LOS ANGELES—The Petersen Automotive Museum here has opened a temporary exhibit that focuses on Tesla Inc. “Inside Tesla: Supercharging the Electric Vehicle Revolution” explains the history of electric vehicles in America and showcases the rapid rise of Elon Musk’s controversial auto company.

The 11-month exhibit “traces the company’s story from fledgling startup to EV juggernaut and explores the range of its products, the breadth of its manufacturing capabilities and its irrefutable impact on the modern transportation landscape.”

According to the Petersen Museum, the exhibit features “the most comprehensive collection of Tesla vehicles ever curated.” It includes models, mockups, prototypes and production models of numerous cars and trucks.

The display also features a 1908 Victoria Phaeton made by the Columbia Automobile Co., an EV pioneer that was based in Hartford, CT. It provides a stark contrast to a late-model Tesla Model S that’s on display nearby.

In addition, the new Petersen Museum exhibit has vehicle cutaways and displays about battery packs, e-axles, power electronics, rechargers, traction motors and other key EV components. There’s even a six-axis Kuka robot similar to the type of machines used in Tesla’s body shops.

The exhibit also covers other Musk ventures, such as the Boring Co. and SpaceX.