Cont: Musk, SpaceX and future of Tesla II

[arthwollipot]

I'd say that it's a surfeit of decisions to be a fascist, throw Nazi salutes, take a chainsaw to USAID, take a whole pile of drugs, disown his daughter, and just be an all-round prick about everything, than about any decisions he has made about the company.

 

[JayUtah]

I have experience as the part owner of a successful engineering company. I can say with decades of experience that someone who claims he can run a multinational corporation in only a few hours a week is deluded. It has nothing to do with Elon Musk's supposed genius because it is abundantly clear he is no genius. And we have quite a bit of evidence from companies that he has tried to run hands-on that he is terrible at running businesses. He's clearly not actually running anything.

The more parsimonious conclusion is the one I came to based on disclosures from contacts inside SpaceX: that Musk's companies employ people whose only job is to insulate the actual workings of the company from him. It would not surprise me to learn that part of that deception involves telling Musk that he's such a genius that only a few hours of his actual hands-on time is needed.

 

[Dabop]

Hey, I didn't suggest that everything's going great. But as a company it hasn't completely fallen apart yet due to lack of his leadership.

YET....

 

[Darat]

I have experience as the part owner of a successful engineering company. I can say with decades of experience that someone who claims he can run a multinational corporation in only a few hours a week is deluded. It has nothing to do with Elon Musk's supposed genius because it is abundantly clear he is no genius. And we have quite a bit of evidence from companies that he has tried to run hands-on that he is terrible at running businesses. He's clearly not actually running anything.

The more parsimonious conclusion is the one I came to based on disclosures from contacts inside SpaceX: that Musk's companies employ people whose only job is to insulate the actual workings of the company from him. It would not surprise me to learn that part of that deception involves telling Musk that he's such a genius that only a few hours of his actual hands-on time is needed.

Earlier in this thread we were given an example of Musk's management style, that example had him live streaming himself playing a computer game whilst being given a verbal update on a failed SpaceX launch. (It was later revealed that he cheated at video games and was not a world beating gamer.)

 

[jimbob]

I'd say that it's a surfeit of decisions to be a fascist, throw Nazi salutes, take a chainsaw to USAID, take a whole pile of drugs, disown his daughter, and just be an all-round prick about everything, than about any decisions he has made about the company.

That is separate

I have experience as the part owner of a successful engineering company. I can say with decades of experience that someone who claims he can run a multinational corporation in only a few hours a week is deluded. It has nothing to do with Elon Musk's supposed genius because it is abundantly clear he is no genius. And we have quite a bit of evidence from companies that he has tried to run hands-on that he is terrible at running businesses. He's clearly not actually running anything.

The more parsimonious conclusion is the one I came to based on disclosures from contacts inside SpaceX: that Musk's companies employ people whose only job is to insulate the actual workings of the company from him. It would not surprise me to learn that part of that deception involves telling Musk that he's such a genius that only a few hours of his actual hands-on time is needed.

Exactly.

Possibly think up stunts that might appeal to him and which would attract his attention, like putting one of his cars into orbit.

 

[Dabop]

LOL- reminds me of parents doing the 'distract the kid while I get this done, will you' approach to undeveloped younger kids...

Which basically is what they are doing- distracting a big kid while they get on with the real work...

 

[arthwollipot]

YET....

Yet.

 

[Trausti]

I have experience as the part owner of a successful engineering company. I can say with decades of experience that someone who claims he can run a multinational corporation in only a few hours a week is deluded. It has nothing to do with Elon Musk's supposed genius because it is abundantly clear he is no genius. And we have quite a bit of evidence from companies that he has tried to run hands-on that he is terrible at running businesses. He's clearly not actually running anything.

This is just dumb. Because of him electric cars are mainstream, people can access the internet from anywhere in the world, and a private rocket company that is far more efficent than NASA is not futuristic fantasy. I get it, you don't the guy. But this tirade to suggest that someone who has cleary been wildly more successful than you in life is actually a loser is embarrasing.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

The more parsimonious conclusion is the one I came to based on disclosures from contacts inside SpaceX: that Musk's companies employ people whose only job is to insulate the actual workings of the company from him. It would not surprise me to learn that part of that deception involves telling Musk that he's such a genius that only a few hours of his actual hands-on time is needed.

That's Musk's genius. They think they are insulating him from the actual workings of the company, when in reality they are taking on the work so he doesn't have to. A good boss delegates. The best boss delegates everything, knowing that his staff are capable because he chose them.

The ideal boss could literally die and the company would still run perfectly without him. Musk isn't at that level... yet.

 

[Trausti]

That's Musk's genius. They think they are insulating him from the actual workings of the company, when in reality they are taking on the work so he doesn't have to. A good boss delegates. The best boss delegates everything, knowing that his staff are capable because he chose them.

The ideal boss could literally die and the company would still run perfectly without him. Musk isn't at that level... yet.

This.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

(which is why Tesla sales have been declining in a major way for the last three years running...)

In the interests of accuracy:-

2022 1,313,851 units, $81.46 billion
2023 1,808,581 units, $96.77 billion
2024 1,789,226 units, $97.69 billion
2025 1,636,129 units, $94.83 billion

Unit sales up 24.5% from 2022 to 2025
Revenue up 16.4% from 2022 to 2025

There was a small drop in 2025, largely due to changing over production to the new Model Y at the start of the year. 2026 is shaping up to be at least as good as 2023. Considering the greatly increased competition in the EV market, Tesla is doing pretty well.

 

[Trausti]

It is a peculiar human behavior that those who contribute and accomplish little often point and sneer at those who do.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

The car part isn't. It's lost the competitive edge of had and failed to exploit. He's shut down car manufacturing in California. The cyber truck is a failure. The cab is failing. He's completely stopping production of two models. He hasn't renewed the existing products so they are dated compared to the competition.

Nobody can be this ignorant.

 

[Trausti]

In the interests of accuracy:-

2022 1,313,851 units, $81.46 billion
2023 1,808,581 units, $96.77 billion
2024 1,789,226 units, $97.69 billion
2025 1,636,129 units, $94.83 billion

Unit sales up 24.5% from 2022 to 2025
Revenue up 16.4% from 2022 to 2025

There was a small drop in 2025, largely due to changing over production to the new Model Y at the start of the year. 2026 is shaping up to be at least as good as 2023. Considering the greatly increased competition in the EV market, Tesla is doing pretty well.

Wouldn't some drop in Tesla's market share be expected? Now that electric cars are common, competitors will take a larger and larger slice. Early on Ford had near complete market dominance.

 

[mumblethrax]

That's Musk's genius. They think they are insulating him from the actual workings of the company, when in reality they are taking on the work so he doesn't have to. A good boss delegates. The best boss delegates everything, knowing that his staff are capable because he chose them.

The ideal boss could literally die and the company would still run perfectly without him. Musk isn't at that level... yet.

Just stunning. Theodicy for the god-boss.

 

[dirtywick]

it's got to be performance art

 

[Aridas]

it's got to be performance art

Either that or grasping at straws.

 

[Andy_Ross]

Elon Musk
@elonmusk

As crazy as this sounds, $1T in SpaceX revenue in 2028 is no longer impossible.

link

 

[Roger Ramjets]

Possibly think up stunts that might appeal to him and which would attract his attention, like putting one of his cars into orbit.

Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster

In March 2017, SpaceX's founder, Elon Musk, said that because the launch of the new Falcon Heavy vehicle was risky, it would carry the "silliest thing we can imagine". In June 2017, one of his Twitter followers suggested that the silly thing be a Tesla Model S, to which Musk replied: "Suggestions welcome!". In December 2017, Musk announced that the payload would be his personal "midnight cherry Tesla Roadster".

A dummy payload was needed. Musk decided to sacrifice his personal Roadster after one of his followers on Twitter suggested a Tesla Model S.

It was a great publicity stunt, but also had a practical purpose. The car (attached to the final rocket stage) was launched into an elliptical orbit around the Sun that goes past Mars. Theoretically it could have orbited Mars if the rocket had been equipped for it.

Of course there would be detractors, as there always are with anything Musk related. But I don't see any indication that his staff did it to 'attract his attention'. His use of the word 'we' suggests that it was discussed between him and his engineers, but Musk made the decision to use his own Roadster as ballast.

 

[Roger Ramjets]

Just stunning. Theodicy for the god-boss.

If Musk dies then SpaceX and Tesla will be close to that level (of not needing him), much like Apple was when Steve Jobs died. He was another visionary that people hated.