And We Lent Him $465 Million? Tesla CEO Says He Is Dead Broke And Living Off Loans From Friends

“About four months ago, I ran out of cash,” Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal and head of Tesla Motors, acknowledged in a divorce court filing that was widely circulated among the West Coast digital elite.

It was quite a revelation, one that laid bare an uncomfortable truth in the world of venture capital: high-tech entrepreneurs who look rich are often relatively cash-poor, at least next to their glittering images, The New York Times’s Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in his latest DealBook column.

The revelations about Mr. Musk’s personal financial problems stunned many in the industry. Wall Street spent years courting him. The Energy Department had given Tesla $465 million in low-interest loans. The whispering among Mr. Musk’s detractors began almost immediately, Mr. Sorkin writes.


 
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Joe_Limon - 6/22/2010 11:23:26 AM

+1 Boost

Huh, and here I thought Tesla was the mac of the auto world, I guess he needs a few more marketing hype classes.

Firsttborn - 6/23/2010 3:22:27 AM

+2 Boost

speak for yourself dude

pennfootball - 6/22/2010 11:32:12 AM

+2 Boost

I work in private equity and it is in my experience many entrepreneurs get lucky with one company cash out, try to start another company then realize....ut oh....I need business skills now? They don't have the focus, or technical know how to really make a company work all the time and hire the right people, get strategic alliances and really understand something as different then a service with high margins and manufacturing industry with low margins.

Agent009 - 6/22/2010 1:25:37 PM

0 Boost

Funny though. Neither you or I would get $400 Million on a loan if we were in this situation.

But if he pulls it off he will become an example of someone that risked it all and won, the American dream.

Typically though normal people are never allowed to be in a situation with such high risks.

rubenkincaid - 6/23/2010 2:23:44 AM

-2 Boost

None of the auto companies should have been bailed out, especially this tiny one.

Firsttborn - 6/23/2010 3:24:02 AM

+1 Boost

My company sure did not need a bailout!

jesandstrom - 6/23/2010 6:23:32 PM

+1 Boost

With the impending Tesla IPO, what is the common consensus with everything (lawsuits, divorce) else going on?

rubenkincaid - 6/23/2010 9:21:11 PM

+2 Boost

Seriously, why were Chrysler and GM bailed out? Neither could sustain a business with their product.