It would be a great understatement to say that Elon Musk has not been having a good time of late. In fact, it may be more accurate to say he has had the worst two or three months you could imagine, ignoring for a moment the fact that regardless of what happens he still has billions of dollars. His professional reputation has been in a bit of a tailspin since the whole Thai submarine situation, and it all came to a head last week with the seemingly insane announcement he was taking Tesla private at the inherently humorous price of $420 a share.
Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018
News emerged that he wasn’t just talking shit – at least, not entirely – and that he had the Saudi sovereign wealth fund behind him.
Now he’s done a huge and very odd interview with The New York Times in which he admits that the past year has “not been great” and that the intense stresses around Tesla and his public image have been taking a toll on his physical and mental health. The NYT reports that Musk’s tweet set off a great deal of instability within Tesla, too:
The events set in motion by Mr. Musk’s tweet have ignited a federal investigation and have angered some board members, according to people familiar with the matter. Efforts are underway to find a No. 2 executive to help take some of the pressure off Mr. Musk, people briefed on the search said. And some board members have expressed concern not only about Mr. Musk’s workload but also about his use of Ambien, two people familiar with the board said.
Though Musk says that his tweeted ultimatum was definitely intentional, and that he has secured to funding to make it a reality, he understood that the 420 reference might make people assume the billionaire – who is known for being a bit of a troll – was joking.
“It seemed like better karma at $420 than at $419,” he said in the interview. “But I was not on weed, to be clear. Weed is not helpful for productivity. There’s a reason for the word ‘stoned.’ You just sit there like a stone on weed.”
There you go, folks: not on weed. The man was not On Weed.
The whole article is worth a read, if you’re keen for something a little hyper on your Friday arvo.
