The Outsider 91
was gonna be a fad,” Elon said.^27 One venture capitalist
threw a phone book at them and asked, “Do you really think
Internet will replace this?”^320
The reason why everyone now wanted to invest in In-
ternet companies was that Netscape became a public com-
pany in 1995. This was, however, not the largest IPO this
year. Pixar’s – another technology company famous for
movies likeToy Story– was larger. But while Pixar’s stock
increased with only 77 percent the first day, Netscape’s
stock increased with 107 percent. It was clear that tech-
nology, especially Internet, was the hottest investment.
“Netscape went public in late 95, and that was the first
inkling that – even if nobody was making any revenue
on the Internet – at least there was some greater fool who
would buy the stock,” Elon said.^57
Elon’s first car was a used 1978 BMW 320i with a price
tag of $1 400. The car was in a miserable shape, but Elon
fixed it up himself. He owned it for two years, and once,
he loaned it to an intern who worked at Zip2. While the
intern drove the car, one of the wheels fell off. The intern
called Elon who rushed to the scene. He recalled how he
could see the scratches in the road made by the axle where
the wheel had been attached.^124
When Elon was seventeen years old, someone gave him
a book on classic convertibles. The car he liked the best was
the Jaguar. He would later buy one for himself, but had
to wait until the venture capitalists invested in Zip2. They
gave Elon $40 000 as a bonus, and $35 000 immediately
went to a 1967 Series 1 E-type Jaguar. While the E-type