>>Mr. Musk said he had not taken time off of more than a week since 2001
>>There were times when I didn’t leave the factory for three or four days — days when I didn’t go outside
>>This has really come at the expense of seeing my kids. And seeing friends.
>>All night — no friends, nothing
>>But from a personal pain standpoint, the worst is yet to come.
>>It is often a choice of no sleep or Ambien
These are dangerous levels of stress. The work alone even without all that big company, big expectation pressure can wear you down.
I can only imagine what he must be going through. You don't have rest or sleep, on top of it there is a perennial pressure of saving a big company, and you are also chasing your world altering plans. I guess almost any minor irritation, let alone some thing like the being reminded of short sellers of the impending doom, could trigger a uncontrollable response.
I've been there, you just look for any hint of hope, and you feel like lashing out at any thing that is interfering in the path to your cause. You are irritated all the time. Criticism, even genuine largely looks like conspiracy. And you mark any one standing in your way as a enemy.
I'm a nobody to offer advice. But it looks some one needs to sit him down, may be even family, and ask him to relax. Before some big failure happens and some more serious mental issue hits him in the face, and it forces him to hurt himself.