Elon Musk’s recent biography sheds light on a peculiar incident. It details how he passed out during a meeting in Moscow, which involved shots of vodka. This meeting took place shortly after he had been partying in Paris the night before.
The biography narrates that Musk’s purpose, before establishing SpaceX in 2002, was to ignite public interest in space exploration. His initial concept, called “Mars Oasis,” centered on sending a greenhouse to Mars.
To bring this vision to life, Musk enlisted the help of rocket engineer Jim Cantrell and Adeo Ressi, the CEO of Founder Institute and Musk’s former college roommate.
Together, they arranged a business meeting with a group of Russian businesspeople to discuss the purchase of rockets. Their journey included a stopover in Paris, where a night of revelry left Musk feeling drained upon his arrival in Moscow.
The meeting in Moscow took place in the back room of a restaurant and involved a combination of small food servings and substantial shots of vodka.
The Russians even presented each of them with a personalized bottle of vodka adorned with images of the recipients on Mars. Musk, feeling the effects of the vodka, eventually passed out, his head hitting the table.
Despite this unusual incident, Musk’s determination persisted. However, the biography notes that the subsequent meetings on the trip were unsuccessful.
Musk believed he had reached an agreement to purchase two Dnepr rockets for $18 million, only to discover that the sellers were demanding $18 million for each rocket.
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When Musk contested this, they increased the price to $21 million per rocket, with the Russian businesspeople taunting him about his financial capacity.
This episode provides a unique glimpse into the early endeavors of the visionary entrepreneur, Elon Musk, and the unexpected challenges he faced in his quest for space exploration.
