I'd say it was more than an empty shell. Eberhard got a lot of the way there developing the product. From what I've read he wasn't the guy to grow the company b

I'd say it was more than an empty shell. Eberhard got a lot of the way there developing the product. From what I've read he wasn't the guy to grow the company but he got it through the initial startup. I'd agree with you and say they're all cofounders (as, Wikipedia tells me, they settled out of court to agree on). But I think the media really emphasizes Musk, and in this article Straubel, as the co-founders while eliding Eberhard's contribution (ie. actually STARTING the company with Tarpenning).