# @benzinga on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DEdar9lOMZb
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/25856032-benzinga-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/legacy-do/06654c4519a33eb456ad27050d143443b900718a7402a1f2d529e98bbda8f764.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-01-05T21:51:26.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Benzinga | News That Moves (@benzinga) — https://gondola.cc/benzinga

## Caption

According to a November Quartz article, Tesla is now worth more than GM, Ford, Toyota and almost every other car company combined. Hard to believe, right? Especially when you consider that back in 2013, Tesla was so broke that Elon Musk came close to selling it to Google.

The deal? A tidy $6 billion up-front plus $5 billion for factory expansions. But in true Musk fashion, he pulled the plug at the last second – not out of arrogance but because Tesla’s fortunes reversed practically overnight.

According to Ashlee Vance’s biography Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Tesla faced a critical cash shortage in early 2013, compounded by customer complaints about Model S design flaws and internal mismanagement, with some executives concealing the severity of the crisis from Elon Musk. When Musk discovered the situation, he fired senior staff, promoted junior employees he believed had more drive, and issued an urgent companywide mandate to prioritize delivering cars. 

Despite these measures, Tesla’s survival looked bleak, leading Musk to temporarily shut down the factory and approach Larry Page, Google’s cofounder, for a potential lifeline deal.

Musk and Page, already friends, hashed out terms that would keep Tesla alive. According to Vance, the agreement included several key points:
- Google would buy Tesla for $6 billion.
- It would allocate $5 billion for factory expansions.
- Tesla would remain an independent brand and Musk would stay on as CEO for up to eight years or until Tesla launched its third-generation vehicle.

The deal seemed nearly finalized, with lawyers drafting the paperwork, but then Tesla’s fortunes made a dramatic U-turn.

In Q1 2013, Tesla experienced a sudden surge in Model S sales. This stabilized the company’s cash flow and allowed Tesla to post its first quarterly profit of $11 million. The news sent Tesla’s stock price soaring, which enabled the company to repay its $465 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy earlier than expected.

With Tesla’s newfound financial health, Musk called off the deal with Google. “He no longer needed a savior,” Vance wrote in the book.

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## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Benzinga | News That Moves | @benzinga | https://gondola.cc/benzinga | Brand |
| Jacob Shipley | @okcmayor | https://gondola.cc/okcmayor | Director of Social Media |

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