Goldman Sachs' David Solomon on the art of wooing Elon Musk

Goldman Sachs has got the lead role on the SpaceX IPO. Morgan Stanley has not. To mark this achievement, Bloomberg says that Goldman Sachs has erected some silver rockets in its lobby. Morgan Stanley has got some SpaceX branding on its turnstiles. Someone at Morgan Stanley suggested to the Financial Times that Morgan Stanley only seems subordinate to Goldman on the SpaceX deal because Goldman Sachs comes first alphabetically; maybe not.

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Speaking to Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast, Goldman Sachs' CEO David Solomon said Goldman's lead role in financing mankind's foray to Mars is the result of 20 years' schmoozing of Elon Musk. Rumours that Solomon won the deal by sliding into Musk's DMs turn out to be apocryphal. 

"I never asked Elon in a text message about, about the IPO," said Solomon, who went back through his Musk DMs specifically to check this. He did send Musk messages about a "whole variety of different things," though.

Those messages were not what won Elon for Goldman. That was the result of "a cumulative effort of lots and lots of people over 20 years," said Solomon. Some of that effort came from Stuart Bernstein, a former Goldman Sachs partner who retired after 31 years in 2018. In a piece of foresightful flattery 13 years ago, Bernstein declared: "We think Elon Musk is one of the most exciting entrepreneurs of the century. He's got qualities of Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates all rolled up in one."

When Bernstein left Goldman, Solomon said head of banking Dan Dees started building "a personal relationship" and a "wonderful dialogue" with Musk. Like Kim Posnett, Dees is high on charisma; he has a hoodie named after him by Gwyneth Paltrow.  

Dees' relationship with Musk appears to have survived Dees' 2023 comment to a jury that he was "surprised" by a Musk Tweet of 2018 in which Musk said he was thinking of taking Tesla private. Musk was subsequently acquitted of securities fraud in relation to this Tweet. Following the surprise revelation that Musk was considering the take-private deal, Dees reportedly told him: “At GS, we are standing by and ready to help...We are ready to fly in and share some views and dig in to help whenever you’re ready.”

Speaking on the Podcast this week, Solomon said winning the SpaceX deal was about more than Goldman bankers ingratiating themselves with Musk. It was also about Goldman bankers ingratiating themselves with SpaceX CEO Brett Johnson, whom Solomon says is "a hugely, hugely important guy."

Goldman has "had people spending time" with Johnson "for years and years and years," proclaimed Solomon. "That's what our, that's what our business is...building trusting relationships over time with people, giving the right advice, taking a long-term view, not being transactional, and trying to earn trust."

If Morgan Stanley wants some rockets of its own, it may need to do the same.

Image: Joe Rogan Experience/YouTube

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