SpaceX founder Elon Musk has revealed one of the 'most difficult choices' he ever made in life took place when he had $30 million left to his name.
For many of us it can be hard to imagine having any tough life decisions to make with $30 million in the bank, other than choosing which luxurious holiday to go on next or which five-star restaurant to eat at that evening, but it was when he was faced with that particular figure that Musk found himself at a split in the road.
His $30 million-dilemma took place in 2008, years after both Tesla and SpaceX had been founded but at which time Musk found himself needing to decide whether he was going to try and support both companies, or leave one in the dust.
Check out what he did below:
In the clip, which has been shared on Twitter, Musk explained he needed to use his remaining money to invest but that he was stuck with 'two choices'.
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"One of the most difficult choices I have ever faced in life was in 2008. I think I had maybe $30 million dollars left and two choices. I could put it all into one company and then the other company would definitely die. Or split it between the two companies," he said.
Admittedly choosing what to do with your last $30 million is a pretty big decision, but the fact his decision involved using millions of dollars to try and create either one or two successful companies doesn't exactly pull at the heartstrings.
To highlight this in a satirical manner, you'll notice that Musk's clip has been turned into black and white and overlaid with some emotional piano music, to really heighten the drama.
Musk now has an estimated net worth of $248.4 billion, according to Forbes, so it's safe to say he made the right choice, but he made clear it wasn't an easy one.
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He continued: “But if I split it between the two companies, they both might die. And when you put your blood, sweat and tears into creating something or building something, it’s like a child. So, it’s like which one – am I gonna let one starve to death? I couldn’t bring myself to do it, so I split the money between the two. Fortunately, thank goodness, they both came through.”
The popularity of both Tesla and SpaceX is definitely good for Musk, but it left many viewers feeling less than sympathetic as one person joked they couldn't 'imagine the amount of suffering such a choice imposes on a human being'.
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Emily Brown