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I understand that Musk comes up with his radical innovations by starting out with first principles and then reasoning from there. I wonder what was his specifi

I understand that Musk comes up with his radical innovations by starting out with first principles and then reasoning from there. I wonder what was his specific set of thought processes that lead to the radically different approach that Tesla is taking to manufacture the Model 3.

s2g 8y ago
> radically different approach that Tesla is taking to manufacture the Model 3. I thought they gave up and went back to more traditional methods?
- kitsunesoba 8y ago
  Only partially, with bits and pieces being re-automated as kinks get worked out. They’ve postponed full on automation until the Model Y.
manigandham 8y ago
That machines could build machines faster, cheaper, and better than humans. It was more about extreme evolution in that aspect, but then it allowed for a very different design in the factory itself since it didn't need to accommodate humans everywhere. In reality, it seems it might have been too much technological complexity all at once. Traditional assembly lines have decades of optimization with talent readily available. It's the inevitable bugs of any new tech approach, compounded by timeline, talent, and cash pressures.
erikb 8y ago
smart phones where a radical innovation, but how is making batteries, electric cars, or reusing rockets radical? From my understanding Musk is investing in tough challenges for prestige. The innovation, if any, comes from his engineers.
- woodandsteel 8y ago
  >how is making batteries, electric cars, or reusing rockets radical? No one ever made a reusable satellite-launching rocket before that landed on its tail and was cheaper than a disposable rocket. And Musk came up with the basic plan for how to do it. Nobody made an electric car before that ran off of lithium ion batteries, and no one made an electric luxury car. And Musk made up the basic plan for doing it. Or perhaps you already knew all this and are in a tight spot because you shorted a whole lot of Tesla stock.
  - erikb 8y ago
    This is called optimization. And yes there were electric cars before, just maybe not as consumer products because nobody optimized it enough to be profitable. Innovation means doing something new. I'd argue that the drone ships the rockets land on might be more innovative than the rockets themselves.

s2g 8y ago

> radically different approach that Tesla is taking to manufacture the Model 3. I thought they gave up and went back to more traditional methods?

kitsunesoba 8y ago
Only partially, with bits and pieces being re-automated as kinks get worked out. They’ve postponed full on automation until the Model Y.

manigandham 8y ago

That machines could build machines faster, cheaper, and better than humans. It was more about extreme evolution in that aspect, but then it allowed for a very different design in the factory itself since it didn't need to accommodate humans everywhere. In reality, it seems it might have been too much technological complexity all at once. Traditional assembly lines have decades of optimization with talent readily available. It's the inevitable bugs of any new tech approach, compounded by timeline, talent, and cash pressures.

erikb 8y ago

smart phones where a radical innovation, but how is making batteries, electric cars, or reusing rockets radical? From my understanding Musk is investing in tough challenges for prestige. The innovation, if any, comes from his engineers.

woodandsteel 8y ago
>how is making batteries, electric cars, or reusing rockets radical? No one ever made a reusable satellite-launching rocket before that landed on its tail and was cheaper than a disposable rocket. And Musk came up with the basic plan for how to do it. Nobody made an electric car before that ran off of lithium ion batteries, and no one made an electric luxury car. And Musk made up the basic plan for doing it. Or perhaps you already knew all this and are in a tight spot because you shorted a whole lot of Tesla stock.
- erikb 8y ago
  This is called optimization. And yes there were electric cars before, just maybe not as consumer products because nobody optimized it enough to be profitable. Innovation means doing something new. I'd argue that the drone ships the rockets land on might be more innovative than the rockets themselves.