“Who founded Tesla Inc?” Believe it or not, it isn’t who you think. Here’s the backstory of one of the most valuable automakers in the world and Marc Tarpenning net worth.
Elon Musk instantly comes to mind upon mentioning the foremost company that produces luxury electric cars. The global reach of the motor company has written down the world’s richest billionaire as its prime mover, but believe it or not, two other names are its founder.
Marc Tarpenning net worth is $1.5 billion as of the current year. He is an American engineer and businessman known for developing the Rocket e-book, founding NuVoMedia and Tesla Inc.
He left Tesla in 2008, around the same time the first CEO resigned. He was a shareholder of the company, which he long since sold shortly after leaving. His claims probably summed up to a pretty penny but still a far cry from Elon Musk net worth of $230.1 billion to date,
And it’s rather dramatic if you think how an enormous percentage of Musk’s wealth comes from the company Tarpenning and his co-founder, Martin Eberhard, started in 2003. Elon Musk’s current control over Tesla made him the richest man in the world.
So how did Elon Musk become CEO and top shareholder of Tesla? What happened to the company’s original creators, and why did they leave?
But before you continue reading, here’s another teaser. Tarpenning said that he sold all his claims years ago, presumably, shortly after resigning in 2008. But Marc Tarpenning net worth is valued at over a billion dollars. He is no tycoon, so how did he become such a wealthy person?
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Marc Tarpenning Short Bio
Marc Tarpenning was born on June 1st, 1964, in Sacramento, California. He took up computer science in 1985 and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. Shortly after finishing his degree, he began his career with a global company called Textron in Saudi Arabia.
Textron is a $12 billion multi-company involved in global network businesses involved in power industries and the production of advanced aviation, defense, and industrial products. Tarpenning worked for the company as an engineer for a few good years.
Aside from Textron, Marc was also involved in the software and firmware development for other global giants in the tech industry, such as Seagate Technology and Bechtel Corporation.
Marc Tarpenning’s Career
Meeting Martin Eberhard
While still stationed in Saudi and working for Textron, Marc met up with one of his good friends, Greg Renda. During one of the rare occasions, he could fly home and visit his family in California. At the time, Renda was an expert employed at Wyse Technology, a software and tech services company controlled by Dell.
Greg invited Marc to his workplace to ask for his advice on the terminals that Wyse was then developing. And in that fateful visit, Marc would meet Martin Eberhard.
Martin Eberhard was in command of the project that Renda wanted to consult Tarpenning with. Perhaps it’s true what they say about birds of the same feathers because the two immediately clicked. They formed a partnership cemented by a kind of friendship that is still just as strong today.
The early days of their friendship were spent in long conversations about economics, nature, the government, and everything else that a pair of techy nerds enjoy discussing. And at the time when they came to the point of wanting to do business together, the duo their thoughts leaned toward the rising hype of mobile devices, particularly towards battery efficiency.
NuvoMedia
In 1997, Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard founded NuvoMedia Inc. The company’s goal was to develop electronic books that can provide a platform for publishers, retailers, and end-users to publish, distribute, purchase and read electronic content securely on the internet.
Through NuvoMedia, the hand-held e-reader, Rocket e-book was born in 1998. The surface of the device had a 5 by 7.5 inch LCD screen, functioning smoothly with a 4 MB flash memory and 2 MB of DRAM. It may not sound much today, but it was a pretty popular device back then.
Rocket e-books can run for 17 to 33 hours per charge and house up to ten books or 4,000 pages of graphics and text–the equivalent of 10 novels.
For three years, Eberhard served as CEO, and Tarpenning led development. Then, in 2003 NuvoMedia was sold to Gemstar–TV Guide International for $187 million.
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The Founding Fathers of Tesla Inc.
After making a major profit from their last project, Tarpenning and Eberhard returned to brainstorming. Their achievement with NuvoMedia was no small feat, but the duo wanted their next venture to be more mission-oriented and substantially relevant to the evolving economy.
The idea of Tesla Inc is rooted in Martin Eberhard’s love for sports cars. The two laughed during a CNBC interview in 2021 that Martin’s choice was also influenced by his then-recent divorce.
“What do you do when you get divorced? You buy a sports car.” Says the American engineer and entrepreneur.
Fuel efficiency played a major factor in their planning. And at the time, aside from the persisting wars in the Middle East that continued to rack up the price of oil, global warming, and climate change were becoming a more prominent issues. One of the biggest culprits of climate change is burning fossil fuels.
EV1 Mass Recall Led to the Birth of Tesla
Realizing that it wouldn’t be a smart thing to buy a ridiculously expensive car that would eventually cost him a fortune to fuel up and maintain, Eberhard decided to get an electric car.
But coincidentally, the model that he wanted, the EV1, was pulled out by General Motors.
According to the newspapers, the popular silver coupe model was erased from existence. All of the EV1s produced by General Motors were recalled and immediately destroyed. The decision was made by GM CEO Rick Wagoner made the decision to say that the model wasn’t selling enough.
Their thoughts finally came together, and they decided to start their own company to build electric sports cars. But they had one problem, they had no idea how to build one.
AC Propulsion
As Tarpenning and Eberhard went about their research, they came across AC Propulsion, a small motor company in Southern California. They successfully made three sleek-looking electric cars that could only be described as immensely upgraded go-carts.
Eberhard invested in AC Propulsion just in time to keep them from going out of business. He contracted the company to build him a battery-powered car. The end product was a short-ranged and rather limited sports car called the “TZero,” powered with lead acid.
Upon making their observation, the pair suggested replacing the battery based on their experience as tech engineers. They proposed lithium-ion to be a more stable power source.
Tesla Incorporated
They successfully broke through the numerous limitations of the TZero by switching the battery. After that, Tarpenning and Eberhard partnered with Lotus, an English automotive company. They built the actual car around a series of computers, motors, and power sources of the vehicle.
The pair did all the initial leg work to build a viable presentation for potential investors and partners. And by July 2003, Tesla, the company founded by Marc and Martin, was incorporated.
Elon Musk Joins the Company
Despite their opinions about the world’s richest man, Tesla’s founding creators appreciated that Elon immediately saw the potential value of the company. He asked a series of logical questions, voiced a few opinions of his own, then assured Tarpenning and Eberhard that he was on board.
In April of 2004, it hit the news that Elon Musk invested $6.35 million of his own money to launch Tesla’s Series A round. It also bought Musk a place in the company as Chairman of the Board.
Tesla revealed the Roadster, the company’s first prototype, in 2006. It sparked great interest from the world because it was an actual electric and very stylish sports car, and nothing like the tiny, dreary-looking, battery-powered vehicles sitting on the Marcet for decades.
The co-creators were gaining global recognition, and people fought to make it on the exclusive list for the first batch of cars. All that hype around Tesla, but there was no noise whatsoever about the prominent Elon Musk, and this did not sit well with the SpaceX founder.
Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard Resign from Tesla
From the beginning of Tesla Inc to the current state of Tesla Motors, the company has had four CEOs. Martin Eberhard from 2003 to 2007, Michael Marcs in 2007 as interim, Ze’ev Drori for 2007 to 2008, then finally TechKing himself, Elon Musk, took the position from 2008 onwards.
In 2007, Eberhard was ousted without explanation. He was removed as Chairman of the Board and was reassigned as president of technology. He officially resigned from the company in 2008.
Marc Tarpenning held the position of Chief Financial Officer from the beginning and was later given a secondary position as VP of Electrical Engineering. Tarpenning also resigned in 2008, just as the company was in the middle of developing Tesla’s flagship, the Model S sedan.
How Elon Musk Became CEO and Top Shareholder of Tesla
According to whispers from former employees, the original CEO was replaced due to his mismanagement of the Roadster project. Problems from suppliers piled up like delayed or failed deliveries, and continuous modifications kept pushing their release further back.
The price per unit also ballooned from the already expensive $109,000 to $140,000. So, according to Musk, they had no choice but to fire Eberhard.
Michael Mark’s short term as CEO was temporary until the company could hire a replacement. Ze’ev Drori came in right before the Roadster was released but was replaced in just a few months. After stepping down, Drori remained on the board as vice-chairman.
Elon Musk stepped in as CEO in 2008 after deciding to invest more of his wealth into Tesla. He probably thought that since no one else could do the job right, he might as well step in. If he is in control, he can be assured that his money won’t go to waste.
The main Tesla investors were numerous Silicone Valley venture capitalists and Musk.
Elon Musk invested a total of $70 million out of his own pocket. Then in 2009, he was awarded another 6.7 million stock options. At one point, Musk owned more than 81 million shares of the somewhat 250 million outstanding Musk was the top shareholder for owning a third of Tesla.
He has then sold a few billion of his claims to fund SpaceX and other private ventures. The self made billionaire recently made noise after making the largest, single offer in history, to buy 9% of Twitter’s total shares for $44 billion. The deal is months away from finalizing but at the moment, its board seems determined to make it happen.
Elon Musk Attempted to” Rewrite” History
Lawsuit Against Elon Musk
Company takeovers are pretty common. Tarpenning and Eberhard understood this as much as any other entrepreneur. But what triggered Eberhard’s lawsuit against Musk is the fact that he obviously orchestrated the ouster, that to this day is unexplained or justified.
The second part is about Musk reducing Eberhard as nothing more than an “initial investor” during the pioneering days of Tesla and that it was a venture that began with three people.
It was a good yet very expensive fight, but both parties eventually settled with an undisclosed amount.
Marc Tarpenning Net Worth – Frequently Asked Questions
How Much is Marc Tarpenning Net Worth?
Marc Tarpenning estimated net worth is $1.5 billion. He is an American engineer and entrepreneur who co-founded Tesla. Before that, he co-founded NuvoMedia with Martin Eberhard, a company that was sold for $187 million in 2003.
Though he is an extremely wealthy man, Marc Tarpenning net worth has been kept off the Forbes list of richest people in the world, on Bloomberg and Forbes billionaires list.
Why Did Tarpenning Leave Tesla?
According to Tarpenning, Tesla was no longer fun. While he was happy with the current progress and global success of the company he started with Eberhard, it was no longer the environment he envisioned. Tarpenning resigned in 2008 while the Model S sedan was in development.
Does MarcTarpenning Still Own Stocks with Tesla?
According to Tarpenning, he no longer has any stocks with Tesla. He sold his stake years ago and could never really imagine a $1 trillion valuation. But here’s how he become one of the wealthiest people in the country though he is no tycoon nor an heir of a rich family.
What we know so far:
- We know he profited from NuvoMedia after selling it for $187 million.
- The 2009 lawsuit against Elon Musk was led by Eberhard. Tarpenning is one of the other former employees who filed a case against the business magnate. Tesla settled for an undisclosed amount, but this only meant that the accusers received a generous sum.
- Tarpenning owned shares from the very beginning as Teslas co-founder. His claim probably grew after becoming Chief Financial Officer and VP of Electrical Engineering. He sold all his shares for a decent sum shortly after resigning from the company.
In June 2010, Tesla opened up for an IPO or initial public offering. The starting price per share was $17. But within 24 hours, the price surged by 41%, closing at $23.39 on its first day.
And for those who don’t know, IPOs can be held from 90 to 180 days. Marc Tarpenning bought 1.09 million IPO shares. It wasn’t revealed how long he held them, but he at least made $24 million. Meaning he made money from Tesla as a private investor and not as an employee.
What is Marc Tarpenning Doing Now?
According to CNBC, the Tesla co-founder Marc Tarpenning joined Pierre Omidyar’s Spero Ventures in 2019. He is working with eBay’s founder to promote and support start-ups leaning toward renewable energy.
Marc Tarpenning Net Worth – Final thoughts
Tesla came from three things, Eberhard’s love for sports cars, a pair of engineers’ aspiration to make a substantial impact on the world, and an admirable goal from a “tree-hugging-duo” to create a cheaper and environment-friendly way to power up vehicles.
But would Tesla be as successful now if Musk turned down their initial pitch? The most probable answer is yes, but it would have taken Tarpenning and Eberhard longer to reach Tesla’s current status. Elon Musk’s money and influence were what Tesla needed to officially take off in 2004.
Despite the outcome, Tarpenning is proud of how far Tesla has gone. It is even more unbelievable that one of his cars has reached space and orbited Mars. This occurred during one of Elon Musk’s experiments with SpaceX, where he used a Tesla Roadster as a payload.
So was it wrong for Musk to assume that the venture was started by not two but three people, including himself? Perhaps. If only the ousting event weren’t so malicious.
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Great insights on Marc Tarpenning’s contributions to Tesla! It’s interesting to see how his early involvement shaped the company. I’m curious to see how his net worth evolves in the coming years, especially with the current EV market trends.