Economics Stock of Tesla Inc.

Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Subject
DD MM YYYY
Economics Stock Research Project
* What is the company is full name? (2)
Tesla, Inc.
* What is the ticker symbol? What stock exchange is the company traded on?(4)
Ticker symbol: TSLA
Nasdaq Stock Market
* What is the historical background of the company (one paragraph)?(10)
Tesla Inc., formerly Tesla Motors Inc. was founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning American engineers (Baer). The two funded the company’s operations privately until 2004 where venture capitalists led by Elon Musk pledged support for the company (Baer). The company’s initial operations concentrated on electric sports cars and later adopted mass production of mainstream vehicles in a bid to increase sales for electric vehicles (Musk). The Roadster was the company’s flagship sports car released in 2008. The company has subsequently released successful mainstream vehicle under the leadership of Elon Musk who took over as CEO in 2008. These models include Model S, Model X, and Model 3 (Baer). In 2017, Tesla briefly surpassed General Motors and Ford Motor Company in market capitalization making it America’s most valued motor maker and joined Fortune 500 list the same year (Isidore).
* What type of business organization is the company?(4)
It is an automotive and energy company (fortune.com).
* What are the products that the company sells?(4)
Electric cars and solar panels
* Where is the company located?(5)
* Headquarters: Palo Alto, California (fortune.com)
* Assembly plants:
* The Netherlands: Tesla Facilities in Tilburg (Willebrands)
* Fremont, California (Tesla)
* Reno, Nevada
* Does the company issue a dividend? If so, what and when was the last dividend issued?(5)
No, Tesla has not issued any dividends (Tesla Inc.)
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* Who are the individuals who run the company? Identify three members of the Board of Directors. (i.e. CEO, CFO, COO etc.)(30)
Elon Musk/CEO
Elon Musk is Tesla’s CEO and took over the position in 2008 after joining the company in 2004. He oversees product strategy at Tesla including the design, engineering, and manufacturing of electric vehicles and battery products for consumers. Musk spearheaded a cost-cutting program in 2009 that successful saw Tesla achieve profitability. He is a technology enthusiast who founded two internet companies namely Zip2 and PayPal. Elon Musk earned a bachelor degree in Physics and Business from the University of Pennsylvania. Musk is also the CEO of SpaceX, a privately owned company that carries satellites into orbit as well as supplying to the International Space Station (ir.tesla.com). According to cnbc.com, Musk earns “just around $37,000 per year” (Martin).
Brad W. Buss/ Board Member
Brad W. Buss has been a director since 2009. Buss previously held the position of a CFO at SolarCity Corporation until early 2016. Between 2005 and 2014, Buss served as the Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration and Chief Financial Officer of Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. He has also served in multiple financial leadership roles at Altera Corporation, Veba Electronics LLC and Wyle Electronics, Inc. Additionally, Buss is also a director at Advance Auto Parts, Inc. and Marvell Technology Group Ltd. He holds a B.A. in economics from McMaster University and an honors business administration degree, majoring in finance and accounting, from the University of Windsor (ir.tesla.com).
Linda Johnson Rice/ Board Member
Linda Johnson Rice has been a director at Tesla since 2017. She is currently the chairperson and CEO of Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) and Fashion Fair Cosmetics. Additionally, Ms. Rice is the CEO of Ebony Media Operations and Chairman Emeritus of EBONY Media Holdings, the parent company for the EBONY and Jet brands. Ms. Rice has served as a director in a number of companies such as Bausch & Lomb, Continental Bank, Quaker Oats, Dial Corporation, MoneyGram and Kimberly-Clark Corporation. She also serves as a board memb...