Elon Musk slams Tesla founder Martin Eberhard in response to a tweet about the company's origin: he 'could have risked his money, but was unwilling to do so'

On Sunday, Musk took a jab at Eberhard, one of the founding fathers of the electric-car maker.

Musk said that he was the head of product and the designer of the original car. Eberhard was wealthy but unwilling to risk his money.

The thread said that Musk "spent the next ten years telling everyone he foundedTesla" and that he "pushed out" two of the company's founding fathers.

—Sam 🕊 (@SamTwits) November 26, 2022

Eberhard said Musk's comments were typical of him.

Eberhard told Insider that there wasn't a single sentence of that statement. 15 years after I leftTesla, he continues to lie about me.

There have been disagreements over Musk's role in the early history of the company. Eberhard sued Musk in 2009, accusing him of defamation. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount so that Musk and two other executives could claim the title of founders. Musk is listed as a co-owner of the car company on its website.

The company was incorporated in 2003 Eberhard came up with the idea for an electric-car startup in 2000 after Tarpenning and Eberhard sold their e-book company.

Eberhard said that he thought he should buy a sports car. At a time when wars in the Middle East seemed to involve oil and the arguments for global warming were getting louder, I couldn't bring myself to buy a car that was 18 miles to the gallon.

The company was founded a short time later.

In 2004, Musk stepped in to lead the upstart's Series A funding round, contributing $6.5 million and joining the board after Eberhard pitched the company to him.

The company's first car was well-received by the media and was dubbed Mr.Tesla. At the time, Musk threatened to end his relationship with the company's press relations firm over the lack of coverage of his involvement in the company. Eberhard said it was the first time he had a fight with Musk.

It was a long time ago.

Musk has been critical of Eberhard since he became the company's CEO. Musk said Eberhard was the worst person he had ever worked with.

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