Tesla Motors founded in San Carlos, California by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning to build an electric sports car using lithium-ion cells; Elon Musk leads $7.5M Series A in Feb 2004 and joins as chairman.

Original Roadster begins customer deliveries — the first highway-legal serial-production EV using lithium-ion cells, with 245-mile range and 3.7s 0-60. About 2,450 units sold through 2012; proves modern li-ion EVs are viable.

IPO on NASDAQ at $17/share raising $226M — the first U.S. automaker IPO since Ford in 1956. Funds NUMMI Fremont plant acquisition from Toyota for $42M, giving Tesla a 5.5M sq ft factory and seeding the Toyota partnership.

Model S enters production at Fremont; first deliveries on June 22 mark Tesla's transition from niche to mainstream. The 85 kWh sedan with 265-mile EPA range wins Motor Trend Car of the Year 2013 and rewires industry expectations for EV range.

Tesla open-sources its EV patents in 'All Our Patent Are Belong To You' blog post, framing the move as growing the EV market rather than blocking competitors. Musk later credits this with accelerating Chinese EV adoption.

Model X SUV deliveries begin with falcon-wing doors after multiple delays — Tesla's first SUV and a key proof point for Tesla's ability to engineer complex new vehicle architectures, though early units suffer quality issues.

Tesla acquires SolarCity for $2.6B in stock — Musk-led vertical integration of solar + storage + EV; the deal is later upheld in 2022 Delaware court ruling but generates years of governance scrutiny.

Model 3 begins production at Fremont as Tesla's mass-market $35K sedan. 'Production hell' delays stretch the standard-range ramp into 2019, but the Model 3 becomes the world's best-selling EV and crosses 1M cumulative deliveries by Jun 2021.

Reaches Model 3 production rate of 5,000/week after 'production hell' — a critical solvency milestone. Tesla pitches a tent line at Fremont (GA4) to hit the rate, the unconventional move that defines Musk's manufacturing approach.

Gigafactory Shanghai delivers first Model 3s less than a year after groundbreaking — Tesla's first plant outside the U.S. and the first wholly foreign-owned automaker plant in China, achieved through unprecedented government support.

Model Y begins production at Fremont; deliveries start in March. The crossover variant of Model 3 becomes Tesla's volume backbone and goes on to be the world's best-selling vehicle (any powertrain) in 2023.

Tesla market cap surpasses Toyota's at ~$210B, making Tesla the world's most valuable automaker just 10 years after IPO and reframing how investors value EV-only OEMs versus legacy ICE makers.

Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg opens — Tesla's first European plant — with Musk personally handing over the first Model Ys at a launch event. Initial capacity 250K vehicles/year, scaling toward 500K to anchor Tesla's European footprint.

Gigafactory Texas opens in Austin and becomes Tesla's HQ, housing Cybertruck production and 4680-cell production. The 10M sq ft footprint is among the largest auto factories in the U.S.

First Cybertruck customer deliveries on Nov 30 at Giga Texas — four years after the 2019 reveal. Steel exoskeleton design and 48V architecture make it Tesla's most engineering-radical vehicle, but slow ramp and recalls dog the launch.

Tesla 4680 cell production crosses 100M cells with 4680 cost-per-kWh becoming Tesla's lowest in-house chemistry by Q4 — a vindication of the in-house cell strategy unveiled at 2020 Battery Day after years of yield struggles.

Cybercab two-seat robotaxi unveiled at 'We, Robot' event in Burbank — no steering wheel or pedals, target sub-$30K, planned production 2026. Tesla's biggest bet on autonomy revenue replacing per-vehicle revenue.

Refreshed Model Y 'Juniper' begins production in Shanghai with deliveries starting Feb in China; the mid-cycle refresh brings front and rear styling updates, improved range, and quieter cabin to address growing Chinese competition.