Tesla loses a founder (and a piece of his soul)

On Wednesday, after Tesla announced that it had delivered 95,356 vehicles in its last quarter and another net loss, it also revealed that Straubel will relinquish its position as a CTO and will withdraw from its daily grinding to become the company's advisor .

For Tesla's long-time observers, this is an amazing change. 43-year-old Straubel represents, along with Elon Muss, the soul of the car maker – a true believer in electric cars and how they could cut the world.

It was the silent, grounded addition to Musk's visionary personality drama.

"It's been an unbelievable time, and I really love the mission and this personal relationship and ownership with the whole company," Stubel said in a telephone interview.

"Tesla has evolved, what we need now is focusing on sales, supply and production, I've been helping with this over the past few years, but I'm not the best one in the world, there are people in the world who are better at these things and enjoy more. "

Tesla has become such a polarizing phenomenon.

Some view it as the obvious future of transport, and others – a complex fraud.

But first of all, in the early days of the company, Straubel and a team of fellow engineers fought for the production of a car for a market that insisted that no one wanted an electric vehicle anyway.

The struggle continued during the financial crisis in 2008, as the right carmakers almost disappeared from work, and Tesla had to ask Uncle Sam for a loan against the backdrop of the financial turmoil to keep her kihotic dream.

A decade later, hundreds of thousands of cars are pumped here, which are among the safest, fastest, most modern and desirable vehicles ever made.

The majority of the automotive industry is trying to mimic it and finds it is not easy to do.

Among the founders of Tesla, Straubel was the only one to throw his whole life behind the idea that cars should be more environmentally friendly.

While at Stanford University, he creates a personalized core called energy systems and engineering to learn how to better control electricity and electronics through software.

As I wrote in my biography to Muss, "At that time, there was no movement in clean technology, but there were companies that are engaged in new applications for solar and electric vehicles.

Stoubel finally pursued these startups by hanging in his garages and raping the engineers. "

He also worked on vehicles for Stanford's Sun Vehicle Team and then bought Porsche for US $ 1600 and turned it into an electric car.

After college, Stubabel began working at Rosen Motors, one of the first hybrid vehicle manufacturers, and advised on electronics on the side to help pay bills.

About 2002 Straubel was convinced that lithium-ion batteries used in laptops and other consumer electronics have improved to the point that someone can build a car based on technology.

He started making circles in the Silicon Valley, trying to convince his old friends in Stanford or anyone else who would listen to help bring this vehicle to life.

No one beats until fate intervenes and takes Stubabel to Muss in 2003 when they met at lunch in Los Angeles, near the headquarters of Musk's rocket company Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

The crazy idea immediately hit a chord with Muss, who has been thinking of electric cars for years. As Mukk concentrated on the use of vehicle ultra-condensers, he was excited and surprised to find out how advanced the technology of lithium-ion batteries.

"Everyone else told me I was crazy, but Elon liked the idea." He said, "Sure, I'll give you some money. "Mousk promised Stubel the $ 10,000 of the $ 100,000 he was looking for.

Instead, Muss and Stubeel form a kinship.

Approximately at that time, two other entrepreneurs, Martin Eberhard and Mark Tarppening, had similar discoveries about what electric vehicles could become.

In the end, all four men will join forces to introduce Tesla. (Eberhard and Tarpenning will leave by 2008, as disputes have arisen as to how the company has been run and as Muss has exercised more control.)

Tesla would never achieve everything he had if Muss was not ready to take the money, driving, and his big vision of the company.

Likewise, Stuwelle's knowledge of electric vehicles and his almost religious diligence helped them to lead Tesla during his first days and kept the company together in some of his most experienced times.

These are the two constants that fed Tesla's wild journey.

Straubel's departure, more than the arrival of every new car or corporate merger, marks a new era for Tesla and for him.

"It was a really serious decision, because I feel like I'm throwing a lot of people," Stubabel said.

"But you also have to live a life I love to invent and create and build things and I am in peace knowing this for myself and want to reorient my life.

I decompress a little and have a little rest, but I'll have something to say in a few weeks. "

Straubel made a pact with Muss, not unlike those made by a handful of early SpaceX employees, which led to tremendous achievements.

Musk asks the world to the closest to him, both in terms of their time and abilities, and in their desire to withstand his intense, often warlike, ways.

Some people face the challenge. Many of them are not. Straubel certainly was. He has the scars and tremendous wealth to prove it.

It has reaped about $ 30 million ($ 43 million) in stock sales in just the past nine months. He has also seen that once his wild ideas become real in the most glorious way, which is the ultimate benefit of working with Muss and all that helps make it possible.

The real foundation for Tesla comes with so much enmity and luggage that it can never be one of those pure tales, tales of two in a garage in the Silicon Valley.

And Muss has become a life-size figure at a level that does not allow all that much light to shine on those around him.

But Stubabel was the work of Woz to Musk, and so many of Tesla's great parts came from the child's play with batteries in his backyard.

Bloomberg