The radial tire option was discontinued after 1968. Michelin in France designed, developed, patented, and commercialized the radial tire. In 1946, Michelin developed the radial tire method of construction. The radial tire was designed by an advertising employee in his company. The first radial tire developed and produced by Firestone was the ill-fated Firestone 500 Radial. A radial tire (more properly, a radial-ply tire) is a particular design of vehicular tire.