I found out last week that Musk isn't actually Tesla's founder. It's all a big lie. https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-the-origin-story-2014-10
I wouldn't bet too much on him being able to save the company he runs either. They will likely need to raise more money soon. The government incentives are coming off and each car will either need to add $7500 or take a bigger hit on it's sale price. There are over 100 announced electric cars globally. The German car companies in general are coming on strong. I'd like to see Tesla be successful, but there are too many problems to overcome and marketing genius is one quality that won't save it, unless he uses it to find a buyer for the company. They have >$10B in debt that is starting to come due as well...
Yes, you are correct, he isn't the founder, but schmoozed his way to become the face of Tesla. Also, they definitely lost their first move advantage...things should get interesting in due time.