In a 2008 video, Elon Musk talks about Tesla and more.
A video from 13 years ago in which Elon Musk explains why Tesla cars are so expensive has surfaced online again and is currently going viral on Twitter. Elon Musk’s Tesla is now considered one of the most valuable car companies in the world, but that was not always the case. In 2008 – which Mr Musk previously said was the “worst year” of his life – Tesla lost money.
According to Space.com, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors told 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley in an interview that his Falcon 1 rocket had failed, while the Tesla Roadster, a two-seat sports car, was quickly losing money. Musk was himself in debt at the time.
“To save Tesla, Musk needed millions from investors. His fortune ran out,” said Pelley.
It was at the end of this year that Elon Musk stood in front of an audience of about 300 people from the film, television and music industries at an event hosted by The Hollywood Hill and spoke about Tesla’s electric cars.
A video from the December 2008 event went viral after it was shared on Twitter yesterday by Tesla owners from Silicon Valley. “Every time someone buys a Tesla Roadster sports car, every penny Tesla earns goes towards developing a smaller, cheaper car,” Musk said in the video. He further refuted criticism that Tesla’s expensive electric vehicles are only “rich people’s toys” and don’t really help the environment, and explained that it takes time to optimize new technology.
@Elon Musk about electric vehicles in 2008, because Tesla was running out of money. pic.twitter.com/q41Tw9bfx9
– Silicon Valley Tesla Owners (@teslaownersSV) February 22, 2021
The video has been viewed over 2.2 million times on the microblogging platform, along with thousands of likes and retweets.
“My restaurants are struggling to stay open, but if you have vision and you refuse to stay low, it’s videos like this that push me harder. Well done Elon. Never stop believing,” one person wrote in the comments section.
“The greatest entrepreneur of our time,” commented another.
You can watch the full presentation here.
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