This is incorrect - Musk became the controlling shareholder of Tesla just eight months after it was founded and fully five years before the very first model was released (the Roadster).
It's humorous the pretzels people will twist themselves into in order to try to downgrade what he's accomplished.
I don't see it that way at all. He's a master financial manipulator (so far, let's see what Twitter does to him first). But there is a huge majority of people who think he is a mechanical/electronic genius, of which there's no real evidence. He's a money master who has some off the wall ideas...
So you believe his role at Tesla and SpaceX has been just that of an investor / businessman? Despite all the evidence to the contrary from people who either currently or formerly work(ed) with him in these industries? I've seen him lauded time and again from both current and former engineers.
I've also seen scuttlebutt (which is all it is) from former employees who were bitterly critical of him on all levels. You can see the same of all financial geniuses (who can also manipulate and manage technical geniuses) like Gates and Jobs, etc...
