To some, this may seem like an odd question, so my apologies in advance, but every time I hear about Elon donating/spending many millions of dollars, I can't help but wonder where he's getting the cash.
It's been widely reported that Elon sank everything he had into his companies during the 08/09 financial crisis. He also reportedly borrowed the $100M to participate in the $92 TSLA share offering some time ago. Obviously he is worth billions on paper, but he has said that he will be the last person to sell shares of Tesla. I would assume that he did sell some shares at the IPO, which I will look into as it is public info, but that cash should be long gone. Has he sold some of his stake in SpaceX or SolarCity? Is he pulling a substantial salary from these that I'm not aware of (small salary at Tesla)? Where would he get the cash for a $17M house, $16M divorce (part cash), a quick mil for the Tesla museum (land) and now a $10M donation to the Future of Life Institute, without receiving dividends from his investments?
The easy answer would be that he has an enormous line of credit backed by his assets, but what kind of cash flow does he generate to service it? I may just be completely missing something.
I'm considering purchasing some TSLA shares if the slide continues and sentiment becomes sufficiently negative, but I do think Elon's personal finances matter when he is inextricably linked to his companies for the foreseeable future.
It's been widely reported that Elon sank everything he had into his companies during the 08/09 financial crisis. He also reportedly borrowed the $100M to participate in the $92 TSLA share offering some time ago. Obviously he is worth billions on paper, but he has said that he will be the last person to sell shares of Tesla. I would assume that he did sell some shares at the IPO, which I will look into as it is public info, but that cash should be long gone. Has he sold some of his stake in SpaceX or SolarCity? Is he pulling a substantial salary from these that I'm not aware of (small salary at Tesla)? Where would he get the cash for a $17M house, $16M divorce (part cash), a quick mil for the Tesla museum (land) and now a $10M donation to the Future of Life Institute, without receiving dividends from his investments?
The easy answer would be that he has an enormous line of credit backed by his assets, but what kind of cash flow does he generate to service it? I may just be completely missing something.
I'm considering purchasing some TSLA shares if the slide continues and sentiment becomes sufficiently negative, but I do think Elon's personal finances matter when he is inextricably linked to his companies for the foreseeable future.
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