At Tesla, Elon has overseen product development and design from the beginning,
including the all electric Tesla Roadster, Model S and Model X. Transitioning to a sustainable energy economy, in which electric vehicles play a pivotal role, has been one of his central interests for almost two decades, stemming from his time as a physics student working on
ultracapacitors in Silicon Valley.
Dozens of ideas have been tried and found wanting,
including flywheels, compressed air, pumping water uphill, and mammoth
ultracapacitors.