Tesla history timeline: mapping out stock prices and innovations

Tesla has faced several highs and lows in its nearly 20-year history, and today the automaker hardly resembles the pre-IPO startup it once was. In a recent report, Forbes shared a long timeline of Tesla’s major innovations and accomplishments, alongside the company’s biggest headaches and the movement of its stock price to where it is now.

Below is a timeline of some of Tesla's most important innovations, achievements and challenges, as well as its evolving stock price once becoming publicly traded.

Note: Forbes has adjusted historical prices to account for stock splits.

2003: Tesla founded

July 1: Tesla founded by Martin Eberhard; before Elon Musk and IPO stock price

2004: Elon Musk invests in Tesla

February: Elon Musk invests $6.5 into Tesla

2006: Tesla secures $105 million in funding, stock price pre-IPO

July 19: Tesla unveils Roadster

August 2: Tesla and Musk reveal “Master Plan” to move from coal to solar and to produce affordable EVs

2007: Eberhard steps down as CEO, Tesla cuts staff to lower burn rate

August: Co-founder Eberhard resigns, moves to the role of President of Tech; Michael Marks becomes CEO

November: Ze’ev Drori takes over for Marks

2008: Eberhard officially leaves, Tesla narrowly avoids bankruptcy

January: Eberhard officially leaves the company

February 1: First Roadster rolls off the production line

October: Musk takes over while Tesla is on the brink of financial collapse

November: Tesla narrowly avoids bankruptcy

2009: Eberhard sues Tesla, Model S launched

March 26: Tesla welcomes Model S

June: Martin Eberhard files libel, slander lawsuit against Tesla claiming he was forced out of the company; gains $465 million loan that would later be repaid in May 2013 with $12 million in interest

August: Tesla’s first time achieving corporate profitability; Eberhard drops lawsuit against Musk

September: Tesla gets $82.5 million in funding

2010: Tesla goes public, partners with major automakers

January 29: Tesla files S-1 Form with SEC to initiate IPO

April 20: Daimler gains 10-percent stake in Tesla for around $50 million

May 21: Toyota gains Tesla stake through $50 million stock purchase

June 29: Tesla debuts IPO stock price at $17 per share
Stock price: $1.59

2011: Model S introduced

October: Tesla welcomes Model S prototype with 320-mile range
Stock price: $1.58

2012: Tesla ends Roadster, launches Superchargers

January: Tesla ceased production of the Roadster
Stock price: $1.52

February 16: Tesla unveils Model X SUV
Stock price: $2.28

June 22: Tesla delivers first Model S
Stock price: $2.25

September: Tesla launches Supercharger stations in California
Stock price: $1.93

2013: Tesla turns first quarterly profit

May 8: Tesla turns its first quarterly profit
Stock price: $3.72

2014: Tesla launches Giga Nevada, Autopilot

February: Tesla opens “Gigafactory” Nevada
Stock price: $13.22

September: Tesla builds first cars capable of Autopilot software
Stock price: $18.61

2015: Tesla reveals energy products, First Model X delivered, Autopilot rolls out to customers

April 30: Tesla reveals Powerwall and Powerpack
Stock price: $13.99

September 29: Tesla delivers first Model X
Stock price: $16.44

October 14: Tesla launched Autopilot to customers
Stock price: $15.99

2016: Tesla announces Model 3, SolarCity deal initiated

March 31: Tesla teases mass-market Model 3
Stock price: $15.32

May 4: Musk targets half a million vehicles yearly in 2018, a million in 2020
Stock price: $14.84

June 21: Tesla initiates SolarCity deal
Stock price: $14.64

July 20: Musk reveals Master Plan Part 2 with rooftop solar, market expansion, Autopilot advancements and future car-sharing platform (that still hasn’t been debuted)
Stock price: $15.22

August: Tesla debuts Autopilot 8.0 software
Stock price: $15.33

October: Full self-driving mode supported in new builds
Stock price: $14.25

November: Tesla closes SolarCity deal sparking lawsuit; acquires Grohmann Engineering
Stock price: $12.72

2017: Tesla changes name, launches Model 3

February: Tesla drops “Motors” from name to focus on electricity at large
Stock price: $16.62

July 28: Tesla launched Model 3
Stock price: $22.34

November 16: Tesla announces new Roadster and Semi
Stock price: $16.62

2018: Tesla reports losses, Twitter, SEC go crazy over Elon Musk tweet

January 3: Tesla delays Model 3 production targets a second time
Stock price: $21.37

February 6: SpaceX sends Musk’s Tesla Roadster to Mars as test payload
Stock price: $22.26

April 3: Musk announces Tesla doesn’t require any more capital
Stock price: $17.84

May 3: Tesla shares hit a slump
Stock price: $18.96

July 1: Tesla meets goal of over 5,000 Model 3 units per week
Stock price: $22.34

August 1: Tesla reports biggest loss yet
Stock price: $20.06

August 7: Musk tweets that Tesla has “funding secured” to take Tesla private
Stock price: $25.30

September: SEC fines Tesla and Musk $20 million each, requires Musk to step down from Tesla board
Stock price: $19.26

2019: Tesla unveils Cybertruck, Model Y, Giga Shanghai starts production

February 25: SEC files for contempt against Elon Musk
Stock price: $19.92

March 3: Tesla unveils Model Y
Stock price: $19.02

October 23: Tesla begins production at Giga Shanghai
Stock price: $16.98

November 21: Tesla unveils Cybertruck
Stock price: $23.66

2020: Tesla breaks valuation records, delivers first Model Y units

January 10: Tesla breaks U.S. automaker valuation record at $86 billion
Stock price: $31.88

March: Tesla delivers the first Model Y units
Stock price: $49.57

June 10: Tesla's market valuation grows to $180 billion
Stock price: $68.34

June 15: Tesla unveils first 400+ mile range vehicle with Model S Long Range Plus
Stock price: $66.06

July: Tesla turns a full year’s worth of profits
Stock price: $106.16

August 31: Tesla 5-for-1 stock split goes into effect
Stock price: $166.11

October: Tesla begins FSD beta testing
Stock price: $149.39

December 21: Tesla lands S&P 500 spot
Stock price: $235.22

2021: Tesla delivers first Model S Plaid, surpasses a trillion dollar valuation

January: Tesla announces it will accept cryptocurrency
Stock price: $243.26

June: First Model S Plaid delivered
Stock price: $207.97

August 19: Tesla hosts first AI Day
Stock price: $224.49

October 25: Tesla surpasses $1 trillion valuation
Stock price: $341.62

December 1: Tesla moves headquarters to Texas
Stock price: $365.00

2022: New lawsuits and Gigafactories

February 11: Tesla faces racial discrimination lawsuit
Stock price: $286.67

March 22: Tesla opens Gigafactory Berlin
Stock price: $331.33

April 7: Tesla opens Gigafactory Texas
Stock price: $352.42

June: Tesla cut 10 percent of salaried staff
Stock price: $246.79

August: California accuses Tesla of misrepresenting Autopilot and FSD
Stock price: $297.28

August 25: Tesla 3-for-1 stock split goes into effect
Stock price: $296.07

September: Tesla hosts second AI Day
Stock price: $287.81

Onlookers may be able to garner many valuable lessons from Tesla’s history, but suffice it to say that it has been a long and winding road, full of both failures and successes. With a new Gigafactory location set to be announced this year and continued expansion of the company’s innovations across worldwide markets, the next decade is likely to be a Tesla-dominated one — even more so than the last decade.

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Source: Forbes
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