How the First Roadster Almost Killed Tesla

A few days ago, Tesla's new Roadster flew on SpaceX thrusters. Eighteen years ago, the first Roadster nearly destroyed the company. This documentary follows the three times Tesla came close to dying: the Christmas Eve 2008 rescue, the 2013 near-sale to Google, and the Model 3 "production hell" of 2018, and the one money mistake behind all three. Chapters 0:00 Tesla made a car fly 0:46 The Secret Master Plan 1:27 The first Roadster 2:05 2008: the world falls apart 3:24 The 48 hours that saved Tesla 4:04 Surviving on other people's money 5:09 2013: the deal with Google 6:17 Model 3 and production hell 7:12 Within single-digit weeks 7:50 The pattern behind all three 8:27 Back to the flying Roadster Sources Space.com: SpaceX thrusters just made a Tesla Roadster "fly" (Oct 2026) Paul Tan: Tesla Roadster revealed, specs and reservations (Oct 2026) Space.com / CBS 60 Minutes: Elon Musk on 2008, "the worst year of my life" Ashlee Vance, "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future" (2015), via CleanTechnica Axios on HBO: Musk says Tesla came "within single-digit weeks" of death (Nov 2018) MIT Technology Review, Autoblog (2008): Tesla layoffs and financing Tesla investor filings: IPO (2010), first quarterly profit (Q1 2013), DOE loan repayment (2013) Visuals in this video are AI-generated illustrations, not real photographs or footage. Narration is AI-generated. This video is business history, not financial advice. Watch next: Argentina Was Richer Than France. So Why Does It Keep Going Broke?    • How Argentina Went From Richer Than France...   Money Atlas tells the true stories behind wealth, poverty and power. New documentaries every Tuesday and Friday. #Tesla #ElonMusk #BusinessHistory