Elon Musk Reveals Why He Started Tesla

Tesla boss Musk's first tweet read, "Few people know that we started Tesla when GM forcibly recalled all electric cars from customers in 2003 & then crushed them in a junkyard." Musk referred to GM's recall of EV1.

General Motors launched an electric car, the EV1 in 1996. It was available to customers through the lease. Although the EV1 was a successful product, the production was stopped in 1999.

The main reason behind the death of the EV1 was design flaws and limited range. GM also stated that the car was no longer viable to produce.

It was even alleged that GM stopped the production of EV1 as the electric car would impact the sales of its conventional cars. The company forcibly recalled the vehicles and destroyed them.

The customers asked to extend the lease period of the EV1. They were even ready to take the responsibility of maintaining the car. But GM refused to that and put an end to the electric car.

The Tesla website also states that the company was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers. Musk also clarified that Tesla is not interested in making money. Instead, the company was looking to develop electric cars when big companies were killing them.