Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk just honored his company’s namesake to the tune of $1 million.
Musk confirmed that he plans to donate $1 million to spur the completion the Nikola Tesla Museum, according to a blog post today from web cartoonist The Oatmeal (also known as Matthew Inman). But that’s not all: Musk also said Tesla Motors will build a supercharger station for its electric vehicles in the museum’s parking lot.
Musk’s generous contribution is a huge boon for The Oatmeal’s “Let’s Build a Goddamn Tesla Museum” project, which started as a crowdfunding campaign to buy back Nikola Tesla’s old laboratory in 2012. The campaign ultimately raised over $1.37 million, plus a matching $850,000 pledge from the state government of New York. But The Oatmeal and its Tesla Science Center organization need a lot more to turn the abandoned property into a fully fledged museum honoring the Serbian inventor and engineer.
After reviewing the Tesla Model S in a hilarious, endearing comic this May, The Oatmeal added a second comic politely requesting some financial assistance from Musk for the Tesla museum.
June 5th: The AI Audit in NYC
Join us next week in NYC to engage with top executive leaders, delving into strategies for auditing AI models to ensure fairness, optimal performance, and ethical compliance across diverse organizations. Secure your attendance for this exclusive invite-only event.
“This is not a demand or an accusation or a plea. It’s a polite request from a humongous fan,” The Oatmeal wrote in the comic.
Musk quickly got back to The Oatmeal, tweeting that he “would be happy to help.”
@Oatmeal I would be happy to help
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 14, 2014
The Oatmeal originally requested $8 million from Musk, the full amount required to complete and open the museum — but we’d say $1 million and a supercharger station are a pretty great start.
The Oatmeal seems to agree.
“Elon Musk: From the deepest wells of my geeky little heart: thank you,” he wrote in a blog post today. “This is amazing news. And it’s Nikola Tesla’s 158th birthday. Happy Nikola Tesla Day.”
