Tesla Founder Unleashes His Anger
Martin Eberhard allegedly not happy with the series of demotions.
Tesla Motors founder Martin Eberhard, or at least a person who claims to be him on an online message board, says he’s not happy about being pushed out of the management team. Eberhard this summer stepped down from the CEO spot amid production delays and was replaced with interim CEO Michael Marks. In November, Tesla appointed a permanent CEO, Ze’ev Drori. What was less noticed was that Eberhard at that time also stepped down from the board.
On the Tesla Motors Club Web site, Eberhard, or a person claiming to be Eberhard, wrote this:
“I have also signed a non-disparagement agreement with Tesla, so I must, by contract, be a bit careful about how I word things. But I am also not going to lie about it. I am not at all happy with the way I was treated, and I do not think this was the very best way to handle a transition–not the best for Tesla Motors, not the best for Tesla’s customers (to whom I still feel a strong sense of responsibility), and not for Tesla’s investors.”
Founders and companies often part in ugly ways in Silicon Valley. The visionaries who come up with new companies aren’t great at the logistical tasks, like coming out with products on time. Getting a car company off the ground, moreover, is a logistical nightmare. Just think of the manufacturing facilities you have to organize. Tesla had to delay releasing its car in the summer of 2007, pushing it to the first quarter of 2008, and it cut back the first year of production.
