Erik Nordeus - The Engineer

But everyone weren’t convinced. “I wouldn’t call it Tesla Motors yet,” a critic said. “I would call it the Tesla prototype company. My concern is that there are people in charge who don’t have a realistic view of the car industry.” The same critic thought the Model S would never see daylight. Tesla would need 30 to 40 years to become a profitable company, and $700 million to successfully develop and mass produce Model S. “I will eat my hat if we spend anything close to $700 million on our model-2 car [Model S],” Elon replied. 372

Neither Tesla’s customers were enthusiastic when photographs of a Model S beta leaked on the Internet. Tesla had tested the car on the streets in Palo Alto and someone took photographs of it. “Wow, I hope that wasn’t a Tesla design bound for production, or I’m pulling my reservation,” one said. “That thing was not what they have been selling on their website. The proportions were, in a polite term, boring.” Another customer said, “There is no way Tesla is going to get most people to pay $50 000 or $60 000 for the car in this photo. It looks like a Ford Probe from the late 80’s.” 442

Elon Musk married Justine Wilson in January 2000. The life of Elon and Justine, or simply J as he often called her, looked like something out of a dream. “The happiest moments of my marriage took place in the earlier years, on the Saturday and Sunday mornings when Elon and I went to the bookstore, then took our purchases to a cafe and read over coffee and just hung out,” Justine said. 133

They lived in a small apartment together with three roommates and two dogs. The Musk family would later include more dogs, and a chicken the family adopted when a petting zoo left it behind in a park.

Justine’s sister thought Hobbes, the Yorkie, had a mental problem. Together with other dogs, he turned manic and yappy. But the loud barking stopped when Hobbes became really sick and was admitted to the animal hospital. “I’m very sad. I mean, I know you don’t like him very much,” Justine told Elon. “Well, I certainly don’t want him to die or anything,” Elon replied. “Poor Hobbes.”

The old debate champion Elon can convince most men and women. Those who will interview Elon are often warned, “Don’t bring any cash, because you’ll be offering to give it to him twenty minutes into the interview.” 195Elon even convinced a friend that Hobbes was not a Yorkie, but a South Seas Terrier. He argued their long coats protected them against the chill of the ocean as they swam from island to island.

Hamlet was the gentle giant Great Dane. His name originates from The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare. Elon and Justine thought their dog was another great Dane. To help them walking Hamlet, they hired a dog walking agency. The agency told their brave walkers how to handle Hamlet:

“Great Dane, male, black and white, 2 years old, very sweet with people… HAMLET HATES OTHER DOGS. KEEP HIM AWAY AT ALL TIMES. HE WILL ONLY PULL IF HE THINKS HE CAN GET TO A DOG. HAVE A GOOD GRIP ON THAT LEASH. Hamlet may try to hold your arm in his mouth during the walk, or he may put his mouth around your ankle when he thinks you’re ready to leave. This is just him being affectionate. The more he knows you, the more he will become very attached to you. Do not wear open toed shoes. Hamlet has a foot fetish!”

Bowie was the Miniature Dachshund who had a higher rank than the much larger Hamlet. One of her favorite occupations was to rest in Hamlet’s giant dog crate. The Great Dane couldn’t fit in Bowie’s dog crate, so he had to lie on the floor.

Leroy was son of a Miniature Dachshund and a Yorkie, probably Hobbes and Bowie. The Musk family found inspiration from the song Bad, Bad Leroy Brown by Jim Croce when they came up with his name. Leroy was a good escape artist because he had no fear. Although they tried to seal the walls of their garden, the dog escaped by jumping off the steep cliffs that surrounded their house. Hours could pass before he showed up at their front door as if nothing happened. “The dog has the biggest ego I’ve ever met in any dog,” a dog trainer said. “You’re lucky he’s not any bigger than he is, or you’d have a real problem.” 163,164,166,168,174

As Elon sold more and more of his companies, the couple moved to larger and larger houses – or rather mansions. To get a feeling of the neighborhood they lived in, there’s a story about when a rich neighbor came over to their house. There were three parked cars on the driveway that night: a Ferrari, a Mercedes sedan, and a Cadillac Esplanade. “Wow. Look at that car. What a beauty. Can I get in it?” the rich neighbor asked. Everyone thought he would go to the Ferrari, but he went over to the Mercedes. He opened the back door and sat down in the seat. “Wow. This is great. What a beautiful car,” he said. Everyone realized the rich neighbor didn’t have a driver’s license. He had been chauffeured around his entire life, so why would he need to test the driver’s seat? 173

The couple visited black-tie fundraisers and got the best tables in the best Hollywood nightclubs. Villa, owned by the actors Mark Wahlberg and Leonardo DiCaprio, was so exclusive almost no one in Los Angeles knew of its existence. Outside of the club, there was a crowd of gold diggers trying to get in and paparazzi photographers trying to get the latest gossip pictures. But Elon and Justine could sneak by them. 151

They visited the exclusive Hyde Lounge at the Sunset Boulevard, famous for being the place where Britney Spears stepped out of a car without any panties. Elon and Justine arrived to the club together with their famous neighbor. They were used to the paparazzi photographers, but they were also used to being ignored by them. Elon and Justine were no stars the public wanted to read about in a gossip magazine. This time, however, because they arrived to the club together with their famous neighbor, the photographers ran to their car to take pictures. 156

They were invited to a New Year’s Eve party at the same house as where Marsellus Wallace lived in the popular movie Pulp Fiction . When Marsellus Wallace moved out after the movie had finished, a lawyer moved in. At law school, this lawyer skipped the lectures to watch at least two movies a day. He thought law school is the fallback position for smart kids who don’t know what to do with their lives. After school, he made money from the dot.com bubble and could now live in the famous house. 177

Elon and Justine traveled to Richard Branson’s private island in the Caribbean, the Necker Island, to attend the marriage of the Google co-founder Larry Page. They used their private jet, a Dassault Falcon 900, to visit similar remote locations. “Town car picks us up, drives us to small private airport, up to private jet, where personal flight attendant greets us at the door and someone else deals with the luggage,” Justine said. “All I had to do was request a glass of champagne, which was then magically deposited into my hand.” 146

Both Branson and Page enjoys kitesurfing, which is an extreme sport that combines windsurfing, gymnastics, and paragliding. Kitesurfing has become popular among technology enthusiasts and Elon has joined the crowd. “I’m a terrible kitesurfer,” Elon said. “At some point I would like to be less terrible. It’s kind of a fun thing. It definitely appeals a lot to the high-tech crowd because it’s sort of a high-tech sport. The kite-technology is constantly evolving, it’s an interesting challenge to manage the kite while you’re surfing across the waves, it’s a good adrenaline rush. Yeah, it’s fun. It’s like the most fun thing you can do if you have some spare time.” 441