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Disagree. Elon Musk had no domain experience in payments, cars and rockets. Fresh eyes can be invaluable. And it's not that hard to avoid "pulling a Theranos".

by pbreit 10y ago

Disagree. Elon Musk had no domain experience in payments, cars and rockets. Fresh eyes can be invaluable. And it's not that hard to avoid "pulling a Theranos". Theranos should not be an excuse to discount lack of domain experience.

josh_carterPDX 10y ago
Lightening doesn't often strike twice. One success out of many doesn't mean people shouldn't do their homework. Entering the car market is not the same as entering the world of medicine where the results from a test Theranos conducts could result in endangering a life. Elon Musk surrounded himself with domain experts. Case in point, http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/13/11674590/tesla-vehicle-production-executive-peter-hochholdinger http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/13/11674590/tesla-vehicle-pro...
- adventured 10y ago
  > could result in endangering a life So Tesla's autonomous driving technology couldn't endanger a life? The fact is, driving an automobile is the most dangerous thing a person does on a daily basis (outside of simply being alive). Given the number of safety recalls we're witnessing in the automobile industry right now, the number of deaths that occur every year from automobile wrecks, and given how inherently dangerous it is to manually drive a 3,000+ pound piece of metal down the road at 70 mph, I'd say your premise is very off base.
  - vkou 10y ago
    Tesla's non-autonomous driving technology can also endanger lives.
ykl 10y ago
The key difference though, is Elon Musk brought in people that did have domain expertise to fill in the gaps. The overall vision is Elon Musk's, but he was smart enough to bring in industry veterans to help execute on that vision. Theranos, on the other hand, appeared to not have done that. Or at least not on a scale necessary to succeed, especially in something like healthcare.
- ghshephard 10y ago
  Is there any evidence that Theranos didn't bring in the best people in the industry? They certainly had the money (and stature) to do so.
  - ykl 10y ago
    Yes. Up until a few weeks ago, Theranos's board consisted of mostly ex-Pentagon and ex-Senators and such types [0]. Theranos did not have a medical advisory board until about a month ago, apparently. Contrast with Elon Musk and SpaceX. One of Musk's first hires/co-founders for SpaceX was Tom Mueller, who at the time was already widely regarded as one of the best rocket engine designers in the world [1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos#Governance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos#Governance [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mueller https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mueller
kosmic_k 10y ago
But I think it's very important to note that Elon surrounds himself with the very best domain experts he can find. He also has a reputation of deeply engrossing himself in a topic to learn as much as he can. While he may not be a domain expert when we starts, I believe he does eventually becomes one. Theranos shouldn't be an excuse to discount domain experience because fundamentally the impeding failure of Theranos isn't due to lack of domain knowledge. It was pushing their product before it was ready and misleading doctors and the public as to the accuracy of that product. Elon would be "pulling a Theranos" if he obscured failed launches and solicited launches without being transparent on SpaceX's capabilities. I think its also worth to keeping in mind that SpaceX nearly went bankrupt in the process. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if the rational behind Theranos's actions were caused by financial pressure. But that's just my speculation.

by pbreit 10y ago

josh_carterPDX 10y ago

Lightening doesn't often strike twice. One success out of many doesn't mean people shouldn't do their homework. Entering the car market is not the same as entering the world of medicine where the results from a test Theranos conducts could result in endangering a life. Elon Musk surrounded himself with domain experts. Case in point, http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/13/11674590/tesla-vehicle-production-executive-peter-hochholdinger http://www.theverge.com/2016/5/13/11674590/tesla-vehicle-pro...

adventured 10y ago
> could result in endangering a life So Tesla's autonomous driving technology couldn't endanger a life? The fact is, driving an automobile is the most dangerous thing a person does on a daily basis (outside of simply being alive). Given the number of safety recalls we're witnessing in the automobile industry right now, the number of deaths that occur every year from automobile wrecks, and given how inherently dangerous it is to manually drive a 3,000+ pound piece of metal down the road at 70 mph, I'd say your premise is very off base.
- vkou 10y ago
  Tesla's non-autonomous driving technology can also endanger lives.

ykl 10y ago

The key difference though, is Elon Musk brought in people that did have domain expertise to fill in the gaps. The overall vision is Elon Musk's, but he was smart enough to bring in industry veterans to help execute on that vision. Theranos, on the other hand, appeared to not have done that. Or at least not on a scale necessary to succeed, especially in something like healthcare.

ghshephard 10y ago
Is there any evidence that Theranos didn't bring in the best people in the industry? They certainly had the money (and stature) to do so.
- ykl 10y ago
  Yes. Up until a few weeks ago, Theranos's board consisted of mostly ex-Pentagon and ex-Senators and such types [0]. Theranos did not have a medical advisory board until about a month ago, apparently. Contrast with Elon Musk and SpaceX. One of Musk's first hires/co-founders for SpaceX was Tom Mueller, who at the time was already widely regarded as one of the best rocket engine designers in the world [1]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos#Governance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theranos#Governance [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mueller https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Mueller

kosmic_k 10y ago

But I think it's very important to note that Elon surrounds himself with the very best domain experts he can find. He also has a reputation of deeply engrossing himself in a topic to learn as much as he can. While he may not be a domain expert when we starts, I believe he does eventually becomes one. Theranos shouldn't be an excuse to discount domain experience because fundamentally the impeding failure of Theranos isn't due to lack of domain knowledge. It was pushing their product before it was ready and misleading doctors and the public as to the accuracy of that product. Elon would be "pulling a Theranos" if he obscured failed launches and solicited launches without being transparent on SpaceX's capabilities. I think its also worth to keeping in mind that SpaceX nearly went bankrupt in the process. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if the rational behind Theranos's actions were caused by financial pressure. But that's just my speculation.