Elon Musk went from $180 million to broke in 2008. Then NASA called with a $1.5 billion contract. After PayPal, Elon’s share was $180 million. He bet all of it on two companies everyone said would fail: Tesla and SpaceX. By 2008 he was 37, and everything was going wrong at once. SpaceX had launched three rockets. All three failed to reach orbit. Tesla’s first car, the original Roadster, had quality problems. The factory was full of cars that couldn’t be delivered. Every month cost tens of millions. The economy collapsed into the worst recession since the Great Depression. And, as he put it, he was getting divorced, by the way, to add to that. That was definitely the worst year of my life. His fortune was gone. When Tesla called investors for money, some cursed at them and hung up. Asked if he was broke, he said: more than broke. On the Sunday before Christmas he woke up and thought he was closer to a nervous breakdown than he had ever been. SpaceX had money for one more launch. A fourth failure would have been game over. Flight four worked. The week of Christmas, NASA called with a $1.5 billion contract. Elon blurted out: I love you guys. Two days later, on Christmas Eve, Tesla’s investors agreed to put in more money. Both companies were saved within three days. In the middle of all this he met Talulah Riley. They were engaged after about two weeks. She was 22 and walked into a house with his five young sons. This week Tesla unveiled a new Roadster. The car that almost ended him in 2008 now flips in midair. Would you have bet everything twice? Follow me for more stories like this.