@leoxbtt: In 2008, Elon Musk was 12 days from bankruptcy. Standing in a Hollywood ballroom, he was trying to sell a $109,000 car …

In 2008, Elon Musk was 12 days from bankruptcy. Standing in a Hollywood ballroom, he was trying to sell a $109,000 car to people who thought he was crazy. His own Roadster was parked outside, as if it were just a simple bicycle. He started by talking about money: Congress had approved $25 billion to make efficient cars. The Big Three flew to Washington and asked for it… to pay salaries for their gas-guzzlers. Congress said yes. “That gives them until February,” Musk said. Tesla asked for the same fund… but for what it was really created for: a cheaper car. And then he dropped the line that no one in the room registered: Tesla doesn’t pay dividends. It never will. Every dollar from every $109,000 Roadster goes straight to the next cheaper car. His salary: the legal minimum. He didn’t tell them the company had days of cash left. Or that if they didn’t close an emergency round before Christmas Eve… it was all over. He talked about cell phones. About how the first ones cost a fortune. About how you don’t get to cheap without selling expensive first. 100 cars made. Number 100 was coming off the line on Tuesday. And he’d deliver the keys himself. Six months later, GM declared bankruptcy. The guy on minimum wage… didn’t.