Trouble in Paradise 206
lawyer to write a financial agreement. “Since this was not
long after the sale of my first company, Zip2, to Compaq,
and the subsequent co-founding of PayPal, friends and
family advised me to separate whether the marriage was
for love or money,” Elon said.^440 They signed the agreement
two months after the wedding. After the divorce, this
financial agreement turned into a battle between their
lawyers.
According to the marital agreement, Justine should
receive approximately $20 million dollars after tax, half
in the form of the house and half in support payments.^440
But Justine explained how she wanted the house, alimony
and child support, six million in cash, ten percent of Elon’s
stock in Tesla and five percent of his stock in SpaceX, and
a Tesla Roadster. “I really, really want one,” she said of the
Roadster.^181 She always cared about Tesla’s vision to help
transform our society away from its dependency on oil.^136
“Is that what I deserve?” Justine asked. “I don’t know. Who
exactly deserves that kind of wealth? But based on our life
and history together, is that reasonable? I think so. And
I want to do good things with it. I don’t want hundreds
of millions of dollars. I think my ex-husband is brilliant
and work like a demon and deserves his success and his
wealth.”137,181
The divorce was public, so everyone knew what was
happening. You could even follow the divorce in the CNBC
television showDivorce Wars. Those who supported Elon
compared Justine with a vampire. “Pleased to hear the
courts put a stake through the heart of your blood sucking