i'm honestly stunned, i know he's so passionate and a genius, but this is truly mind boggling.
I find it interesting how many smear pieces against Musk have suddenly surfaced ever since he announced he wanted to take Telsa private again.
Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
21–30 of 172 posts
Re: Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
#22I remember reading his biography and the author admits they intended it to be a hit piece in the first chapter.
Re: Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
#23Yay for at-will employment laws... :-( > Over the previous year, he had been living out of a suitcase, putting in 13-hour days, seven days a week. This story is a good reminder not to do this. The company will usually not return the favour, you rarely get properly rewarded for crazy hours, yet it has a major impact on your health (both mental and physical) in the long run. Not worth it. > It was not a 9 to 5 company.…
> This story is a good reminder not to do this. The company will usually not return the favour, you rarely get properly rewarded for crazy hours, yet it has a major impact on your health (both mental and physical) in the long run. Not worth it. And yet it's also a perfect example of the one time it does make sense to do so, which is when you own a decent chunk of the company that you're doing it for. > No wonder thin…
I would be amazed if it were sustainable for even that long. My recollection is that it's a couple of weeks before productivity ends up back where it would be if you were just working reasonable hours. And then you rapidly descend into less and less productive states. (There used to be a great presentation with linked research about this here [1], but their website seems shaky.)
I think it's an especially bad idea at high levels of the company, because of the long feedback loops. If a line worker makes a mistake, they will hopefully catch that within hours. If they make a bunch, somebody's going to come talk to them in short order. If an executive makes a mistake, it can be months or years before the problem is obvious. But the more tired I am, the more my focus shifts short-term and the less I notice subtleties and small mistakes. increased error rates and long feedback loops are a very bad combination.
[1] http://www.lostgarden.com/2008/09/rules-of-productivity-pres...
Re: Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
#24It strikes me that many very successful people are incredibly smart and driven but seem to have the emotional maturity, or personal introspection, of a 10 year old. Maybe it's just a necessary combination for this kind of success, but it's also a bit paradoxical. Case in point: buying 5 mansions in Bel Air when you spend all your time at work, literally sleeping under your desk. Another is insisting on burning the ca…
This is also true for many unsuccessful people.
Re: Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
#25Yay for at-will employment laws... :-( > Over the previous year, he had been living out of a suitcase, putting in 13-hour days, seven days a week. This story is a good reminder not to do this. The company will usually not return the favour, you rarely get properly rewarded for crazy hours, yet it has a major impact on your health (both mental and physical) in the long run. Not worth it. > It was not a 9 to 5 company.…
> This story is a good reminder not to do this. The company will usually not return the favour, you rarely get properly rewarded for crazy hours, yet it has a major impact on your health (both mental and physical) in the long run. Not worth it. And yet it's also a perfect example of the one time it does make sense to do so, which is when you own a decent chunk of the company that you're doing it for. > No wonder thin…
It's essentially capitalist Stakhanovism.
Re: Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
#26Watching inside spacex there seemed to me to be a very tense and cautious relationship between Musk and people who had to interact with him. Apart from any nerves about launching. This article clarifies what I saw.
Re: Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
When working for Tesla I can only assume the dynamic is different. For many it IS worth it, and will work crazy hours without recompense, because in their eyes it pushes humanity further forward. They work for the joy of innovation.
I think, this might be true for some people in the beginning, but according to this article and other similar articles, a lot of people are leaving the company. So I'm not so sure this idealism is all that accurate. Also, you don't need to treat your employees with that level of disrespect if you want to "push humanity forward" with them.
Perhaps I kept my comment too brief. I'm not endorsing Musk's behaviour in the slightest; it's abhorrent. I was speaking solely in reference to the initial comment about the obscene hours these employees seem to do, and conjecturing a reason as to how the employee might justify it to themselves.
Re: Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
#28I posted this article because I'm really afraid that many young entrepreneurs take Elon Musk (and Steve Jobs, etc.) as role models and get the impression that in order to be successful you have to be an abusive brick.
I've recently read Walter Isaacson's "The Innovators" and there seem to be at least a couple of counterexamples (Robert Noyce for instance). Any other examples of tech leaders who lead their companies in a friendly and open manner and are successful despite (or probably because) of that?
Re: Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
#29I used to be neutral or slightly positive about Musk but this year really changed my view on him. He's a pathological liar, attention-seeker, vengeful narcissist, obsessed about his public image who's unable to handle criticism.
Re: Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell
#30Yay for at-will employment laws... :-( > Over the previous year, he had been living out of a suitcase, putting in 13-hour days, seven days a week. This story is a good reminder not to do this. The company will usually not return the favour, you rarely get properly rewarded for crazy hours, yet it has a major impact on your health (both mental and physical) in the long run. Not worth it. > It was not a 9 to 5 company.…
When working for Tesla I can only assume the dynamic is different. For many it IS worth it, and will work crazy hours without recompense, because in their eyes it pushes humanity further forward. They work for the joy of innovation.
It's a luxury car. For wealthy people to show off.
Don't get me wrong, I drive an EV. They're great. But let's not exaggerate what Tesla is.