Martin Eberhard (born ) is an American inventor, engineer and entrepreneur who co-founded
Tesla, Inc. (then Tesla Motors) with
Marc Tarpenning
Marc Tarpenning (born June 1, 1964) is an American engineer and technology entrepreneur who is the co-founder of Tesla Inc. with Martin Eberhard in 2003. Tarpenning served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Vice President of Engineering of ...
in 2003. Eberhard served as Tesla's original chairman, and its CEO until late 2007. In 2015, he was inducted into the University of Illinois Engineering Hall of Fame.
Early life and education
Eberhard grew up in
Kensington, California, a community in the
Berkeley Hills
The Berkeley Hills are a range of the Pacific Coast Ranges that overlook the northeast side of the valley that encompasses San Francisco Bay. They were previously called the "Contra Costa Range/Hills" (from the original Spanish ''Sierra de la ...
. He received a B.S. in computer engineering from the
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universi ...
in 1982 and an M.S. in electrical engineering from the same school in 1984.
Career
Early career
Eberhard began his career as an electrical engineer at
Wyse Technology
WYSE (970 AM) is a radio station located in Canton, North Carolina, that simulcasts WISE's sports format from Asheville, North Carolina. Owned by the Asheville Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications, the station is licensed by the Fede ...
, where he designed the WY-30
ASCII
ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because o ...
computer terminal as his first product. Eberhard co-founded
Network Computing Devices
Network Computing Devices (NCD) was a company founded in 1987 to produce a new class of products now known as a thin client. It was founded in Mountain View, CA, and when it closed it was headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon.
The corporate founde ...
in 1987, where he served as chief engineer through its IPO on 1992.
In 1996, Eberhard founded
NuvoMedia with Marc Tarpenning, where they developed the
Rocket eBook, the first
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
with secure internet delivery of content. Eberhard served as chairman and CEO until NuvoMedia’s acquisition by Gemstar in 2000.
Tesla Motors
Eberhard's interest in sports cars, concern about the dependence on oil imports, and
global warming
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
led him to think about EV cars as part of the solution. He found out about and attempted to purchase a prototype EV sports car called the
AC Propulsion tzero. He provided some financial and technical support in the conversion of the tzero to lithium-ion batteries. Eberhard then tried to convince
AC Propulsion
AC Propulsion is a San Dimas, California, USA company founded in 1992 by Alan Cocconi, Wally Rippel, and Paul Carosa, that specializes in alternating current-based drivetrain systems for electric vehicles. It offers AC-induction traction motors ...
founder
Alan Cocconi
AC Propulsion is a San Dimas, California, USA company founded in 1992 by Alan Cocconi, Wally Rippel, and Paul Carosa, that specializes in alternating current-based drivetrain systems for electric vehicles. It offers AC-induction traction motors ...
to turn the tzero into a production car.
When Cocconi declined, Eberhard co-founded (with
Marc Tarpenning
Marc Tarpenning (born June 1, 1964) is an American engineer and technology entrepreneur who is the co-founder of Tesla Inc. with Martin Eberhard in 2003. Tarpenning served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Vice President of Engineering of ...
), and became the first CEO of, Tesla Motors, an electric car company in
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the sou ...
in 2003.
Eberhard’s guiding principles were:
1) An electric car should not be a compromise. With the right technology choices, it is possible to build electric cars that are actually better cars than their competition.
2) Battery technology is key to a successful electric car. Lithium ion batteries are not only suitable of automotive use; they are game-changing, making decent driving range a reality.
3) If designed right, electric cars can appeal to even the most serious car enthusiast, as electric drive is capable of seriously outperforming internal combustion engines.
Eberhard drives the second of Tesla Motors Founder's Series Roadsters cars, which is the first series of the
Tesla Roadster (2008)
The Tesla Roadster is a battery electric vehicle (BEV) sports car, based on the Lotus Elise chassis, that was produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors (now Tesla, Inc.) in California from 2008 to 2012. The Roadster was the first highway ...
. The Tesla Roadster is a
battery electric sportscar with (EPA) range.
On November 30, 2007, Tesla released a press release titled "Martin Eberhard, Co-founder of Tesla Motors, to Transition to Advisory Board."
Fortune magazine reported in December 2007 that chairman
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The B ...
had asked Eberhard to leave. Musk stated in an interview that it was not due to ideological differences, but that he did not see a role for Eberhard. On January 7, 2008, the New York Times reported that Tesla Motors issued a statement explaining that the co-founder and former chief executive, Martin Eberhard, "has transitioned from the board of directors and executive management of the company to the advisory board."
Eberhard noted that while he had signed a
non-disclosure agreement
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is a legal contract or part of a contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material, knowledge, or information that the parties wish to share with one another for certain purposes, but wish ...
with Tesla, "so I must, by contract, be a bit careful about how I word things", he was not happy with the transition.
In his since-deleted Tesla Founders Blog, Eberhard criticized Tesla layoffs, which he labeled a "stealth bloodbath".
In June 2009, Eberhard brought a lawsuit against Elon Musk for libel, slander, and breach of contract, alleging that Musk pushed him out of the company, publicly disparaged him, and compromised Tesla's financial health. In August 2009, Eberhard dropped the lawsuit for undisclosed reasons. A Tesla spokesperson declined to comment on the change, raising the likelihood of a settlement. In September 2009, Tesla confirmed the settlement, but did not provide further details.
Eberhard confirmed in an interview with
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
in October 2019 that he is still a shareholder of Tesla, and is still rooting for their success.
2010–2015
In 2010, Eberhard confirmed to Autoblog Green that he was doing work with Volkswagen, but no further details were provided.
inEVit / Seres
In September 2016, Eberhard founded stealth-mode startup inEVit in a bid to supply major
OEM
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
s with electric drivetrains and power storage solutions.
SF Motors (now
Seres) acquired inEVit in October 2017. Eberhard served as chief innovation officer until leaving in July 2018.
Tiveni
In 2019 Eberhard founded Tiveni, which seeks to make "intelligent EV battery systems."
Personal life
He is married to Carolyn Eberhard.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eberhard, Martin
1960 births
American chief executives in the automobile industry
Living people
Tesla, Inc. people
Grainger College of Engineering alumni
Businesspeople from Berkeley, California
People from Kensington, California
American founders of automobile manufacturers
Automotive businesspeople
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign