---
title: "Elon Musk Says Tesla Has Caused Him More Suffering Than Anything Else in His Life"
description: "During a conference on Wednesday, Elon Musk said that Tesla has caused him more suffering than anything else in his life."
date: "2021-07-22"
modified: "2021-07-22"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-tesla-suffering"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Elon Musk"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Tesla"
  - "The Industrialists"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "tesla"
---

# Elon Musk Says Tesla Has Caused Him More Suffering Than Anything Else in His Life

![During a conference on Wednesday, Elon Musk said that Tesla has caused him more suffering than anything else in his life.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/elon-musk-tesla-suffering.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/heisenbergmedia/10611167414/in/album-72157637192989116/" target="\_blank"\>Heisenberg Media/Futurism\</a\>\</em\>*

One of the richest people in the world has made life extremely difficult for himself.

During a blockchain conference on Wednesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk talked about the hardships he's had over the years — and blamed his electric carmaker Tesla for them.

"I would say I’ve had some pretty tough life experiences and Tesla’s probably responsible for two-thirds of all personal and professional pain combined, to give you a sense of perspective there," the billionaire lamented.

The implication, as [*CNBC* points out](<https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/21/elon-musk-tesla-caused-two-thirds-of-my-personal-professional-pain.html>): Tesla's entire existence is based on the desire to transition to renewable energy — efforts that have come at the cost of Musk's mental and physical well-being over the years, in his telling.

"At Tesla, we really do aspire to be the good guys," he promised during the event.

The news comes after Musk was [summoned to court](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-court-solarcity>) over a lawsuit that alleged Tesla's acquisition of SolarCity in 2016, a buildout of the company's solar installation efforts, was fueled by Musk's personal ties and came as a blow to investors.

The ensuing spat between Musk and the plaintiff's lawyer turned so ugly, in fact, that somebody actually ended up [vomiting in the court room](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/man-vomits-elon-musk-court>) last week.

In short, Musk's struggles with keeping Tesla are far from over. Production woes kept the billionaire working late hours and allegedly spending nights [sleeping on the couch](<https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/people-raised-over-900-buy-143939130.html>) at the car company's factory in Fremont, California back in 2018.

Now, Musk is fighting a different fire.

"In fact the limiting factor for us right now is \[battery\] cell production," he said during this week's conference. "So we need to both internally get our Tesla internal battery cells produced as well as increase supply from suppliers."

Musk is now stretching himself even thinner, ping ponging between car production at Tesla's factories in California and Nevada — while also living out of a $50,000 box on site of SpaceX's Starship development facilities in West Texas.

To be clear, Musk's monstrous payouts could've easily allowed him to retire already. These are self-inflicted wounds, and only the rarest of diehard Elon fans will lose sleep over his "personal and professional pain."

His contributions to both the electric car and space launch industry are undeniable. But they've come at a cost — even if his tallying of it sounds a bit melodramatic.

**READ MORE:** [Elon Musk says Tesla caused two-thirds of his personal and professional pain](<https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/21/elon-musk-tesla-caused-two-thirds-of-my-personal-professional-pain.html>) \[*CNBC*\]

**More on Musk:** *[Elon Says SpaceX is Also Hoarding Bitcoin, Not Just Tesla](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-spacex-bitcoin>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)