Elon Musk, the visionary businessman behind Tesla Motors (TSLA) and SpaceX, has been hailed as the next Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison. The South African entrepreneur has revolutionized many industries in a short period of time but five years ago Musk was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Both Tesla and SpaceX were losing cash and Musk had to make a tough decision: try to rescue both of his projects from bankruptcy or devote all his resources into one -- without knowing if either company could survive in the long run.

Related: Virgin Galactic CEO: We Can Absolutely Go to Mars

The Daily Ticker's Henry Blodget interviewed Musk earlier this week at Business Insider's IGNITION Conference in New York. Watch the video to see how Musk saved both of his companies -- and his reputation.

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