Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory
SHANGHAI,CHINA - MARCH 29: An aerial view of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory on March 29, 2021 in Shanghai, China. Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory is reportedly producing vehicles at a rate of about 450,000 cars per year. Photo by Xiaolu Chu/Getty Images

With its plan to "change the world of motoring forever," Tesla Motors has never been very popular since it was first founded in 2003. With Elon Musk, the world's second-richest person, leading the company, Tesla continues to be a force to reckon with in the battery and electric vehicle market.

But, before Tesla Motors became what it is today, let us look back on how it started.

Why Is it Called "Tesla"?

Nikola Tesla is known to be one of the pioneers in electricity breakthroughs. He was the one who invented the alternating current (AC) motor and was behind the development of AC generation and transmission technology. AC electric motor is what makes the Tesla cars run.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not Elon Musk who gave Tesla Motors the name. Business Insider reported that it was Martin Eberhard, one of the company's co-founders who chose the name "Tesla," claiming that the name suited what his company is envisioning.

Moreover, it was stated that Eberhard did not want a name for the company that was overly "green".

Eberhard wanted to build a company that would forever change the world's view on electric vehicles. Thus, he knew that he needed a strong name to start his company with. A strong name for a company that would build electric cars and change the world.

After finally deciding on naming the company after Nikola Tesla, Eberhard's co-founder, Marc Tarpenning, registered 'teslamotors.com' as a domain name. And so, as of April 23, 2003, Tesla Motors was born.

Did Elon Musk Start Tesla?

Elon Musk, who is now known to be the CEO of Tesla Motors, did not start the company, contrary to what people believed. Musk was not part of the duo who started the company in 2003 - Eberhard and Tarpenning.

Musk only joined the company in 2004 after he invested $6.3 million in stocks. After which, he was appointed as the company's chairman of the board, Interesting Engineering reported.

How Tesla Motors Started

In 2003, a group of engineers passionate about electric cars had the vision to show people that it does not take too much compromise in considering getting an electric car. They also wanted to show its advantages both in engineering and for the environment.

In addition, the creation of Tesla was also motivated by the General Motors EV1 program's retirement after only producing a limited number of cars in its 3-year run from 1996 to 1999.

Thus, Eberhard and Tarpenning became inspired by this and decided to start their company and build their own electric cars.

Not a year later, Musk, who was already a successful businessman after working with Paypal, joined the company. It was then when Lotus decided to sign with Tesla and worked together to design the bodywork and chassis for the first-ever Tesla car model - the Roadster.

When Was Tesla Publicized?

In June of 2010, seven years since its founding, Tesla finally decided to go public.

It was there where the world's first-ever all-electric sedan was designed by Tesla. The Model S then became the world's best car in its class in every possible category.

The Model S sedan only cost $75,000 per piece and was the beginning of how Tesla started to change the world of electric motor vehicles forever.

WATCH: The History of Tesla in 5 Minutes - Visual Capitalist