I don’t know much beyond the surface w.r.t. PayPal, but it’s quite a distortion of history to claim that all Musk did was ‘just buy Tesla’.
Why I think he upended the auto industry:
- He bought Tesla within the first two years (IIRC) of it being founded; before there was even a working prototype
- He laid out the groundwork for the three-stage plan, and followed through
- Stage 1: Prototype -> Roadster
- Stage 2: Model S/X
- Stage 3: Model 3/Y
- He adopted high-tech in Teslas which make them compelling and ‘cool’ (for the general public), through Autopilot, games (Cuphead, Asteroids, etc), video (Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc), OTA software updates, and more
And, the most important piece:
- He led and developed the Supercharger network initiative, partially solving the problem of EVs as true ICE replacements
Each of those decisions could have, and likely would have, been handled differently by Random CEO. It was only through each of those decisions, and a lot of luck, that Tesla is a viable car company today.
I’m quick to criticize Musk, but what he did with Tesla is truly incredible and deserving of praise.
Why I think he upended the auto industry:
- He bought Tesla within the first two years (IIRC) of it being founded; before there was even a working prototype
- He laid out the groundwork for the three-stage plan, and followed through
- He adopted high-tech in Teslas which make them compelling and ‘cool’ (for the general public), through Autopilot, games (Cuphead, Asteroids, etc), video (Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc), OTA software updates, and moreAnd, the most important piece:
- He led and developed the Supercharger network initiative, partially solving the problem of EVs as true ICE replacements
Each of those decisions could have, and likely would have, been handled differently by Random CEO. It was only through each of those decisions, and a lot of luck, that Tesla is a viable car company today.
I’m quick to criticize Musk, but what he did with Tesla is truly incredible and deserving of praise.