Yahoo Finance Papers graded by Elon Musk sell for $10,851
Before Elon Musk was the world’s richest person, he was a teaching assistant (TA) at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Business.
And in 1995, he graded a student's course work, which has now been sold at auction for $10,851 (US$7,753).
The Auction house, RR Auctions, described Musk as a “tough-grading TA” with the coursework having been annotated and initialed by the future Tesla CEO.
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“The first, classic UPenn written exam booklet with nine pages filled out, is graded and initialed by Musk on the front cover in red ink,” the RR Auctions listing said.
“Throughout, he checks off key points made in the exam, striking off points for incorrect or inaccurate answers.”
The papers come with a few annotations pointing to Musk’s harsh grading style. In one instance, the student defined ‘Exit Strategy’ as ‘a viable way to end operations if sh*t hits the fan’. Musk wrote: "graphic," and deducted two points.
The seller said the comment was intended as an inside joke for the class’s professor, who he believed would be marking the papers.
“He was a tough grader and didn't like my use of profanity, where I boldly wrote 'sh*t hits the fan' in a test answer,” the seller said.
“Intended as an inside joke for Professor Bass, this instead gave Elon pause. The young maverick ironically hit me with a 2-point deduction and 'graphic' comment for the offense."
The second paper in the set was received better by Musk, who simply checked off good points made throughout the paper and graded it an 8 1/2 .
The papers were accompanied by the original course syllabus, which listed Musk as a teaching assistant as well as a letter from the seller.
“Elon Musk is a pioneering titan of science and industry, universally known by his first or last name and idolized as 'Iron Man' or 'The Dogefather’,” the seller said.
“In 1995, he was just another student on the University of Pennsylvania campus … No one knew back then that Elon Musk would become the world's wealthiest and most iconic entrepreneur.”
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