Tesla, Inc.
Electric-vehicle and energy company led by Elon Musk
- Entries
- 11
- On the record
- 4
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Feb 18, 2026
The record
Tesla told investors in its 2010 IPO prospectus that it was incorporated in 2003 and began selling the Tesla Roadster in 2008. Its shares started trading on Nasdaq under the symbol TSLA on June 29, 2010, priced at $17. Beyond the fights over Elon Musk's pay, most of the company's public record sits with securities regulators, Delaware's courts, federal and state vehicle regulators, and juries hearing claims about its driver-assistance software.
Its governance record is mixed. Musk and Tesla each paid $20 million in 2018 to settle SEC claims over his "funding secured" posts about taking the company private, without admitting or denying them, and Musk gave up the chairmanship. Delaware's Supreme Court upheld the 2016 SolarCity acquisition as entirely fair in 2023, and in June 2024 stockholders voted to move the company's incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
Much of its regulatory record concerns driver assistance. Tesla recalled more than 2 million vehicles in December 2023 to add Autosteer safeguards while saying it did not agree with the regulator's analysis. A Miami federal jury held it partly liable for a fatal 2019 crash in 2025, a verdict Tesla said it would appeal, and California's DMV found its Autopilot marketing misleading before Tesla stopped using the term.
Roles and honours on the record
- 2003 Incorporated under the name Tesla Motors, Inc.; began selling the Tesla Roadster in 2008 source
- 2010 Public company listed on Nasdaq under the symbol TSLA, first trading June 29, 2010 source
- as of 2023 Headquartered at 1 Tesla Road, Austin, Texas, per its federal recall filing source
- 2024 Stockholders approved redomestication from Delaware to Texas at the June 13, 2024 annual meeting source
Every entry, newest first
- Reported
Tesla announces shareholders approved a new Musk pay package of up to 423.7 million shares, with more than 75% of shares voted in favor. Delaware Supreme Court restores Musk's $56B Tesla pay
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
- 2003 Official Tesla's IPO registration statement says the company was incorporated in 2003 and began selling the Tesla Roadster in 2008. Tesla Motors, Inc., Form S-1 registration statement filed January 29, 2010 (SEC EDGAR)
- 2010-06-29 Reported Tesla's shares began trading on Nasdaq under the symbol TSLA after the company sold 13.3 million shares at $17 each, raising $226.1 million, the Associated Press reported. Associated Press report (Christian Science Monitor copy)
- 2018-09-29 Filed The SEC announced that Musk and Tesla had settled charges over his August 7, 2018 posts saying he could take Tesla private at $420 a share with funding secured. Each paid $20 million, Musk was replaced as chairman and barred from re-election to that post for three years, and Tesla added two independent directors, without either admitting or denying the allegations. SEC press release 2018-226
- 2023-06-06 Ruled The Delaware Supreme Court, sitting en banc, affirmed the Court of Chancery's April 27, 2022 ruling that Tesla's 2016 all-stock acquisition of SolarCity was entirely fair, rejecting stockholder claims that Musk caused Tesla to overpay. Delaware Supreme Court, opinion, In re Tesla Motors, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, No. 181, 2022
- 2023-09-28 Filed The EEOC sued Tesla in federal court in Northern California, alleging that since at least 2015 Black employees at its Fremont facilities faced racial slurs, graffiti and nooses, and that workers who objected faced retaliation. The agency seeks damages, back pay and changes to Tesla's employment practices; the claims are unproven. EEOC press release, EEOC v. Tesla, Inc., No. 4:23-cv-04984 (N.D. Cal.)
- 2023-12-12 Official Tesla filed a safety recall covering 2,031,220 vehicles equipped with Autosteer, saying the feature's controls may not be sufficient to prevent driver misuse, with a free over-the-air software remedy. The filing says Tesla did not concur with the regulator's analysis but agreed to the recall to resolve the investigation. NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-838
- 2024-06-13 Official Stockholders approved moving Tesla's incorporation from Delaware to Texas, 2,000,873,803 shares for and 293,910,071 against, and ratified Musk's 2018 performance award, 1,760,780,650 for and 528,908,419 against, according to Tesla's SEC filing. Tesla, Inc., Form 8-K on 2024 annual meeting results (SEC EDGAR)
- 2025-08-01 Ruled A federal jury in Miami found Tesla partly liable for a 2019 crash in Key Largo, Florida, involving Autopilot, and assessed $200 million in punitive damages plus $43 million of $129 million in compensatory damages against it. Tesla called the verdict wrong and said it would appeal. Associated Press report (Hawaii News Now copy)
- 2025-12-16 Official California's DMV adopted an administrative law judge's finding that Tesla's use of "Autopilot" and "Full Self-Driving Capability" was misleading. It permanently stayed a suspension of Tesla's manufacturer license and gave the company 60 days to address the term "Autopilot" or face a 30-day dealer license suspension. California DMV news release, Case Nos. 21-02188 and 21-02189
- 2026-02-18 Reported Tesla avoided the 30-day suspension after the DMV said it had taken corrective action and stopped using the term "Autopilot" in its marketing, Electrek reported. Electrek report
Documents
- Form S-1 registration statement, Tesla Motors, Inc. (Jan. 29, 2010)
- SEC press release 2018-226 on the Musk and Tesla settlements
- Opinion, In re Tesla Motors, Inc. Stockholder Litigation, Del. No. 181, 2022 (June 6, 2023)
- NHTSA Part 573 Safety Recall Report 23V-838 (Dec. 12, 2023)
- Form 8-K, results of Tesla's 2024 annual meeting
- California DMV release on its Tesla decision (Dec. 16, 2025)
- EEOC press release on EEOC v. Tesla (Sept. 28, 2023)