autoevolution's Tesla Month

There is no other carmaker in history that has managed to go from a start-up phase to a full-blown automotive industry disruptor in such a short amount of time.

With a history that can be traced to the early 2000s, when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) ended its Zero Emission Vehicles initiative after automakers like GM and company argued that demand for electric vehicles was too low, Tesla was initially called Tesla Motors, and it was founded by a couple of engineers called Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.

Right from the beginning, the start-up's goal was to develop a lineup of electric cars that can be desirable instead of odd ducks in the automotive landscape, like its forefathers.

A few years later, following several rounds of investment and the arrival of the man who is now more synonymous with the word ‘Tesla’ than Nikola himself, the EV carmaker has definitely made it past its start-up phase.

Now called Tesla, Inc, the carmaker has no less than four different models in its lineup, with a pickup truck, a semi truck, a hypercar and even a compact EV model to round up the stable in the upcoming years.

With a multitude of production and assembly lines built or about to be built around the world, you’d think that Tesla is arguably on its way to be the true industry disruptor it first set out to be.

That remains to be seen, as the road ahead is treacherous, but what we do know for sure is that Tesla has made a lot of waves, and the ripple effect is just starting to be felt by more and more traditional carmakers, whether you like it or not.

This is why we decided to dedicate the entire month of October this year to the most flamboyant carmaker in recent decades, with its ups and downs and everything in between. Stay tuned on autoevolution for the coolest and most important stories about the Palo Alto EV brand.

Editor's note: This special feature by autoevolution was not sponsored or supported by a third-party.