that he had an opportunity to back the fledgling unicorn a decade-and-half ago — well before it became the most valuable auto manufacturer in the world.The 71-year-old Doerr said that Musk, whose stake in Tesla has earned him the distinction of being the world’s wealthiest human, struck him at the time as “an ambitious, slightly crazy entrepreneur.”
But the idea of investing in a car company at the time was a turnoff because the odds were stacked against Tesla, according to Doerr. Doerr, the 71-year-old chairman of Silicon Valley venture capital heavyweight Kleiner Perkins, has a net worth north of $11 billion, according to Forbes.Tesla is the world’s most valuable car maker — with a market capitalization of more than $930 billion.As of Tuesday, Tesla has a market capitalization of $933.92 billion — making it the most valuable automaker in the world.
Investing in Tesla at the time would have netted a handsome profit. Sergey Brin, Musk’s friend who co-founded Google, was an early investor in Tesla.