Happy Father's Day To The Dads That Started It All

I had moved to South Florida from the Big Apple. It was 2011, and I had just gotten married. Soon after, I was blessed with a beautiful baby girl. My life was changing very quickly. One day, while visiting my parents, my father excitedly called me into his office. Enthusiastically, he pointed at the computer screen and said, "Check out this new car! I'm going to get one. It's called a Tesla."

Above: EVANNEX Founders and fathers Mike, Roger and Matt Pressman, pictured left to right (Image: EVANNEX).

"A what?" I said. "Isn't that the new Maserati?" He shook his head and responded, "No, it's a Tesla Model S. And it's electric." Whoa. The sedan was certainly stunning. But an electric car? Somehow, I wasn't surprised. My father had always been into new tech before others were. When I was a kid, he bought a 1984 Apple Macintosh, serial number 000787.

Fast forward: it was time for him to get his hands on another revolutionary product; a Tesla Model S (VIN number 000184), delivered in 2012.

My Dad had been on the Tesla forums, and he had started a popular thread about designing the first-ever accessory for the Model S, a DIY project, mind you. It was a center console insert that he was building in his garage.

Forum regulars pressed him to make one commercially available for their own Teslas. My father then asked me to put together a splash page on the web for those interested — a wait list of sorts. That list quickly grew to a few hundred names.

Above: Having owned each car, Roger discusses the differences between the Model S, 3, X, and Y and relays how he started designing aftermarket Tesla accessories (Source: Zachary Shahan via CleanTechnica)

"Well, I guess I can't just build only one in my garage... it looks like we'll have to start a business here," he told me. So, in 2013, EVANNEX was born.

Wait, a father-son business? Could this work? Could Tesla grow into anything beyond a niche automaker?

Truthfully, I didn't blink an eye — I took the plunge. My father rarely gets anything wrong.

Rumor has it, according to my Grandmother, he only got one wrong on his entire SAT test. Later, he got a PhD in mechanical engineering, graduating (ahem) summa cum laude.

Above: Roger charging his new Model Y (Image: EVANNEX)

Sure enough, my Dad was right. Tesla took off. A few years later, we recruited my brother Mike. He moved his whole family from Los Angeles and also took the plunge. Let's do it, we thought, a business built around the mission of Tesla. Risky? Sure. But, Tesla was gaining traction. And we, as a family, were in this together...

Looking back, it's been a wild ride. Needless to say, my father is the heart and soul of our business. And our lives. We can't thank him enough for this amazing adventure.

Now, we all drive a Tesla. So does my wife. And my Mom even ferries her Model X to the office so she can help out too! It's wonderful to work hard and build a family business. It's also pretty cool to be involved in the much larger Tesla family, which is one that's growing every day, all over the world.

So this Father's Day, Dad, we just wanted to extend our overwhelming thanks, appreciation, and gratitude for everything you have done...

Lots of love,

Matt and Mike