. He then became the chairman of the board and the largest shareholder.
Three years later in August 2007 the board, led by Musk, asked Eberhard to step down as CEO. Following this were another two short CEO stints before Musk finally took the title in October 2008.
Fractures continued to show into 2009 though, as Musk was sued by Eberhard for libel and slander as the former had began to call himself Tesla's founder, despite clearly not being so.
However, Musk and two other executives settled in the case on the condition that they could continue calling themselves founder, as per NBC Bay Area, and that's where many source their confusion.
There are many posts across social media expressing their shock (and often disappointment) when they realize that Musk didn't actually found Tesla, and the widespread response isn't exactly in his favor.
"The Elon Musk brand has largely been to buy something or pay for something and take credit for it," outlines one user, with another adding that "hopefully you've learned a valuable lesson. Don't trust Elon's PR or stans."
Some have pointed out that Tesla was a struggling company and without Musk's investment they would have found it difficult to continue, but many find his seeming insistence on rewriting history a bit off-putting.
"Elon Musk is a master of retconning real-life history," argues one comment. "It's becoming increasingly difficult, if not virtually impossible, to find accurate information about the companies he actually started."
Some argue that you can even look towards his purchase of Twitter as a sign of this, as the branding overhaul - including the name shift to 'X' - has what many call the hallmarks of Musk's hostile rewriting.