by Jacob Goldstein

Elon Musk — co-founder of PayPal and majority owner of the electric car company Tesla — has been borrowing money from rich friends to get by.

"About four months ago, I ran out of cash," Musk wrote in a court filng earlier this year. He's been spending some $200,000 a month, according to the filing, which VentureBeat reported on last month.

Musk is still super rich — he owns at least 65 percent of Tesla Motors, this morning's NYT says. And Tesla is scheduled to hold an IPO in a few weeks that's likely to value the company at around $1.4 billion.

 

His case is a reminder of the difference between solvency and liquidity: A person (or a company) can be worth a ton of money, yet still face a cash crunch if the assets can't easily be turned into cash.

Musk, who is in the midst of a contentious divorce, told the NYT he's facing "liquidity issues." But, he added with a laugh, "My assets are huge."

For more on Musk (who is also in the rocket-ship business): Read and listen to this profile that aired on Morning Edition in 2007.