Engineering: JB Straubel, Chief technology officer, Tesla Motors

JB Straubel

 

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JB Straubel, 36, is the technical and engineering architect behind the Tesla Model S, an electric sedan with a real-world 230-mile range that seats five, accelerates as fast as a Porsche Panamera and has a revolutionary touch-screen center console.

He's also the guy who gets to say, "No, well, maybe," to mercurial CEO Elon Musk when Musk asks for too much. Many said it couldn't be done, but Tesla is cranking out hundreds, soon to be thousands, of this technological wonder every month. The Model S is sold out through the end of 2013.