Technically no, you are correct. But realistically, one can totally reasonably try to make a claim that Elon was a founding member. The company was created in J

Technically no, you are correct. But realistically, one can totally reasonably try to make a claim that Elon was a founding member. The company was created in June 2003, and in February 2004 Elon already became the largest shareholder (which is just slightly over half a year later after the company was founded). And that's 5 years before they produced their first ever car (the original Roadster) and 7 years before their first mass produced car (Model S). Though I am skeptical of the sourcing on that quote, given that Elon isn't listed as a founder neither on the official "origin story" page of Tesla nor in the wikipedia entry for the company.