Billionaire investor Peter Thiel has reflected on the early days of Elon Musk's ventures, Tesla and SpaceX, noting that both companies were initially perceived as "really, really crazy" by many, including those who knew Musk from PayPal. Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal alongside Musk, highlighted the widespread skepticism surrounding these ambitious projects in the 2000s. He emphasized a re-evaluation of risk perception in light of their subsequent, monumental successes.
"When @elonmusk was building Tesla and SpaceX in the early 2000s, people thought he was just really, really crazy," Thiel stated in a recent commentary. He recalled a proposed PayPal book where the chapter on Musk was tentatively titled, "The Man Who Knew Nothing About Risk," underscoring the prevailing view of Musk's audacious approach. This sentiment was common even among his former colleagues, who had witnessed his unconventional style.
Thiel elaborated on the significance of both companies achieving success, a scenario many deemed improbable. "If one of the two companies succeeded, you would say— maybe he still got really lucky," Thiel observed, adding, "But when 2/2 companies that people thought were completely harebrained in the 2000s, when they both succeed— you somehow have to reassess it." This dual triumph, he suggests, challenges conventional understanding of risk.
The investor concluded that Musk possesses a unique understanding of risk that eludes most others. "Somehow the rest of us are too risk averse, or there’s something about risk that he knows, that we don’t," Thiel remarked. His Founders Fund notably invested in SpaceX, a company Musk himself acknowledged was "one launch away from bankruptcy" in its early stages before achieving orbit in 2008.
SpaceX, founded in 2002, has since grown to an estimated valuation of $350 billion, while Tesla, which Musk joined in 2004, has become a dominant force in the electric vehicle market. Thiel's comments underscore the transformative impact of Musk's ventures and the contrarian investment philosophy that often accompanies groundbreaking innovation.
