Tesla was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon Musk joined in 2004 as an investor, then became chairman. After a lawsuit in 2009, he was legally granted the title of co-founder, which shifted public perception.

Most people now believe Musk started the company, despite clear documentation showing otherwise. This post breaks down the timeline and how the narrative changed: https://nerds.xyz/2025/07/elon-musk-did-not-found-tesla

Would love to hear how others view the difference between legal co-founder status and historical fact, especially in tech startup culture.