法拉第挑战特斯拉

本周三，一个能源行业会议在加州弗里蒙特市的特斯拉工厂召开。特斯拉首席执行官埃隆•穆斯克在会上接受采访时爆料，在发展初期，这家电动汽车公司本有可能叫做法拉第。

法拉第是指发明了电动机的科学家迈克尔•法拉第。穆斯克说法拉第是公司命名的第二选择。他的公司最终以发明家、电气工程师尼古拉•特斯拉的名字命名。

这个第二选择会让电动汽车行业观察人士感到熟悉。具有讽刺意味的是，一家新的电动汽车初创企业就叫法拉第未来公司，而且是特斯拉的竞争对手。

法拉第未来公司得到了一名身家10亿级的中国科技行业企业家的支持，目前计划制造包括电动轿车在内的多款电动车，它的工厂设在内华达州，正在建设之中。特斯拉也正在该州建设大型电池工厂。

虽然外界对总部设在洛杉矶的法拉第未来公司有诸多疑问，但该公司投资者已经承诺，将为上述工厂投入10亿美元资金。这家公司可能把重点放在向中国消费者销售电动车上。进入中国市场的难度特别大，特斯拉在这方面就遇到了很多困难。

创业初期，穆斯克及其团队买来了“特斯拉”这个名字，穆斯克说这是因为他们没有这个商标的所有权。他打趣说，它归“萨克拉门托的一个家伙”。

特斯拉的诞生源于2003年穆斯克和特斯拉首席技术官JB•斯特劳贝尔的一次午餐。当时正在斯坦福大学研究电池和电动车的斯特劳贝尔提到了一家名叫AC Propulsion的公司，后者的总部在南加州，正在制造一辆原型电动跑车。

穆斯克和斯特劳贝尔很快就和AC Propulsion的成员见了面。特斯拉的第一款产品Roadster采用了AC Propulsion电动跑车tzero的部分技术。在周三的采访中，穆斯克说：“他们[AC Propulsion]对特斯拉的贡献很大。”

2008年，穆斯克花了数百万美元来拯救濒临破产的特斯拉，随后成为该公司CEO。穆斯克说自己投入了“所有的资金”。如果拿出了所有的筹码，“你就得亲自上阵”，穆斯克向与会者解释说这就是他成为CEO的原因。（财富中文网）

译者：Charlie

校对：詹妮

At one point in the early life of electric car company Tesla, the company could have been named “Faraday,” revealed Tesla CEO Elon Musk during an interview at an energy industry conference at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. on Wednesday.

The name “Faraday” refers to Michael Faraday, the scientist who invented the electric motor. Musk said “Faraday” would have been his second choice for a name. Instead, the company was named after Nikola Tesla, the inventor and electrical engineer.

The second-choice name will ring a bell with electric car industry watchers. Ironically, “Faraday Future” is now the name of a new electric car startup and competitor to Tesla TSLA 0.80% .

Faraday Future is backed by a billionaire Chinese tech entrepreneur and is planning on making an electric sedan, among other electric cars, at a factory under construction in Nevada. That’s the same state where Tesla is building its massive battery factory.

While there’s been considerable skepticism about the Los Angeles-based Faraday Future, the company’s investors have pledged $1 billion to build the factory. The company could be focused on selling electric cars to consumers in China, where the market is particularly difficult to break into and where Tesla has struggled.

Musk and his team during the early days of the car company were originally name-shopping because Musk said they didn’t own the trademark for Tesla. Instead, “a dude in Sacramento,” did, quipped Musk.

The genesis for the creation of Tesla was a lunch in 2003 between Musk and Tesla’s CTO JB Straubel, who was working on batteries and electric cars at Stanford University. Straubel mentioned a company called AC Propulsion, based in Southern California, which was making a prototype electric sports car.

Musk and Straubel met with the company a short time later. Tesla’s first car the Roadster used some of the technology in AC Propulsion’s electric sports car called the “tzero.” Musk noted during the interview on Wednesday, “They [AC Propulsion] deserve a lot of credit for Tesla.”

Musk became CEO of Tesla in 2008 after he put in millions of dollars—or “all his money” as he put it— to save the company, which was on the brink of financial collapse. When you put all of your chips on the table “you have to play the hand yourself,” Musk remarked, explaining to the audience on Wednesday why he took over as CEO.