Report: Dan Neil congratulates Tesla on Model S delivery, donates $1,000 to charity

Here’s a true story about putting your money where your mouth is. Around May 2009, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors, sent Dan Neil (a respected automotive journalist) an angry email regarding a story he had written about the company’s Model S electric sedan.

What got Musk going? Basically, Neil said that it was impossible for Tesla to release a car like the Model S before the end of 2012.

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“After many years writing about the car business, I have come to appreciate how difficult it is for an established manufacturer to build any car, even a conventional automobile relying on incumbent technologies,” Neil writes in a recent article on The Wall Street Journal.

Musk ended up betting Neil $1 million that Tesla would do it – if Tesla failed to deliver, Neil would have to donate $1,000 to a certain charity.

Well, if you’ve been keeping in touch with Tesla Motors in the news, you know that the company has already started delivering its Model S sedan to owners.

“This morning I made a donation of $1,000 to Doctors Without Borders,” Neil wrote.

– By: Omar Rana