
17. Joining Tesla
Musk’s name is almost synonymous with Tesla nowadays, but he did not found the company. He came in a year after it started and became the chairman of the company’s board of directors. The now-billionaire also helped provide critical early support by overseeing the Round A series of investments.
Musk oversaw some product development in his early years at Tesla, but he was not involved in the company’s day-to-day operations. Yet Musk was at Tesla to stay, and he would help turn it into the powerhouse of electric automobiles that it is today.