Admittedly, at LOLFed we’re predisposed to like geeks, and since we like fast cars, too, we really would like to be reporting that Tesla is doing well and its founder Elon Musk is on top of the world, but that is not the case. Sounds like he’s blown through his money and the government’s, too:
Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk seems to have it all… The one thing he doesn’t have, by his own admission, is money.
“About four months ago, I ran out of cash,” he wrote in a court filing dated Feb. 23, reviewed by VentureBeat. That’s a problem not just for him but for Tesla, where he is the lead investor and chief product architect, as well as CEO. Musk’s willingness to funnel his own cash into Tesla has for years sustained the faith of fellow investors and reassured would-be car buyers in 2008 when the company’s finances were in perilous shape.
The company has a $465 million loan from the Department of Energy, but it’s been heavily dependent on Musk, as well. However, it’s recently started kicking more compensation his way, reimbursing his private jet flights and issuing him 6.7 million stock options as compensation. Musk is in the middle of an ugly divorce, too, with his wife charging him with “breach of fiduciary duty” (golddiggers take note, you can marry a risky venture capitalist and still act surprised if at some point he can’t scrape enough cash together for a McDonald’s Value Meal) as grounds for tearing up the pre-nup and going after his assets.
VentureBeat speculates that the company will go for an IPO as the tidiest way for Musk to get back on his feet and pay off his soon to be ex-wife. Would you be in?
Video I was watching about Tesla’s govt loan this morning:
joeV // Jun 3, 2010 at 6:40 pm
sorry for the stupid question, however who is the person next to geithner (not ken lewis) with the mask at the top of this site?
alyx // Jun 3, 2010 at 10:04 pm
The mask? Oh, you ARE new here, aren’t you…
That would be Vikram Bandit.
Niko // Jun 3, 2010 at 10:45 pm
Using FOX News as your source doesn’t make you very credible dude…
Mrballer // Jun 4, 2010 at 11:54 am
I like the South Park references
pezhead9000 // Jun 5, 2010 at 9:31 am
It’s foobar – Friends Of Obama Beyond All Repair – aka FUBAR
wtfrustooped // Jun 6, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Typical Faux Noose disinformation.
None of the figures are accurate . But fn has no problem with out right lies. the so called business man / city council / real estate broker, (aren’t all city council people in RE?) stands to not make his commission.
What faux news left out is that Musk has negotiated with Toyota to build cars at the Newark, Ca. NUMMI plant that was recently closed. It only makes sense, It is near Silicon Valley
You know? where computers were practically invented. Oh and very little retooling would would be needed to build cars in a car plant.
Pezhead your dispenser is Empty.
They the fed gave wall st. 3 trillion That would be dollars and Wall St. makes NOTHING and creates No JOBS.
wtfrustooped // Jun 6, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Granted 100k super electric cars are not what people need. Who’s going to buy them besides Jay Leno?
We need cars for the masses Like the VW Beetle?
Or better yet real Mass transit for the masses.
That isn’t more expensive than driving and it also must be convenient.
I will no longer fly. So my option is to drive or if it was available I would go by rail.