"The start of that collaboration was during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and Tesla, like most other US automakers at the time, needed money. Musk, along with

"The start of that collaboration was during the 2008-2009 financial crisis and Tesla, like most other US automakers at the time, needed money. Musk, along with several other investors, reinvested in the company but Daimler’s cash infusion made the difference. Musk later said that “Tesla wouldn’t exist today without it.”" Mercedes is like Microsoft, when they helped Apple to survive. https://electrek.co/2017/03/24/tesla-electric-car-granola-image-daimler-ceo/ https://electrek.co/2017/03/24/tesla-electric-car-granola-im...