27 January
Elon Musk’s Boring Company launches a $500 flamethrower. Critics say it is more like a gun-shaped blowtorch than a flamethrower.
6 February
SpaceX, Musk’s upstart rocket company, fires a midnight cherry Tesla Roadster out of Earth’s orbit while playing David Bowie’s Space Oddity.
The following day, Tesla announces a $675m quarterly loss, sending stock tumbling on fears the company could run out of cash.
3 March
A Model X crashes into a freeway divider, killing the driver and catching fire. Tesla says the driver “wasn’t paying attention to the road, despite the car providing multiple warnings”.
27 March
Moody’s downgrades Tesla’s credit rating to negative from stable, citing “significant shortfall” in the Model 3 production rate and a tight financial situation.
Tesla recalls 123,000 Model S cars over a “corroding bolt” issue. Stock drops to $266.
1 April
Musk tweets: “We are sad to report that Tesla has gone completely and totally bankrupt. So bankrupt, you can’t believe it.” It was a joke – sort of. Two days later, Musk tweets: “I’m back to sleeping at factory. Car biz is hell …”
About a year ago, I asked Doug to manage both engineering & production. He agreed that Tesla needed eng & prod better aligned, so we don’t design cars that are crazy hard to build. Right now, tho, better to divide & conquer, so I’m back to sleeping at factory. Car biz is hell …
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2018
16 April
Musk admits his vision of robots cranking out thousands of Model 3 cars a week in Fremont may have been too ambitious. “Yes, excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake,” he said. “To be precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated.”
3 May
Musk slams analysts on an earnings call. Asked to detail Tesla’s cash position, Musk tells Sanford Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi: “Excuse me. Next. Boring, bonehead questions are not cool. Next?”
Tesla stock drops more than 5% in after-hours trading.
15 July
Vern Unsworth, a British cave diver helping with the rescue of a Thai football team and their coach stuck in a cave, says he is considering legal action after Musk accuses him of being a “pedo” in a now-deleted tweet. Musk apologises.
7 August
Musk tweets: “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.” Tesla shares rise 11%. US regulators start investigating as Tesla is hit by two class-action lawsuits. Musk later defends his action and clarifies that he has been talking to the Saudi sovereign wealth fund about financing.
13 August
Azealia Banks claims she has been hanging out at Musk’s house while his girlfriend, the musician Grimes, comforts him for being “too stupid to know not to go on Twitter while on acid”. Musk denies ever having met the rapper.
16 August
Musk gives an emotional interview to the New York Times in which he acknowledges he is “fraying”, needs Ambien to sleep and has some friends who are “really concerned” about his health.
