Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. Tesla Motors is a public company that trades on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol TSLA.
Tesla Motors gained widespread attention by producing the Tesla Roadster, the first fully electric sports car. Tesla also sells electric powertrain components, including lithium-ion battery packs, to other automakers, including Daimler and Toyota.
Market analysts have called for Tesla to focus its efforts on supplying powertrain components to major automakers, which have the resources to mass produce electric cars. Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, has said he envisions Tesla as an independent automaker. Tesla has been developing the Model S, a fully electric luxury sedan. Although expensive, it is substantially cheaper than the Roadster. Eventually, Tesla Motors aims to mass produce fully electric cars at a price that would be affordable to the average consumer.