ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Elon Musk Reveals Tesla Was 'About A Month' Away From Bankruptcy

Elon Musk Reveals Tesla Was 'About A Month' Away From Bankruptcy

The billionaire revealed there were a tough couple of years for his car company

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

Elon Musk has revealed Tesla was 'about a month' away from bankruptcy as the company struggled to ramp up the production of the Model 3.

In a frank exchange with a follower on Twitter, the billionaire explained that Tesla was in 'production and logistics hell' for around two years.

PA

Musk was asked: "How close was Tesla from bankruptcy when bringing the Model 3 to mass production?"

To which he replied: "Closest we got was about a month. The Model 3 amp was extreme stress and pain for a long time - from mid 2017 to mid 2019. Production and logistics hell."

The Model 3 first went on sale in July 2017, but experts warned that to mass produce the vehicle the company would need more funding.

In 2019, Musk raised billions after promoting his self-driving cars at an Autonomy Day event, CNBC reports.

And it seems as though it was all worth it in the end for Musk, at least, as he picked up a $700 million (£567m) performance-based compensation earlier this year.

The CEO's payout was triggered after the company reached a few of its targets, including hitting $20 billion (£16.2bn) total revenue for its last four quarters.

Musk has chosen not to have a base salary with the company, instead opting for deeply discounted Tesla shares.

In fact, it's been a good year for Musk all round, after he saw his personal fortune rise to an eye-watering $84.8bn (£64.1bn) in August -making him the fourth richest man in the world.

PA

The SpaceX founder has been one of the few winners during the coronavirus pandemic, seeing a whopping 55 percent increase in his wealth from the start to the year to July.

But he's not sitting back and counting his cash - it's been a busy year for Musk. As well as welcoming his seventh child X Æ A-12, he's also ploughing ahead with his plans to colonise Mars.

Speaking during a virtual 'Humans to Mars' conference in September, the 49-year-old said: "Getting to Mars, I think, is not the fundamental issue.

"The fundamental issue is building a base, building a city on Mars that is self-sustaining.

"We're going to build a propellant plant, an initial Mars base - Mars Base Alpha - and then get it to the point where it's self-sustaining.

"I want to emphasise that this is a very hard and dangerous, difficult thing, not for the faint of heart.

"Good chance you'll die, it's going to be tough going, but it will be pretty glorious if it works out."

Yes, sounds great, mate...

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: elon musk, Technology, US