'I still occupy real estate in his head': Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard takes a swipe at Elon Musk in rare interview

In a rare and revealing interview with YouTuber Kim Java, Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard opened up about the early days of the electric car company—and offered some sharp commentary on Elon Musk, the man who would eventually become its most recognizable face.

Recounting how the company got its iconic name, Eberhard shared an unexpectedly charming anecdote. “The idea of Tesla came to me because I was thinking about the motor I wanted to use. It came to me while I was on a date with a woman who became my wife,” he said. The couple were dining at the Blue Bayou restaurant inside Disneyland, overlooking the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. It was there, amidst candlelight and creaky boat rides, that the name Tesla sparked to life.

“Naming a company is difficult,” Eberhard reflected. “I had thought of a lot of lame names that I didn’t like.” But Tesla, a nod to the legendary inventor Nikola Tesla, struck the perfect balance between heritage and futuristic promise.

A Founding Story Often Overshadowed
Eberhard founded Tesla Motors in July 2003, long before Elon Musk entered the frame. Musk joined as an investor and became chairman of the board in 2004, later taking the reins of the company. While Musk is widely credited with catapulting Tesla into a global brand, Eberhard’s foundational role is often overlooked in public narratives.

That erasure, however, hasn’t gone unnoticed by Eberhard. In the interview, he noted with subtle but pointed sarcasm, “I’ve been out of the company since the end of 2007 and yet every now and then he [Musk] decides to attack me again on some social media platform—or even on the stage at TED, he’s done that—which is kind of weird.”

In what seemed like a mic-drop moment, Eberhard added with a smirk: “Somebody pointed out that I’m still occupying real estate in his head. Which is kind of funny when you think about it.”

On AI and Disappointments with ChatGPT
Eberhard didn’t just dish on Tesla’s origin story and his dynamic with Musk. He also weighed in on today’s hottest tech topic—Artificial Intelligence. When asked if he uses tools like Grok or ChatGPT, he responded plainly, “No.”

He elaborated that he had “fooled around” with the tools but found the experience “disappointing.” According to him, ChatGPT would answer with complete confidence—even when it was wrong. “I find this to be dangerous,” he said, emphasizing the risks of AI confidently providing incorrect information on topics the user might not fully understand.

When asked whether reconciliation with Musk was ever on the cards, Eberhard shut down the possibility. “No, I don’t think so. No, I can’t imagine how that would happen from either one of us. He’s pretty set in his ways.”