PayPal cofounder, SpaceX Founer and Tesla CEO Elon Musk takes the stage today at the Web 2.0 Summit to talk with John Battelle.
What do space flights and electric cars have to do with Web 2.0? Absolutely nothing. Still, there will be lots to talk about. In September SpaceX put a Falcon rocket into Earth orbit, the first privately developed launch vehicle to reach earth orbit from the ground. More recently, his Tesla Motors has gone through layoffs and raised another $40 million, and Musk took over the CEO role. There have also been some spectacular Tesla crashes.
Our live notes of the interview are below:
Tesla:
Musk says they’ll be making 1,500 Tesla Roadsters a year at full productions. He says it’s faster than a Ferrari – 3.9 seconds 0-60, and more efficient than a Prius – about 130 MPG equivalent. There are 1,200 people on the waiting list.
The next product Tesla will launch is a sedan, the Model S, which will be unveiled in Q1 2009. It will be half the price of the $109k roadster. The third model will be a car that’s less than $30k, and they’ll create “hundreds of thousands” of them per year.
Battelle ask Musk about the recent layoffs, the funding and the CEO change. Musk says the last time there was a successful auto startup was Jeep in 1941. Building a car company is hard, he says, but that we can’t leave electric cars up to Detroit, because we’d be waiting too long.
Musk says they raised $40 million from existing investors instead of raising $100 million from new investors so that they’d maintain control of the company.
When Battelle asks why General Motors doesn’t buy Tesla, Musk responds “They can’t afford us.”
Solar City:
Musk says he spends very little time on Solar City, which provides solar panels to residential customers, and lets buyers get the panels with no down payments.
SpaceX:
Musk says the Internet, energy and space exploration are the key areas of exploration for humanity. SpaceX is now six years old and he started it from scratch.
where can i get live videos?
I’ve read and heard a lot about Elon. He definitely sets a high-bar for entrepreneurs to aspire to. I guess the safety net (cash) of previous victories makes it a bit easier to think huge, but Elon is on a bigger scale than most others I can think of. Very glad both Web 2 conference and TC realized what a compelling story he is.
Disclosure, I’m also a huge Tesla fanboy, so I’m biased. Put up pics and videos and a ton of other good stuff on our site:
http://greenhom...-roadster-coupe
Right the comment about the last successful car startup was wide of the mark, porsche founded in 1948, honda founded in 1948, lotus founded in 1952 amongst others ;p
But is he Jewish?
I have never met Elon, but his entrepreneurial vision is astounding, matched only by his bravery and ability to execute.
I wish him every success in his ventures.
There have been a few Tesla crashes, by only one qualifies as spectacular. There other two were low-speed rear-ends. Also, the one extreme crash is widely reported incorrectly: the driver was going 100 kph (about 60 mph) not 100 mph, and the passenger was not thrown from the vehicle.
I heard from a couple who met ol’ Elon at a party last week that he just left his wife and 4 small children for a 22 year old. He and his 22 year old fiance were at the party.
Sounds like a stand-up guy!
He’s a maverick!
Too bad his family life is falling apart, and his wife says that it is partly due to his work habits.
5 kids I think they had together, too.
(story is at vallywag)
Perhaps Inc. should take away his Entrepreneur of the Year award like they do to pageant queens.
It profits a man nothing to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul.
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