Elon Musk has a history of trying to rewrite history—specifically in his association with the Tesla brand.
Musk is actually the fourth CEO Tesla has ever had. He had no involvement in its founding. It was founded by two guys back in 2003: Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Elon basically muscled them out, becoming their new CEO in 2008.
As a part of an out-of-court settlement, Musk attained legal rights to the title of “cofounder” even though, in reality, he is no such thing. Eberhard has never kept his mouth shut about how he feels about Elon’s reign as the CEO of the company he co-founded.
In an interview with EV YouTuber Kim Java, shared by Electrek, Eberhard expressed his, let’s say, great displeasure with Tesla’s recent design direction. He specifically took aim at Elon’s biggest baby, the Cybertruck.
“I am actually disappointed that Tesla canceled its low-end car program,” said Eberhard. “Because that’s what the world needs—not a truck that looks like a dumpster.”
Does the Cybertruck Look Like a Dumpster? Eberhard Thinks So.
According to Reuters, Musk pulled the plug on Tesla’s dream of a $25,000 “Model 2” EV for the masses, instead pivoting to self-driving robotaxis and Cybertrucks. That hasn’t gone too well, as it appears that Elon’s mere involvement is dragging the entire vehicle market down with him.
He has also quickly become one of the most hated men on the planet. Even people on the political left, who for years were the sole champions of electric vehicles, have now associated an entire technology with Musk.
Even amid the criticism, Eberhard wasn’t all shade. He praised Musk’s role in making Tesla a global powerhouse and gave a nod to SpaceX, giving special credit to its president, Gwynne Shotwell, for keeping things functional.
But he couldn’t resist reminding folks that maybe Elon should let the engineers do the engineering.
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