Co-founders of electric car company end legal fight with confidential settlement

Tesla founders end bitter legal fight

SAN FRANCISCO — The co-founders of the electric car company Tesla Motors Inc. have settled their legal battle with laudatory statements of each other’s accomplishments.

Former Chief Executive Martin Eberhard dropped his lawsuit accusing current CEO Elon Musk of slander, libel and other claims. Eberhard had charged Musk with unfairly blaming him for the San Carlos, California-based company’s well-documented missteps and with wrongly claiming to be a company founder.

Eberhard launched Tesla in 2003, and Musk joined the company the following year as majority investor.

The company announced the settlement Monday. Neither side disclosed settlement details.

But in a prepared statement, Eberhard referred to Musk as a “co-founder.” For his part, Musk says Eberhard was “indispensable” in the company’s creation.