Tesla

Tesla is an American electric-vehicle company based in Palo Alto, Calif. The beneficiary of excellent timing, Tesla effectively was the only company building battery-electric cars when fuel prices spiked in the summer of 2008; as a result, no news story on alternative fuels was complete without mentioning Tesla. Since then, the company has expanded from a maker of electric cars to one that also makes energy-related products like solar roof panels and energy storage systems. It also has a global network of over 50,000 Supercharger fast-charging stations; these were previously exclusive to Tesla drivers, but Tesla has begun to open up access to other automakers so non-Tesla EVs can use them.

Tesla’s current vehicles include the Model 3 compact sedan, Model S mid-size luxury sedan, Model X luxury SUV and Model Y compact SUV. The latest addition is the new-for-2024 Cybertruck, an angular pickup truck with stainless-steel body panels and an available 845-horsepower tri-motor powertrain.