Elon Musk Pledges To Tesla Museum After Oatmeal Model S Review

Tesla's Elon Musk has pledged his further support to the Tesla Museum Project, telling The Oatmeal's Matthew Inman "I would be happy to help" when the cartoonist ended his illustrated review of the Model S with a cheeky request for $8m. Inman, who owns a Model S and describes it as his "magical space car", declared the EV to be the future of transportation, but also took the opportunity to namecheck his pet project to build a museum dedicated to the works of Nikola Tesla, after whom Musk's car company was named.

Musk has previously supported the museum, back in 2012 when Inman set up a crowdfunding project to raise the cash to buy Tesla's original laboratory site.

That campaign was a success, but only up to the point of securing the land. Since Tesla himself used it, it had seen other residents, who had collectively left a sprawling mess of buildings that would need to be safely torn down or renovated before it could be turned into a proper museum.

That, Inman and his advisors concluded, would cost at least eight million dollars. "Crowdfunding it won't work a second time," he pointed out. "We've already played that card."

Instead, after a glowing write-up of the Model S, he asked Musk himself to open his wallet a little more and cover what was needed. Musk, it seems is only too happy to get involved.

@Oatmeal I would be happy to help

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 14, 2014

Exactly how much Musk plans to donate – and whether it will be in his own name, or as part of a donation by Tesla – remains to be seen. We've asked Tesla Motors for further explanation. [Update: Tesla Motors declined to comment on the nature of Musk's support.]

Still, it finally looks like Tesla – without whom the electronics world would not be what it is today in a myriad of ways – will get the museum he deserves.

SOURCE The Oatmeal [Image: Oatmeal]