His SpaceX is definitely a lot more interesting than the car venture. If the car side was doomed to fail, I don't think the stock price would at its current lofty levels. Although I will say that I am biased toward seeing Musk succeed because of his physics/economics background.
Important thing to realize is that Tesla is not an auto company, but rather part of a technology conglomerate. Which is why Elon's bid to buy SolarCity today is not surprising.
"....the SolarCity story, it's the company that, a few minutes before this deal was announced, Goldman Sachs said was the "worst positioned" for growth in its sector." "Tesla shares plunged more than 13 percent to $189.99 in extended trading - amounting to a loss in value of about $4.3 billion, or more than the value of the offer for the other company. Shares of SolarCity rose about 18 percent to $25.02." "Chanos' short is based on the idea that SolarCity is "really a subprime financing company." Panels are leased from the company. The company also installs them and collects payment after the company signs a 20-year contract."So in effect, if you put on the panels you have a second mortgage on your home because you hope it's an asset, but in many cases it turns into a liability," Oh yeah, SCTY's CEO is Elon's cousin.Family who sticks together, lose money together...
100 years ago: (some things just never change) 1916: Tesla Declares Bankruptcy Even though Tesla had some minor successes, he continued to fall deeper and deeper into debt primarily due to his high overhead. He was called into the state supreme court for $935.00 in unpaid taxes on the Wardenclyffe property. Under oath before Justice Finch, Tesla revealed that he was essentially penniless and owned no real assets. "New York World" ran an embarrassing article exposing Tesla's financial crisis. https://teslauniverse.com/images/article-new-york-world https://teslauniverse.com/nikola-tesla/timeline/1916-tesla-declares-bankruptcy