JB Straubel
Founder & CEO of Redwood Materials and Board Member of Tesla
Data Confidence: 84% · Sources: 5 · Last Updated: Sep 18, 2026
- Net Worth ▲
- $1.3B
- Reach ▲
- 25.0M people
- Power ▲
- He leads Redwood Materials, which has raised over $2 billion in capital and operates major battery recycling and materials campuses in Nevada and South Carolina, while guiding governance as a board director of Tesla.
- Influence ▲
- His push for circular battery supply chains has driven strategic partnerships with major EV manufacturers and cell makers including Panasonic, Toyota, Volkswagen, and BMW.
- Network ▲
- He maintains high-level connections across Silicon Valley and the global automotive sector, including long-standing ties with Elon Musk and board seats at Tesla and QuantumScape.
- Legacy ▲
- He is credited with designing the core battery and powertrain technology that enabled Tesla's mass-market electric vehicles and establishing the framework for sustainable battery recycling in North America.
- Trajectory ▲
- Stable — first assessment on record.
About
JB Straubel is an American electrical engineer and executive who co-founded Tesla, Inc., serving as its Chief Technology Officer from 2005 to 2019 before joining its Board of Directors in 2023. At Tesla, he oversaw the engineering of core battery architectures, electric powertrains, and the construction of the Nevada Gigafactory. In 2017, he founded Redwood Materials, a closed-loop battery recycling and materials company aimed at building a domestic North American supply chain for EV battery components. He also serves on the board of solid-state battery developer QuantumScape.
Known For
Co-founding Tesla, pioneering its EV battery and powertrain engineering, and founding battery recycling startup Redwood Materials.
Connections
Board & Governance
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- Wikipediacorroborated
- Vectorshiftcorroborated
- Forbescorroborated
- Climateonecorroborated
- Redwoodmaterialscorroborated