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.