Elon Musk has taken Tesla, Inc. TSLA a long way from its early days during the 2000s. One billionaire regrets not throwing his weight behind the billionaire entrepreneur's electric-vehicle firm around the time he took the helm.
What Happened: John Doerr had an opportunity to back Musk-led Tesla in 2017 but finally decided against it, the venture capitalist said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
Doerr, a billionaire himself, is the chairman of Kleiner Perkins, a venture capital firm that was an early investor in companies such as Twitter, Inc. TWTR, Amazon, Inc. AMZN and Google parent Alphabet, Inc. GOOGL GOOG.
Despite a slew of new car companies going bankrupt, the firm was still attracted to the market and had a choice of backing a “brilliant car designer” named Henrik Fisker or an “ambitious, slightly crazy” Musk at Tesla, Doerr said.
“Well, we made the wrong decision,” Doerr told Bloomberg. “That's probably the worst investment decision of all time.”
Why It’s Important: Doerr's VC firm invested over $10 million in Fisker in 2008. The company went on to launch its Fisker Karma plug-in EV in 2012 but had to stop production after its sole battery supplier filed for bankruptcy. Fisker followed up with its own bankruptcy filing in 2013, with its chief executive starting another company in 2016, which was later listed on the NYSE as Fisker Inc. FSR.
Musk took control of Tesla in 2008 when it faced many teething problems, but once it got going with its budget Model 3 sedan, there has been no looking back.
Tesla has now produced 3 million cars and has manufacturing plants in Asia and Europe. The company’s stock has gone parabolic over these years, with a current market capitalization of about $1 trillion.
Price Action: Tesla shares closed Tuesday’s session 2.26% higher at $889.36, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Photo via JD Lasica on Wikimedia
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