“That’s one regret”: When Woody Harrelson missed the opportunity of investing early in Tesla
For the lucky few who crack through the glass ceiling and make it in Hollywood, acting is one of the most lucrative jobs on the planet. Of course, the percentage of working thespians who earn millions every time they step in front of the camera is tiny, but Woody Harrelson has been one of them for a while.
Ever since his breakthrough role, in fact, after Cheers rewarded its principal cast handsomely when it spent virtually its entire run as one of the most-watched TV shows worldwide. Not only did it make him rich, but it also came in handy when he was about to get his ass kicked by a Croatian judo team, so it was a winner on all fronts.
These days, Harrelson can expect a salary of millions when playing a prominent role in a mainstream picture, although he’s happy to take a pay cut and work for scale when there’s a smaller independent production that piques his interest. It goes without saying that he won’t have to worry about going broke at any point in his life, although he could have been even wealthier had things turned out differently.
He owns a cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles, which is completely on-brand, but relative to his film work, it’s not going to leave him rolling in cash. Seizing an early investment opportunity in a company that would go on to become one of the most valuable in history is an entirely different matter, though, and one that slipped through his fingers.
“This guy came up to the house, and he had this really fancy, superfast car,” Harrelson explained to Market Watch. “Almost like a race car. Not an actual race car, but it was like a Ferrari-type car, and it was super fast. We took a ride in it. He’s like, ‘You want to invest?’ And I’m like, ‘Nah, I don’t think so.'”
That sounds fair enough because having a random person turn up at the front door, take you for a spin, and then expect Harrelson to funnel money into a startup venture doesn’t sound like a winning promotional tactic. However, it could have made him ludicrously wealthy, even by the standards of an actor recognised wherever they go. When asked what company it was, the answer was laced with ruefulness.
“Tesla,” he lamented. “That’s one regret. I mean, I have many. In the end, everything’s OK.” There’s no word on the timeline of when he passed it up, but with Tesla being founded in 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, it’s reasonable to assume it was somewhere around the beginning of the company’s lifespan when door-to-door investment pitches were being made.
As of February 2025, Tesla’s market value is over a trillion dollars, so Harrelson is probably better off not thinking about how much money he missed out on.
