Did Ray Lane Cost Kleiner Perkins a Slice of Tesla Motors?

Tesla Motors Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is no stranger to intrigue. He’s been teasing the Hyperloop for months and has plans for a massive space colony on Mars dancing away in his head. Last year, during an interview, Musk stirred the pot again, disclosing that a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers had caused the venture capital firm to miss out on investing in Tesla. Musk, though, declined to name the partner. Well, we’re here to help.

As Musk tells it, Tesla at one point had the choice of accepting a $70 million valuation from VantagePoint Capital Partners or $50 million valuation from Kleiner Perkins during a funding round. Musk told Kleiner that he’d be willing to take their lower offer if John Doerr, one of the firm’s famed partners, would join the Tesla board. “But John felt that he had too many obligations and that there was another partner at Kleiner who really wanted the deal and so he could not supplant that person,” Musk said last year.