Elon Musk’s annus horribilis

An emotional Elon Musk describes 2018 as the most excruciating year of his career.

“This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career,” Musk told The New York Times. “It was excruciating.”

It bears a resemblance to Queen Elizabeth’s comment about her “annus horribilis”, or horrible year, in 1992.

Tesla’s chief executive officer acknowledges friends had become concerned about exhaustion eating into his physical health.

Musk told The New York Times

he spent his birthday in Tesla’s offices as it strove to meet production deadlines, and nearly missed his brother’s wedding, the New Zealand Herald reports.

He also mentions his “fateful” tweet on August 8 when he indicated he was taking Tesla private – a move he says he doesn’t regret.

The tweet saw Tesla’s shares climb 6.8% to US$365.36.

However, the following day investigators in the San Francisco office of the Securities and Exchange Commission asked Tesla for explanations.

Musk’s “funding secured” statement suddenly put him at risk of violating securities laws, as he provided no details.

Tesla declined to comment.

A fortnight before Musk’s tweet it was revealed Tesla had burned through US$739.5 million on its way to a record US$717.5m net loss in the second quarter.

Tesla has spent millions as it reached a goal of producing 5000 Model 3 sedans weekly by the end of June. The company says production is rising, with the goal of 6000 a week by the end of August.

Musk also apologised after coming under scrutiny for calling one of the divers involved in rescuing a Thai soccer team from a flooded cave, a “pedo”.