Martin Eberhard Net Worth 2023: How Rich is Tesla’s Co-Founder?

Martin Eberhard is an American entrepreneur and business executive best known as the co-founder of Tesla, Inc. He served as Tesla’s CEO and original chairman until late 2007. As of 2023, Martin Eberhard net worth is estimated to be around $500 million.

Who is Martin Eberhard?

Martin Eberhard is an entrepreneur, inventor, and engineer from California. He is widely recognized for co-founding Tesla, Inc. with Marc Tarpenning in 2003. Elon Musk, who led the company’s $7.5 million Series A funding round ousted Eberhard from his CEO role in 2007.

Martin Eberhard was born in 1960/1961 in Berkeley, California. Not much detail is known about his parents, upbringing, and early life. Regarding his education, he studied at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and earned a B S. degree in computer engineering in 1982. Later, he received M. S. in electrical engineering from the same University in 1984.

Martin Eberhard Net Worth & Career

Martin Eberhard initially worked as an electrical engineer at a manufacturer company, Wyse Technology. At the company, he designed his first product, the WY-30 ASCII computer terminal. Then, he co-founded the company, Network Computing Devices in 1987.

Eberhard worked as a chief engineer at the company through its IPO in 1992. After that, he along with his long-time friend, Marc Tarpenning founded an early commercial handheld e-reader, NuvoMedia in 1996. The two engineers then developed the first e-book, the Rocket eBook.

Martin held the position of CEO and chairman at NuvoMedia until Gemstar acquired the company in 2000. Later, he co-founded the electric car company, Tesla Motors along with Marc Tarpenning and became the first CEO of the company in 2003.

Eberhard followed three principles while working as the CEO of the company. He believed that an electric car is possible to build with the right technology choices and it should not be a compromise. Likewise, he focused on choosing the right battery technology for a successful electric car. Along with that, he worked on the idea of designing the right electric cars that would outperform internal combustion engines.

In December 2007, Fortune Magazine reported that Eberhard was asked to leave the company by the chairman, Elon Musk. Later, Musk revealed that he didn’t see a role for Eberhard in the company. Before that, in January 2008, Eberhard was reported to have moved to the advisory board from the executive management and the board of directors of the company.

Though, Eberhard was not happy with the transition. He also criticized Tesla layoffs in his deleted Tesla Founders Blog, labeling it a stealth bloodbath. Martin later brought a lawsuit against Musk in June 2009 alleging that he was pushed out of the company by Musk compromising Tesla’s financial health.

However, he dropped the lawsuit for undisclosed reasons in August 2009. After a month, Tesla confirmed the settlement with Eberhard but didn’t provide further details. In October 2019, while talking to CNBS, Eberhard revealed that he is still a shareholder of Tesla and holds a small stake of less than 5% at the company.

In February 2023, Eberhard talked to a news outlet and revealed he was employed and ran low on money after being pushed out as CEO in 2007. He was in fact unemployed for around 2 years due to an intellectual-property agreement that he had with Tesla. In the fall of 2009, he joined Volkswagen.

Martin worked as the director of EV development at Volkswagen’s Electronics Research Laboratory until 2011. The former Tesla CEO mentioned his experience at Volkswagen as extremely educational and said making electric cars was a lot like pushing things.

Eberhard founded a stealth-mode startup, in EVit in September 2016. He started the startup to supply major OEMs with power storage solutions and electric drivetrains. In October 2017, the company was acquired by SF Motors. Martin worked as chief innovation officer at the company until he left in July 2018. Then, he founded Tiveni in 2019 with a motive to make intelligent EV battery systems.

Martin Eberhard’s Wife & Personal Life

Martin Eberhard is married to Carolyn Eberhard. He has not shared detailed information about his marriage life yet. However, it is known his wife is a 1982 BS Civil Engineering graduate of the University of Illinois. Eberhard has also been a guest lecturer for the Illinois campus’ Engineering 100 in 2006. In fact, the pair have been annual donors to the University’s College of Engineering since 1984.

Martin Eberhard Net Worth

Martin Eberhard has earned an estimated net worth of $500 million as of 2023. He has accumulated a huge amount from working at many entrepreneurial ventures. As of now, he and his longtime friend, Marc Tarpenning works together on a small private investment firm. The two friends and business partners often meet for coffee every Wednesday which they have been doing since 1988.