Elon Musk on the Early Days of Tesla: Interview Part 1

Musk had envisioned electric vehicles (EVs) since high school and planned to research lithium-ion batteries at Stanford University in 1995 (he dropped out to start a company).

Tesla's origin dates back to 2003, when Musk and JB Straubel conceived of commercializing an EV based on AC Propulsion's tzeroero. They joined forces with Martin Eberhard and others, but at the time, it was an empty shell with zero employees and no intellectual property.

Musk oversaw product design from the outset, contributing more with technology and design than with investment. He declared Eberhard "the worst person I have ever worked with" and fired him unanimously in July 2007.

Roadster development faced extreme difficulties: outsourcing battery production to a barbecue factory in Thailand (failed), complete redesign of the body and structure after adopting the Lotus Elise base, failure to develop a 2-speed transmission (resulting in a $10 million loss across three companies), and defective body panel manufacturing, among others.

During the 2008 financial crisis, Tesla was on the brink of bankruptcy. Musk invested $40 million of his personal assets, split equally between SpaceX and Tesla, and barely succeeded in raising funds at the last possible moment (6 PM on December 24, 2008). At the time, Musk had no house or cash, and had to borrow money to pay rent.

The Roadster's production cost was initially estimated at $180,000, significantly exceeding its selling price (approx. $85,000). After Musk became CEO, he reduced costs to $80,000-$90,000 through a complete overhaul of the supply chain, elimination of the 2-speed transmission, and re-tooling of body panels, achieving a profit margin of approximately 25% with an average selling price of $110,000-$120,000.

The trademark "Tesla Motors" was held by a third party, so Musk dispatched Mark Tarpenning to sit on the owner's doorstep and bought it for $75,000.

Musk emphasized that he "did not want to be CEO." As he was the majority shareholder from the beginning, he could have become CEO at any time, but he wanted to focus on product development and tried to entrust management to others. However, he became de facto CEO from mid-2007 and was officially appointed CEO in late 2008.

The reasons for supply interruptions were a "comedically long list": train derailments, blizzards, wildfires, power outages, water supply cuts, revolutions, a parts delivery truck being impounded after a drug gang shootout on a Friday, preventing its retrieval until Monday, which once halted Model S production for three days.

Musk predicted that internal combustion engine cars would be remembered in history as a "strange time." Just as steam engines (external combustion engines) are now treated as antiques, gasoline cars will also be seen as quaint and strange in the future.