Martin Eberhard (born 1960)[1] is an American engineer and entrepreneur who co-founded Tesla, Inc. (then Tesla Motors) with Marc Tarpenning in 2003, where Eberhard was its original CEO serving until late 2007.[2][3][4][5] In 2015, he was inducted into the University of Illinois Engineering Hall of Fame.
Eberhard began his career as an electrical engineer at Wyse Technology,[6] where he designed the WY-30 ASCII computer terminal as his first product. Eberhard co-founded Network Computing Devices in 1987, where he served as chief engineer through its IPO in 1992.[7][8]
In 1996, Eberhard founded NuvoMedia with Marc Tarpenning,[9] where they developed the Rocket eBook, the first e-book with secure internet delivery of content. Eberhard served as chairman and CEO until NuvoMedia’s acquisition by Gemstar in 2000.[7][8]
Tesla Motors
Eberhard's interest in sports cars, concern about the dependence on oil imports, and global warming led him to think about EV cars as part of the solution. Their development of the second generation of NuvoMedia's ebook reader also had an impact due to their experience in sourcing lithium ion cell technology.[9] Eberhard 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 founder Alan Cocconi to turn the tzero into a production car.[10][11] When Cocconi declined, Eberhard co-founded (with Marc Tarpenning), and became the first CEO of Tesla Motors, an electric car company in Menlo Park, California in 2003.
Eberhard and Tarpenning had observed a common sight in the driveways of the wealthy suburb of Palo Alto, California: a conspicuously efficient Prius parked next to a high-end sportscar or luxury car such as a Porsche, a BMW or a Lexus. [12] They saw that affluent buyers of high-end cars were displaying their green virtue (now called conspicuous conservation) with a Prius, but still wanting the driving experience and prestige of a high-end car. Eberhard and Tarpenning realized that these affluent, environmentally motivated buyers were a perfect market for a performance oriented electric car, and that such a car would change the market perception of what an electric car could be.
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).[14] The Tesla Roadster is a battery electric sportscar with 244 miles (393 km) (EPA) range.
On November 30, 2007, Tesla released a press release titled "Martin Eberhard, Co-founder of Tesla Motors, to Transition to Advisory Board."[15]Fortune magazine reported in December 2007 that chairman Elon Musk 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.[16] 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."[17]
Eberhard noted that while he had signed a non-disclosure agreement with Tesla, "so I must, by contract, be a bit careful about how I word things", he was not happy with the transition.[17] In his since-deleted Tesla Founders Blog, Eberhard criticized Tesla layoffs, which he labeled a "stealth bloodbath".[18]
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.[19] 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.[20] In September 2009, Tesla confirmed the settlement, but did not provide further details.[21]
Eberhard confirmed in an interview with CNBC in October 2019 that he is still a shareholder of Tesla, and is still rooting for their success.[22]
2010–2015
In 2010, Eberhard confirmed to Autoblog Green that he was doing work with Volkswagen, but no further details were provided.[23]
inEVit / Seres
In September 2016, Eberhard founded stealth-mode startup inEVit in a bid to supply major OEMs with electric drivetrains and power storage solutions.[24][25]
SF Motors (now Seres) acquired inEVit in October 2017.[26] Eberhard served as chief innovation officer until leaving in July 2018.[27]
Tiveni
In 2019 Eberhard founded Tiveni, which seeks to make "intelligent EV battery systems."[28]
^Kiermasch, Cornelius M. P. (2010). Tesla Motors – Eine Innovation von Martin Eberhard und Marc Tarpenning zum Durchbruch des Elektroautos? (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: GRIN Verlag. p. 5. ISBN978-3-640-76942-1.
^ abFletcher, Seth (2011). Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars, and the New Lithium Economy. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 60–61. ISBN978-0-8090-3053-8.
^Morris, Charles (April 7, 2014). "Tom Gage on ZEV mandates, Tesla's early days, BMW's EV commitment and V2G tech". Charged Electric Vehicles Magazine. Gage: I had a neighbor named Steve Casner, who had a Toyota RAV4 electric, and I always had an EV in my front yard, so we got to talking. He was working at a company with Martin Eberhard, so he told Martin about me. Martin called me, and he had all these schemes, and I was sort of talking through what the realities were. We were just converting the tzero over to lithium-ion batteries. He got involved with that. He actually put some investor money – a small amount – into AC Propulsion, and we finished the conversion of the tzero to lithium-ion batteries.
^Shnayerson, Michael (May 14, 2007). "Quiet Thunder". CondéNet. Musk isn't the one who had the Eureka! moment. That was […] Martin Eberhard. Like anyone else in 2003, the then 43-year-old Eberhard knew that billion-dollar markets had grown almost overnight for laptop computers and cell phones. Rivals were spending huge sums on R&D to pack ever more energy into the lithium-ion batteries that powered those devices. One day Eberhard had a simple thought: Why not put lithium-ion cells into cars? […] Eberhard commissioned a shy, gifted, sometimes difficult California pioneer of electric vehicles named Alan Cocconi to put a pack of lithium-ion batteries into Cocconi's latest electric-vehicle kit car, the T Zero.
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