Tesla surely had a rocky year in 2008 wherein the company had trouble with its resources. In the account of Elon Musk, the company’s Chief Executive, during his interview with Forbes, the problem was such that the company nearly closed down and he had to spend all his personal reserve in an effort to save it.

But thanks to a timely investment by Daimler, by pouring $50 million into the company, it was able to support its operations. That was further improved by a $465 million taxpayer loan and Toyota’s $50 million investment in 2010. According to Forbes, it seems like Daimler and Toyota’s faith in Tesla paid off as the electric car company was able to triple its stock this year.

The two giant automakers had their fare share in terms of returns for believing in the potentials of the electric car maker. Moreover, both companies were able to successfully adopt the technology of Tesla in some of their vehicles, like Daimler’s Smart car plus the upcoming Mercedes-Benz B-Class EV for 2014 and Toyota’s Rav4 EV.

Harald Kroeger, head of Daimler’s electric vehicle research division and the representative of the company in Tesla’s board of directors, said that they love the innovation that Tesla brings into them. He also stated that he is having fun working with Tesla because of its very open approach to technological issues.

On the other hand, Sheldon Brown, Toyota’s executive project manager for the Rav4 EV, praised Tesla for its amazing performance in the market. He said that the inventiveness and cutting edge technology of the electric car company were definitely beneficial for his company.