Martin Eberhard

Martin Eberhard cofounded Tesla in 2003 with his longtime friend Marc Tarpenning. Musk led the company's $7.5 million Series A funding round and became chairman of the board in 2004. But Eberhard and Musk butted heads, and Musk ousted Eberhard from his CEO role in 2007. Musk, who took over as CEO in 2008, has called Eberhard the worst person he's ever worked with. Eberhard sued Musk in 2009, accusing him of libel and defamation. (The two men later settled the lawsuit.)