Strong puff and Russian rockets: 13 high-profile failures of Elon Musk

Trends has collected a selection of failed moments in the work of the most ambitious space explorer, visionary and entrepreneur Elon Musk

He was fired from senior positions in his own companies. Projects SpaceX and Tesla teetered on the verge of bankruptcy. Musk’s rockets exploded one after another, electric cars burned. And the entrepreneur himself has more than once been the culprit in the fall in the value of the shares of his own companies.

1. Netscape was not accepted

Now it’s hard to believe that someone could refuse Elon Musk a job. But in 1995, the management of Netscape Communications – the company where Musk tried to get a job – considered him insufficiently competent.

As Musk later recounted in an interview with entrepreneur and investor Kevin Rose, “I did hang out in the Netscape lobby, but I was embarrassed to talk to anyone. Was too scared. And in the end, he left.”

2. Fired. Twice

The first time Musk, as an insufficiently experienced manager, was asked to vacate the directorship of Zip2, which he founded with his brother, in 1996.

The second dismissal occurred during a honeymoon trip in 2000. The businessman was expelled from the board of directors of PayPal after trying to transfer all servers of the payment system from Unix to Windows.

3. “I tried to bargain, but it didn’t work out for me”

Musk tried twice to buy intercontinental ballistic missiles in our country for the Mars Oasis project in 2001 and 2002. And he was rejected twice.

As a result of the failed negotiations, Musk decided to build the rockets himself. He sketched out the SpaceX business plan on the plane, returning from Moscow.

4. Explosions at the start

The first Falcon 1 rocket exploded on March 24, 2006, starting from a pad on Omelek Island in Kwajalein Atoll.

On March 21, 2007, an improved version of the Falcon 1 again failed to take off and also exploded. August 3, 2008 – the third attempt and the third explosion.

In two months, Musk will still be able to launch Falcon 1.

5. On the verge of bankruptcy

“By 2008, Tesla was running out of money. The Roadster (Musk’s first electric sports car) cost $140 million to develop, well over the $25 million budgeted in the 2004 business plan. Major American automakers were nearing bankruptcy in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. To get Tesla out of this mess, Musk had to sacrifice his entire fortune and be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, ”says Ashley Vance in the book Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the road to the future.

In the same year, Top Gear crushed the first version of the Roadster. Tesla subsequently sued the UK High Court for defamation of the TV show, but lost the case.

6. Problems with Tesla Model S

In the fall of 2013, three Tesla Model S electric vehicles burned down in North America within a month. The incidents sparked a debate about the safety of battery-powered vehicles. Tesla Motors shares then lost a fifth of their price.

7. “How not to land a rocket”

From 2013 to 2016, Musk tried to land SpaceX rockets on an offshore platform. It did not happen right away: a hit on the water, an engine sensor error, a lack of hydraulic fluid, damage to the leg of the rocket.

In September 2017, Musk posted a two-minute video of Falcon 9 crash landings:

8. Tesla Model X Delays

Deliveries of the second model of the Model X electric crossover were two years behind schedule. The original release date for electric vehicles was 2013, which became the end of 2014 and then 2015.

9. Random tweets

In August 2018, Musk tweeted about plans to take Tesla off the exchange, “Thinking about taking Tesla private at $420 buyout price. Funding secured.”

A month after the publication, the US Securities and Market Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit. According to the regulator, Musk manipulated the market and misled investors. The settlement agreement concluded with the SEC forced the entrepreneur to leave the post of chairman of the board of directors of Tesla for a period of three years. Also, under the agreement, Musk and Tesla paid a fine totaling $40 million. And messages on social networks that could influence investors’ decisions will have to be moderated.

On May 1, 2020, Musk tweeted “Tesla stock price too high.” After this announcement, the automaker’s shares fell 9,35%.

A year later, Musk’s message that his company had suspended sales of vehicles using bitcoin led to a significant decrease in the price of cryptocurrencies. “We are concerned about the rapidly growing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining and transactions, especially coal, which has the worst emissions,” wrote the entrepreneur.

10. Musk smokes, Tesla shares go down

On September 7, 2018, Elon Musk smoked a cigarette with a mixture of tobacco and marijuana while recording Joe Rogan’s podcast “Joe Rogan Experience”. The broadcast was broadcast on YouTube.

The consequences of this act turned out to be much more serious than memes on the Internet. The US Air Force began to view this as a possible violation of federal law – they were worried that the director of the contracting company (SpaceX) might turn out to be a drug addict. Tesla stock prices plummeted.

11. Fires on the roofs of Walmart

In August 2019, retail giant Walmart sued Tesla and its solar panel maker SolarCity, alleging negligence. The reason was seven fires on the roofs of the retailer from 2012 to 2018. A little later, Walmart dropped the lawsuit. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. In a joint statement, the companies indicated that they are addressing safety concerns at the retailer’s solar facilities.

An American supermarket chain began buying solar panels from SolarCity in 2010. Walmart has installed solar panels on the rooftops of 240 stores as part of its renewable energy transition program.

12. Tesla recalls cars

In February 2021, Tesla announced a recall of 134 Model X and Model S vehicles built through March 951 with potentially faulty touchscreens. This happened after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) put pressure on the manufacturer. NHTSA initially asked Tesla to recall about 2018 vehicles.

In 2018, the company already recalled 123 Model S electric vehicles due to possible problems with the power steering.

13. Fatal accidents

The first accident involving a Tesla electric car in which a person died occurred on May 7, 2016 on a freeway in Florida. Then the Tesla Model S sedan drove under the semi-trailer of the truck. “Neither the autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the semi-trailer against the brightly lit sky, so the brakes did not activate,” Tesla commented on the tragedy.

In November 2017, in the North East of England, a Tesla Model S ran over an 80-year-old experienced cyclist from behind. He died the same day in the hospital. The accident happened on a flat stretch of road.

In March 2018, in California, the Tesla Model X crossover went off the highway and crashed into a bump stop while the unmanned mode and adaptive cruise control were operating. The deceased driver was playing a mobile game on his phone at the time of the accident.

In February 2019, a Tesla Model S electric car caught fire in Miami as a result of a collision with palm trees. In the event of an accident, door handles, usually hidden in door niches, automatically exit from there, and all car locks automatically open. For some unknown reason, this did not happen. The driver was trapped in a burning car.

In April 2021, a driverless Tesla Model X hit an obstacle in Texas and burst into flames. The accident killed two male passengers. This is the first recorded accident involving a car where there was no person in the driver’s seat.