A candid interview with Tesla CEO Elon Musk

It's 'unlikely' Tesla will have to raise additional money before the 2012 release of the Model S

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, was born in South Africa. At 12 years old, he sold his first commercial software he programmed. He went on to make his fortune during the Internet boom years, making just under $200 million with PayPal and over $20 million with Zip2. Now, at 39-years-old, Elon is building rockets and electric cars as the CEO and co-founder of both Tesla Motors and SpaceX. His dream is to making in living in Mars – a reality, an quite possibly an affordable during his lifetime.

Here’s my interview with Elon, one of today’s most celebrated entrepreneurs.

Among the topics we discussed - whether Tesla - which raised $260 million from its June IPO, $465 million in federal loans and a couple hundred million in private funding - would need to raise additional funds to get the Model S out into the market (it's expected in 2012). "It’s very unlikely we’ll have to raise additional money for the Model S... It’s possible that we could decide [to raise more funds] in order to fund other projects beyond Model S or if investors want liquidity."

Additionally, Musk talks about what he was like when he was young and how were his ambitions and drive manifested. Apparently, he was making gun powder by mixing saltpeter, sulfur and charcoal before he was 10.  He also gives a detailed account of the origins of Tesla Motors, and the other men who helped him make it a reality.

Be sure to check in for the next segments of our interview, in which Musk talks about SpaceX and lessons he's learned about entrepreneurship.