Martin Eberhard Net Worth

Net Worth	$ 500,000,000
Real name	Martin Forest Eberhard
Source of Wealth	Former CEO of Tesla, Engineer
Profession	Scientist, Engineer
Spouse/Partner	Carolyn Eberhard
Date of Birth	May 15, 1960
Zodiac	Taurus
Age	63
Gender	Male
Height	180 cm / 5 ft 10 inch
Nationality	American

Biography

Martin Forest Eberhard is an American engineer and scientist, who was the first CEO of Tesla before Elon Musk took on the role. Eberhard was Tesla’s CEO from 2003, until the end of 2007.

As of 2022, Martin’s net worth is estimated at around $500 million.

Early Life

Martin Eberhard grew up in California, specifically in Kensington’s Berkeley Hills. He graduated with a B.S. in computer engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1982 and got his M.S. in electrical engineering at the same university two years later.

There are no official records online regarding his parents, and if he has any siblings.

Career and Professional Development

Martin Eberhard started his career as an engineer at Wyse Technology, where he invented and designed his first product, the computer terminal called WY-30 ASCII. In 1987, he founded Network Computing Devices, where he stayed in the role of chief engineer until 1992.

In 1996, Martin founded NuvoMedia with Marc Tarpenning, and they developed the “Rocket eBook,” which was the first e-book to secure internet delivery of content. Until 2000, Eberhard was the chairman and CEO of NuvoMedia, but then the company was purchased by Gemstar.

The Founding of Tesla Motors

Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, got close throughout the years they spent working together. Moreover, they shared similar interests and concerns; creating electric cars, worrying about fossil fuels, and global warming issues.

As a result, they co-founded Tesla Motors, a company whose main purpose was to develop and produce the perfect electric cars.

Since they needed funding, Elon Musk was the person with the biggest investment in the company and joined with the title of co-founder. The other two earliest employees - Ian Wright and JB Straubel, were also labeled as co-founders. Martin Eberhard was both the chairman and the CEO at the time of the founding.^[1]

However, things didn’t run as smoothly as expected. Musk invested a small fortune in the startup, and he didn’t trust Eberhard’s decisions as a CEO. As a result, he managed to force Eberhard out of his CEO position, and Musk took the role himself. Consequently, Martin sued Elon in 2009, accusing him of slander and libel.

Martin dropped the charges soon after, but the reasons have never been officially and publicly disclosed. In a later statement, it became clear that a settlement had been reached, meaning Eberhard had been paid off accordingly.

In an official statement for NY Times, Eberhard stated that he is unable to comment due to his NDA with Tesla Motors, but he did say he was unhappy with how things turned out.

“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.” ^[2]

Eberhard continued his engineering career with Volkswagen, leaving Tesla behind. However, in a 2019 interview, Eberhard confirmed he remains a shareholder in Tesla Motors and is still rooting for the company to establish what they built together in the beginning.^[3]

After confirming that he would move on to working with Volkswagen in 2010, he didn’t make any official statements for almost six years. In 2016, he founded inEVit, trying to get the gig of supplying major original equipment manufacturers with electric drivetrains.

In 2017, inEVit was bought by SF Motors, where Eberhard continued working as a chief innovation officer until July 2018.

In 2019, Martin founded Tiveni, in an attempt to create intelligent EV battery systems, and it’s what he does until today.

A post shared by Guilherme Müller (@guig.muller)

Personal Life

Martin met his wife, Carolyn, while they were both attending the University of Illinois. There are no official records of when the couple tied the knot, but according to speculation, they’ve been together for more than 30 years.

There are no official records if they have any children or how many.

Conclusion

Martin Eberhard is an American engineer, mostly famous for being the first-ever CEO of Tesla Motors, a company worth over $500 billion today.

Eberhard continued working on multiple other projects after leaving Tesla Motors, and his net accumulated net worth as of 2022 is estimated at $500 million. Some people claim his net worth is due to him being a Tesla stock shareholder until today.

References