Looking for venture capital, the founders connected with Elon Musk, who led Tesla's first funding round (a US$7.5 million Series A) in February 2004 and became chairman of the board. JB Straubel joined the company the same year as an engineer and later became its technology chief.
Auf der Suche nach Risikokapital kamen die Gründer mit Elon Musk in Kontakt, der im Februar 2004 die erste Finanzierungsrunde (Series A über 7,5 Mio. US-Dollar) anführte und Vorsitzender des Verwaltungsrats wurde. Im selben Jahr kam JB Straubel als Ingenieur dazu, der später Technikchef wurde.
En busca de capital riesgo, los fundadores contactaron con Elon Musk, que lideró la primera ronda de financiación de Tesla (una Serie A de 7,5 millones de dólares) en febrero de 2004 y se convirtió en presidente del consejo. Ese mismo año se incorporó JB Straubel como ingeniero, que después sería el responsable de tecnología.
En quête de capital-risque, les fondateurs ont rencontré Elon Musk, qui a mené le premier tour de financement de Tesla (une série A de 7,5 millions de dollars) en février 2004 et est devenu président du conseil d'administration. JB Straubel a rejoint l'entreprise la même année comme ingénieur, avant d'en devenir le directeur technique.
为寻找风险投资，创始人们结识了埃隆·马斯克。2004 年 2 月，马斯克领投了特斯拉首轮融资（750 万美元 A 轮），并出任董事会主席。同年，JB Straubel 以工程师身份加入公司，后来成为首席技术官。
In February 2004, Elon Musk led Tesla's first funding round and became the company's chairman, subsequently claiming to be a co-founder; in 2008, he was named chief executive officer.
In February 2004, the company raised US$7.5 million (equivalent to $12.8 million in 2025) in series A funding, including $6.5 million (equivalent to $11.1 million in 2025) from Elon Musk, who had received $176 million from the sale of his interest in PayPal two years earlier.
The three went looking for venture capital (VC) funding in January 2004 and connected with Elon Musk, who contributed US$6.5 million of the initial ( Series A ) US$7.5 million round of investment in February 2004 and became chairman of the board of directors.