Elon Musk might be a billionaire, but he has apparently neglected to buy himself a decent couch—but luckily for him, an online benefactor has taken the matter in his own hands.
A man based in San Diego, California, has started a Go Fund Me campaign titled ‘Buy Elon Musk a couch’ after the Tesla CEO, whose net worth is estimated to reach $19 billion, admitted he had recently attempted to pull an all-nighter at his Silicon Valley production plant, only to end up on the floor because his sofa was ‘too narrow’.
Elon told Gayle King during his CBS interview that he has been spending occasional nights at the Fremont facility amid his efforts to improve production of Tesla’s Model 3 sedan. The process has been a source of significant stress for Elon, who said his company has found itself in ‘production hell’.
Fundraiser: A man based in San Diego, California, has started a Go Fund Me campaign titled ‘Buy Elon Musk a couch’ after the Tesla CEO told Gayle Kind about his ‘terrible’ sofa
Oh dear: The Tesla CEO admitted he attempted to pull an all-nighter at his Silicon Valley production plant, only to end up on the floor because his couch is too narrow
‘When things get really intense, I don’t have time to go home to shower and change, so I just sleep here,’ he told Gayle as he showed her around the Silicon Valley factory.
Gayle immediately asked to see where Elon camps when he decides to sleep at the office, prompting Elon to show her the conference room in question.
‘It’s actually cold in here, too,’ she remarked as she entered the room, to which Elon replied that he prefers it that way.
The business magnate then showed her the couch where he sometimes sleeps, adding: ‘Last time I was here, I slept literally on the floor because the couch was too narrow.’
Gayle sat on the sofa to try it for herself and was less than impressed.
‘Elon, I have to say it’s not even a comfortable couch either,’ she said.
The Tesla CEO could only agree, telling her: ‘No, it’s terrible. This is not a good couch.’
Reaction: Ben Sullins of San Diego started his Go Fund Me campaign on Monday after watching the sequence
Strategy: The man behind the Go Fund Me said he planned to contact Elon (pictured last month) via Twitter, then reach out to Tesla before organizing a vote on which sofa to purchase
Ben Sullins of San Diego started his Go Fund Me campaign on Monday after watching the sequence. He included a screenshot of the CBS segment at the top of the fundraiser’s page, with a red arrow pointing to the sofa and a message stating: ‘Not acceptable couch!’
‘Elon Musk is transforming our world to run on sustainable energy and use sustainable forms of transportation. Lately, he’s been sleeping at the Fremont factory in an effort to improve Model 3 production. This is the couch he is sleeping on,’ Ben wrote.
‘As a community, we cannot let this stand. Let’s band together to buy Elon a new couch to sleep on!’
He even detailed his plan to deliver the couch to the Tesla boss, explaining that he intended to contact Elon via Twitter, then reach out to Tesla before organizing a vote on which sofa to purchase.
Then, Ben planned to order the couch and ship it to Tesla, adding that he would hand-deliver it and film the moment if allowed.
If Elon declines the donation, Ben specified, he will donate the money to charity.
Ben reached his fundraising goal of $1,000 easily, and within just two days he had collected more than five times that amount. He is now planning to end the campaign at the end of this week, on Friday.