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PR isn't something you "get", it's something you actively work for. Conference appearances, press releases, interviews, television spots, documentary participat

PR isn't something you "get", it's something you actively work for. Conference appearances, press releases, interviews, television spots, documentary participation... these all take time, energy and planning. Yes, as you get more and more well-known these opportunities appear spontaneously, but it doesn't make them any less time-consuming - I would argue the opposite, they become an increasingly important commitment. Elon undoubtedly hustled for a lot of this stuff on his own, but I would be extremely surprised if he hasn't been supported by at least tens of individuals (and / or firms) over the years just for his personal brand alone (not including company-specific PR that's run by internal marketing teams). The thing is; the entire point of his PR, no matter who helps perpetuate it, is built to craft the very opinion you have: Elon is amazing, and he can do it all on his own. While that's probably true to a large extent, it's not the only "truth" and reality. I, personally, am interested in the stories of the people who have helped him along the way - however few or many there may be.

ohbleek 9y ago
I see your point but you're falling into circular logic, with PR becoming the answer to any question concerning his success. It's likely the case that great PR resulted from extraordinary products and those products succeeded from both solvIng problems and well, great PR.
NotSammyHagar 9y ago
Musk actually builds things that no one else is, over and over again. It gets written about because he's accomplishing results - it's different than just having ideas. I have ideas, but I never built them out in the world.
- babyrainbow 9y ago
  Yes. Non one has built an electric car. A rocket engine. and a payment gateway. Paypal was not even built by Elon Musk...By the way. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confinity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confinity
  - hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
    I think that totally misses the point. Yes, there have been other electric cars. There have been no other electric cars that have integrated such great functionality in such a desirable body. Musk proved electric cars could be cool. Same thing goes for private spaceflight. There are other private spaceflight companies, but no others are doing as much to advance the reduction of launch costs. Again, it's similar to the argument some people make that the iPod was just another MP3 player, or the iPhone was just another phone.
deleted 9y ago
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ohbleek 9y ago

I see your point but you're falling into circular logic, with PR becoming the answer to any question concerning his success. It's likely the case that great PR resulted from extraordinary products and those products succeeded from both solvIng problems and well, great PR.

NotSammyHagar 9y ago

Musk actually builds things that no one else is, over and over again. It gets written about because he's accomplishing results - it's different than just having ideas. I have ideas, but I never built them out in the world.

babyrainbow 9y ago
Yes. Non one has built an electric car. A rocket engine. and a payment gateway. Paypal was not even built by Elon Musk...By the way. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confinity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confinity
- hn_throwaway_99 9y ago
  I think that totally misses the point. Yes, there have been other electric cars. There have been no other electric cars that have integrated such great functionality in such a desirable body. Musk proved electric cars could be cool. Same thing goes for private spaceflight. There are other private spaceflight companies, but no others are doing as much to advance the reduction of launch costs. Again, it's similar to the argument some people make that the iPod was just another MP3 player, or the iPhone was just another phone.

deleted 9y ago

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