Musk Attempted to Buy Missiles from Russia and Fainted After Drinking Vodka During Negotiations

American billionaire Elon Musk fainted after consuming several glasses of vodka during a visit to Moscow in the early 2000s while negotiating to buy missiles. This is mentioned in the business magnate's new biography written by journalist Walter Isaacson. The excerpt was recounted by Business Insider.

The meeting described in the book took place before Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. The entrepreneur wanted to launch the Mars Oasis mission, which involved sending greenhouses to Mars. Musk had enlisted rocket engineer Jim Cantrell and Founder Institute business incubator founder Adeo Ressi for the business meeting with Russian businessmen.

“The night before arriving in Moscow, Musk drank excessively at a party in Paris,” Isaacson writes. Alcohol was also served at the dinner with Russian businessmen, with “small portions of food and large amounts of vodka.” It is noted in Isaacson's book that during lunch, Musk, who was holding his head with his hand, lost consciousness and hit it on the table.

Another failure for the businessman was mistakenly believing he had agreed to buy two Dnepr rocket systems for 18 million dollars, while the sellers were asking 18 million per unit. When Musk refused, the price was raised to 21 million dollars for each rocket. Negotiator Jim Cantrell noted that the Russian businessmen mocked the billionaire for not having money.

Musk did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

American media outlets have been publishing excerpts from Musk's new biography for several days. In particular, it becomes clear from the book that in 2022, Musk allegedly ordered the Starlink satellite communication network to be turned off in the Crimea region, thus disrupting a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian naval vessels.

Musk himself explained that Starlink was not originally activated in this region, and the Ukrainian authorities had requested it to be turned on. Musk refused, stating that this would clearly make SpaceX “involved in the war and escalation of conflict.”

Furthermore, the biography revealed that Musk and singer Grimes welcomed their third child, whom they named Techno Mechanicus. Until now, it was assumed that they had two children together, a son and a daughter. Musk confirmed the birth of another son.