“Either die peacefully, or live brilliantly.” — Musk

“Every morning when I wake up, I find that the pillow is wet, and I cry in my sleep all night. Chewing the glass while staring into the abyss."

- Musk recalls the days when he was on the verge of bankruptcy

Chenxinfanyu

Steve Jobs was fired from Apple;

Amazon President Bezos has always been questioned about losing money and not making money.

In January 2021, when Tesla President Musk surpassed Bezos and became the richest man in the world with a net worth of US$209 billion;

He recalled 12 years ago , the years of struggling on the edge of bankruptcy several times seemed like a long dream.

The financial crisis swept the United States in 2008;

Tesla was on the verge of bankruptcy;

In December 2008, Chief Financial Officer Deepak told him: "The funds on the books are It can only last for 3 days.”

The lawyer prepared the legal document declaring bankruptcy and just waited for his signature.

On the verge of the cliff, Musk was about to sign the bankruptcy agreement and surrender to the fate of failure;

At the moment when he was about to sign, he suddenly paused, thought for a long time, and decided to sell the iron. , hold on.

Musk invested every penny in Tesla and SpaceX rocket companies, and was heavily in debt. Finally, with the determination to burn everything, he sold multiple homes, private jets, and McLaren F1 sports cars, and moved into an empty house. hotel.

In order to save money, he even decided to move out of the hotel and live temporarily in the basement of his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

To make matters worse, Justin, his wife of ten years, decided to leave him;

In the eyes of the world and his wife, Musk and Tesla are a pair of A broken boat that was about to sink;

The choice the wife made was to leave the sunken boat that was about to be submerged in the water and escape with her five children.

The divorce lawsuit filed by Justin is a knife that makes things worse;

She wants 20 million US dollars in cash, 10% of Tesla shares, and 5% of SpaceX shares;

In fact, Musk is already heavily in debt and has no money.

The judge probably also knew that Musk was at the end of his rope, and the final verdict was:

Justin received two million US dollars in cash and monthly child support.

Tesla shares were not included;

At that time, everyone thought that Tesla’s stock would be cheaper than toilet paper in the near future.

Bai Juyi once lamented: "The difficulty of traveling is not in the mountains or the water, but in the changing of human relationships."

In fact, it is even more difficult in the ups and downs of fate.

Only when you are in humble circumstances and in danger can you see the truth about the world and people.

Musk looked at the back of his wife and children with tears in his eyes;

He has lost the qualification to move to the basement of his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

These days, all current relationships may become ex-relationships overnight:

Ex-husband, ex-boyfriend, ex-wife, ex-girlfriend, ex-boss, ex-employee, The streets are full of...

In addition to wives and children leaving, Tesla employees also left in large numbers;

In the empty factory, there were only three employees left at the lowest point.

When you are weak and in danger;

It seems that the whole world is hostile to you. The TV host always says:

"Wall Street will kill Tesla Listed as the least likely company to succeed, don’t buy Tesla’s stock. If you do, it’s just a waste of money and it keeps falling.”

“I feel like I’ve been hit hard with a gun butt.” Next, every day is like eating glass.”

Musk works nearly 120 hours a week and sleeps on the factory floor for 3 or 4 days in a row. Under intense work and mental stress, I need to take sleeping pills every night to fall asleep.

"All day and all night, no children, no friends, nothing but work."

A lonely and seemingly desperate Christmas Eve in December 2008;

“Every morning I woke up and found that the pillow was wet. I cried in my sleep all night, chewing the glass and staring into the abyss. . ”

“At that moment, I had nothing, lost everything, 10 years of marriage, and three companies were almost over.”

12 years later, in January 2012. , Tesla’s stock price broke through $854.

It took Musk 12 long years to go from a dying fish to Dragon Gate.

Musk’s ten years of tears;

The first landmark figure of the new industrial revolution.

The drama of life comes from perseverance.

As Haruki Murakami said:

“After the storm is over, you won’t remember how you survived;

You are not even sure about the storm. It’s really over;

But one thing is for sure:

When you get through the storm, you are no longer the same person. ”

From the moment he was born

Everyone is at an unfair starting line

On June 28, 1971, Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa;

As a teenager, he was an ordinary boy.

There is no sign that he will become the world's richest man with a fortune of $209 billion in the future and plan a grand immigration plan to Mars.

After becoming famous, Musk recalled his childhood. Not only was he unhappy, he was often bullied by bad boys in school;

He was almost beaten to death.

Reporter asked: Was your childhood happy?

Musk: No, that’s terrible!

Question: Are you serious?

Musk: Yes.

Question: Why is it bad?

Musk: Very violent, it was not a happy childhood.

Question: I know you were bullied at school.

Musk: I was almost beaten to death, if you call it bullying.

Musk’s grandfather was a famous doctor and political commentator who made a lot of money, but he hated the United States, so he immigrated to Canada and then South Africa.

Musk’s mother is a model and writer, and his father is an English-Dutch father who works as an electrical and mechanical engineer in South Africa.

He inherited his mother's appearance and has been handsome since he was a child.

Musk grew up in South Africa as a child. He loved reading very much;

He could read for 10 hours a day without getting tired and his memory was very good.

Little boys like to play with toy guns, but Musk played with real explosives when he was a child;

Musk’s grades were not good;

Most of the books he read were not Textbooks, but extracurricular books that interest you.

In 1980, Musk's mother and father divorced;

At the age of 9, he lived with his father.

Musk believes that part of the reason for his miserable childhood was that his parents were divorced and his father was emotionally abusive to him;

So when reporters wanted to interview his father, he resolutely refused, thinking that he The father is a madman.

Musk’s childhood obsession with technology;

But it originated from the inspiration of his engineer father.

His sensibility, sadness and appearance;

He inherited more of the genes of his mother, a model and writer.

Parents are the origin of each of us's troubled life.

We cannot choose whether our parents are beautiful or ugly, wise or foolish, rich or poor, gentle or rough.

So humans look forward to a fair world;

But from the moment they are born;

Everyone is at an unfair starting line.

In a person's life

There are only three chances to jump over the dragon gate at most

In 1981, when he was 10 years old, Musk used his own pocket money and his father's sponsorship to With part of the money, I bought my first computer;

Then I bought a programming textbook and learned how to program.

In 1983, 12-year-old Musk successfully designed a space game software called "Blastar";

Later, he sold it to a science magazine for $500 and earned a fortune in his life. The first pot of gold.

In 1988, after graduating from high school at the age of 17, Musk left his family and went to Canada alone to live with his mother's relatives.

In 1989, Musk obtained Canadian citizenship and applied to enter Queen's University in Ontario the following year.

Three years later, Musk relied on a scholarship to transfer to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to study economics.

While in college, I began to pay close attention to the Internet, clean energy, and space, these three areas that will affect the future development of mankind.

After Musk obtained a bachelor's degree in economics;

He stayed in school for another year and obtained a bachelor's degree in physics.

In 1995, 24-year-old Musk entered Stanford University to study for a doctoral degree in materials science and applied physics.

But on the second day after enrolling, Musk decided to drop out of school and leave school to start a business.

Zuckerberg entered Harvard in 2002, dropped out of school in 2004, and started Facebook.

Bill Gates was admitted to Harvard at the age of 18, dropped out of school a year later and founded Microsoft.

The most important reason here is:

These elites have discovered the opportunities in the wave of new technologies and dropped out of school to seize the opportunities.

The first step in struggle is choice;

In a person's life, there are only three opportunities to jump over the dragon gate at most.

In the long decades, you are usually just a fish;

In your life, you will encounter three major trends of the times;

The tide is coming, and thousands of fish are coming;

Most people don’t know that it is the tide of the times that only happens three times in a lifetime.

The most important change in life

From the Internet to new energy vehicles

1994; the day after Musk dropped out of school ;

Received investment from a small angel in Silicon Valley;

He and his brother created the zip2 website;

This is a website that combines maps and Dianping;

Users can view the company's introduction through the map.

Both the New York Times and the Chicago Post have become Musk's clients;

In 1999, the American computer manufacturer Compaq purchased US$307 million in cash and US$34 million in stock options to acquire Zip2

The 28-year-old Musk made a profit of US$22 million;

Then used the money to create an X.com website;

This website is similar to Alipay;

It can perform online financial services such as transfers and email payment services.

Musk’s competitor is Paypal;

Paypal’s boss is Peter Thiel;

After fierce competition and negotiations, the two companies eventually merged; < /p>

The name is x.com. After the merger, the original opponents did not get along well, which made everyone doubt Musk's leadership.

When Musk was newly married and on his honeymoon, a "coup" occurred in the company, and Peter Thiel replaced him as the company's boss.

Musk hurried back;

In the end, Musk, who was gentle but not tough, compromised;

gave up the CEO throne;

Company The name was changed to PayPal, and Musk was completely ignored;

In 2000, the company was later sold, and Musk received US$180 million.

If he had not been sidelined, Musk would have continued his Internet career;

But this “loss” will be the most important “gain” in the future.

Musk has since begun the most important change in his life;

From the Internet to new energy vehicles;

The fourth new industry Revolution;

New energy vehicles are an important part.

Musk’s track in the Internet;

Completed the accumulation of capital and management experience, as well as experience in personnel struggles;

Started a 20-year new industry The journey of revolution.

The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis broke out

Musk reached a low point in his life

In early 2001, Musk planned a project called "Mars Oasis";

Plan to build a small experimental greenhouse on Mars;

Let crops from the Earth try to grow in the soil of Mars.

Launching a rocket requires aerospace talents;

He found Cantrell, a very good engineer.

Musk’s first thought was to buy rockets, and he found the Russian Aerospace Corporation;

Russia said 1 rocket would cost 8 million US dollars, and Musk said 2 rockets, I would give you 8 million. dollar, and then the talks collapsed.

Cantrell said that it would be cheaper to build rockets by yourself;

Musk rented an old warehouse and started building rockets.

In June 2002, Musk established Space Exploration Technology Company (SpaceX) and served as CEO;

Musk began to study how to reduce rocket launch costs;

And plans to immigrate to Mars in the future.

Many aerospace scientists believe that Musk is unlikely to succeed;

Musk named the spacecraft after "Dragon";

The "Dragon" spacecraft adopts a 7-seater and wide The cargo bay design is in the shape of a "bullet" as a whole;

It is the world's first spacecraft developed by a private company.

In 2004, Musk founded Tesla with an investment of US$6.3 million;

This is a company that manufactures high-end electric sports cars;

All the money All invested in research and development.

In 2005, the 34-year-old Musk was worth more than US$300 million;

In 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis broke out in the United States, and Musk hit a low point in his life.

His rocket failed three times;

Tens of millions of dollars invested turned into a big fireball after the explosion.

How did these three rocket test launches fail?

After the rocket was built and needed to be launched, Musk found the US Air Force base. The Air Force looked down on the unknown Musk and waited for several months.

Musk couldn’t wait any longer, so he went to a small island on the equator to launch.

Twenty-five seconds after the first launch, the rocket fell and became scrap metal. Investigation, it was because a screw was loose.

The second launch occurred not long after. The rocket did not explode when launched, but it disintegrated shortly after entering space;

This time it was even worse, and even scrap metal could not be picked up.

During the third launch, the rocket exploded when the 1st and 2nd stages separated;

It carried the ashes of 208 deceased people who wanted to scatter their ashes into space;

Including "Star Trek" actor James and "Apollo 7" spacecraft astronaut Gordon;

Their ashes also fell into the sea.

When people mentioned Musk, they told a joke:

How to become a millionaire in the space field?

It’s very simple, first become a billionaire;

Then it will be fast.

R&D costs are too high

Tesla is also on the verge of bankruptcy

At this time, Musk only has enough money for one more launch.

In 2008, the fourth rocket launch was finally successful;

The Falcon 9 rocket accurately entered orbit;

After a moment of joy, Musk was also very happy Worried because he has no money.

Tesla is also on the verge of bankruptcy because of high research and development costs.

The first-generation model was launched in 2006;

Sales volume is less than 500 units per year, which is not enough to support the company.

In 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis was erupting in the United States, and there was a shortage of money everywhere;

Musk's two companies were on the verge of bankruptcy at the same time.

General Motors stock fell to a 20-year low;

then declared bankruptcy.

Tesla was forced to lay off a large number of employees and close its R&D center;

Some important employees resigned and left;

Because there was no hope.

There is no more effective medicine than hope

There is no healthier expectation than tomorrow

Musk’s brother Kimbal reminded him:

"Tesla cannot deliver the cars that buyers have paid for. Are you betting on the future by investing your last money?

Do you really think it is reasonable to continue investing money?"

By September 2008, Tesla had sold only 2,000 vehicles;

Factory warehouses were filled with Teslas that were faulty, defective and could not be delivered, piling up like mountains.

Many people paid money but could not get the car;

They think Tesla is just a scam. A singer ordered a car, but a year has passed and he still hasn’t seen the car.

When Musk went out to raise funds, the financial crisis was all over the place, and no one dared to take it on for three months.

"It's like I've been hit with a gun butt. Every day is like eating glass."

He has invested all his money in Tesla and SpaceX, heavily in debt.

His mother was very worried. She called and said something that he would never forget:

"Everyone fails, and they are afraid of being beaten down. As long as you still have breath, you can succeed." You will not be unlucky forever."

My sister Tosca sent a text message:

"Confidence in adversity is true confidence;

In low moments. Optimism is true optimism;

There is no more effective medicine than hope;

There is no healthier expectation than tomorrow. ”

Justin proposed. Divorce proceedings

are a knife that adds insult to injury

In December 2008, Chief Financial Officer Deepak told him:

“The funds on the books can only last for 3 days. . ”

The lawyer prepared the legal document declaring bankruptcy and just waited for his signature.

On the verge of the cliff, Musk was about to sign the bankruptcy agreement and surrender to the fate of failure;

At the moment when he was about to sign, he suddenly paused, thought for a long time, and decided to sell the iron. , hold on.

Musk invested every penny in Tesla and SpaceX rocket companies, and was heavily in debt. In the end, with the determination to burn everything, he sold multiple homes, private jets, and McLaren F1 sports cars, and moved into an empty house. hotel.

In order to save money, he even decided to move out of the hotel and live temporarily in the basement of his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

Science fiction writer Justin is Musk’s college classmate;

Tall and beautiful;

Justin, a student, pointed to a row of bookshelves and said: < /p>

One day, the books I wrote (later becoming a science fiction writer) will also be placed on it.

Justin was distant from him, but Musk did not give up his pursuit.

One day, Justin was studying in the library;

Musk was sweating profusely;

brought two ice creams that had melted in half;

p>

What makes a woman tempted is sometimes a detail of life.

After eight years of love, Justin and Musk got married.

The couple’s first son died of suffocation in his quilt when he was less than 10 weeks old;

This is the period when babies are most likely to suffer from sudden death syndrome.

Justin is sad every night;

Musk chooses to work overtime every night;

Use work to forget the sadness of losing a child in middle age, and disappear all day long.

Justin cried uncontrollably every day;

Musk came home after working overtime;

Listening to Beethoven's "Symphony of Destiny" in silence.

Justin said: I am your wife, not your employee.

Musk said: If you were my employee, you would have been fired long ago.

At home, Musk even has to control the color of his wife’s hair.

In 2004, Musk chose direct in vitro fertilization;

Justin had no choice and gave birth to twin sons.

In 2006, three more children were born.

In 2008, what made matters worse was that;

Justin, his wife of ten years, decided to leave him;

In the eyes of the world and his wife, Musk and Tesla are a broken ship that is about to sink;

The choice made by his wife is to leave the sinking ship that is about to be submerged in the water and escape with their five children.

The divorce lawsuit filed by Justin is a knife that makes matters worse;

She wants US$20 million in cash, 10% of Tesla shares, and 5% of SpaceX shares;

In fact, Musk is already heavily in debt and has no money.

The judge probably also knew that Musk was at the end of his rope;

The final verdict was:

Justin received two million US dollars in cash and monthly child support. .

Tesla shares were not included;

At that time, no one thought that soon;

Tesla shares would be cheaper than toilet paper. .

Musk woke up one night

and found that there were still tears in the corners of his eyes

All the money had to be borrowed from friends;

Including rent .

A lonely and seemingly hopeless Christmas Eve in December 2008;

Musk woke up one night and found that there were still tears in the corners of his eyes:

“Every morning When I woke up, I found that the pillow was wet. I cried in my sleep all night, chewing on the glass and staring into the abyss. "

"I never thought that I would have a nervous breakdown;

If you cross this step, you may not be aware, because you are already crazy."

"I lost everything, ten years. marriage;

The three companies are almost finished.

Invest your last penny in your life goal;

When the money is burned. There is no chance at all, and that feeling is really disappointing.”

He finally invited all Tesla directors;

Everyone voluntarily subscribed to this round of financing;

p>

All the directors were moved by Musk's determination to break the boat;

They gave everything they had;

Piecing together everything, they got $20 million apiece.

Musk said:

What I rely on is immortality.

Musk said:

"If others work 40 hours a week, and I work 100 hours.

In this way, in 4 months, I can do what others do. It takes years to accomplish something”

Only the most clumsy in the world can beat the most clever in the world

The heavy-lift rocket built by SpaceX can carry 52 tons. Cargo;

Boeing's rocket can only carry half the weight;

The price is three times that of SpaceX.

In order to reduce costs;

Musk even purchased second-hand instruments from the Internet;

Find the cheapest salvage company to salvage the rocket wreckage.

The total cost of the Falcon 9 rocket is approximately US$50 million;

Its propellant cost is only US$200,000;

Musk reduced the cost to the original 0.37%;

In 2011, when SpaceX was on the verge of survival;

It received a large order of US$1.4 billion from NASA.

Musk’s spacecraft can return;

Install a reverse thruster on the rocket.

There are only four countries in the world that have mastered spacecraft launch and recovery technology:

The United States, Russia, China, and Musk.

Musk, with the power of one person, realizes the dream of a country.

In 2018, in order to solve Tesla’s mass production problems;

Musk did not have time to go home;

He ate, bathed, and slept in the office.

In an interview with the New York Times;

He revealed his exhaustion, but still persisted.

It has been nearly 17 years since Tesla was founded;

It has only made profits for three quarters;

The debt once reached billions of dollars.

Wall Street for 10 years;

The funds shorting Tesla reached 30 billion US dollars;

It was wiped out every year.

Tesla has a popular saying:

No matter how late you leave the company, there is one person who is later than you;

He is the boss Musk.

His legendary and diligent 20 years;

It confirms what Zeng Guofan said:

Only the most sincerity in the world can defeat the most hypocrisy in the world;

Only the most clumsy in the world can beat the most skillful in the world.

Voice-over

A certain moment in life determines whether you will be rich or poor, good or bad

This article is only dedicated to——

Those who have lost their love , unemployed, youthful and troubled;

You are floating, struggling, and trying to survive in the vast sea of ??people;

In the middle-aged dilemma, there are seniors, juniors, and no savings. , you who only have a loan.

I hope you can be like Musk;

Those long nights and insomnia tears;

They will bring you more maturity at every dawn hope.

Those who can’t kill you;

will eventually make you stronger;

Just like Musk’s 20 years, he is a little strong who cannot be killed.

January 2021;

Tesla stock price exceeded $800.

When the 50-year-old Musk surpassed Bezos and became the richest man in the world with a net worth of US$209 billion;

When he surpassed Bezos and became the richest man in the world;

He recalled 12 years ago;

The years of struggling on the edge of bankruptcy several times seemed like a long dream.

For Musk’s life;

The most important thing is;

The 2008 bankruptcy documents are already in front of you, and you are ready to sign in tears.

Before I started writing, I suddenly paused;

After studying for a long time, I decided to sell my pot, sell my property, and keep going;

Since then, I have turned around and prospered all the way.

This is life;

Life is a thought of heaven and a thought of hell;

A certain moment in life, a certain crossroad;

Determines the wealth, poverty, prosperity, good or bad of your life.

But without tenacity, you and I are destined to be mediocre.

In the ups and downs of life;

Vision is the beacon, and perseverance is the sail.

Peaks and cliffs are both at high places, within easy reach;

Anyone who has climbed to a peak;

must have faced a cliff before.

If you get over it, you will be at the peak;

If you can’t get over it, you will be at the bottom of your destiny.

There is endless room for decline.

In this sense, life is a chain of links;

Step by step, step into the thunder pool, step by step with caution;

Step by step, you can cross the mountains calmly.

Yang Yifan (film and television screenwriter, reporter, writer, trader)

(former deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper, former staff writer of "Southern Weekend" and "Southern Wind Window", former Special correspondent for Xinhua News Agency's "International Herald", member of Fujian Provincial Writers Association

His original Taiwan Strait, financial and international news reports have been published by Sina, Sohu, Tencent, Phoenix, CCTV, Xinhua and "Southern Metropolis Daily", "Beijing News", "Beijing Youth Daily", "Lianhe Zaobao", "Oriental Morning Post", "Nanjing Morning Post", "West China Metropolis Daily", "Guangzhou Daily", "Metropolitan Express" and other hundreds of domestic and foreign newspapers and websites , widely reprinted for 10 years)

(Note: I hold a press card issued by the General Administration of Press and Publication, a training certificate for news gathering and editing staff, have won multiple journalism awards, and have received supervision from the gathering and editing staff. The report has been approved many times)