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>Musk is heavily involved in the engineering efforts at Tesla and SpaceX. Is there any evidence of this, outside of him personally claiming this to be the case

>Musk is heavily involved in the engineering efforts at Tesla and SpaceX. Is there any evidence of this, outside of him personally claiming this to be the case?

hxegon 8y ago
https://www.quora.com/Does-Elon-Musk-do-some-very-technical-work-code-design-etc-at-SpaceX https://www.quora.com/Does-Elon-Musk-do-some-very-technical-... I'm too lazy to track down more right now. I don't know of anyone claiming (with evidence) that he doesn't. In his biography there's interviews with people inside and out of spacex/tesla talking about it that are pretty convincing.
- navigatesol 8y ago
  That thread has a quote from an interview, and then a bunch of random people saying he does. I already know the mythology surrounding his engineering credentials. But I think perpetuating it does a real disservice to the real engineers doing work on these products. Do people really think that a bright, "well read" physics undergraduate can lead the practical engineering work on rockets and cars? I find it hard to believe.
  - _Microft 8y ago
    Do people really think that a bright, "well read" physics undergraduate can lead the practical engineering work on rockets and cars? Most people do not. Don't blame Musk for missing that memo. :P (By the way: the book Mindset by Carol Dweck might be an eye-opener...)
  - ocdtrekkie 8y ago
    My guess is this guy probably has more claim to "actually makes rockets" than Elon does: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/tom-mueller-spacex-cto-who-makes-elon-musks-rockets-fly.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/tom-mueller-spacex-cto-who-m... I'm sure Elon sticks himself into tons of meetings, and hence has a lot of knowledge about what's discussed. And I don't doubt that he sets the goals for the engineers to meet, makes aesthetic and design decisions like some of the interviews suggest. But I think the guys Mueller manages are the people who actually make Falcons fly.
xiphias2 8y ago
Just go to Blind. He is doing micromanaging. Also he is ,,managing by Twitter''. Whether that is good or bad is not clear, but so far he has a great track record. Just look at the $35k Tesla that he pulled off by kicking out sales. A regular CEO wouldn't have done that. With all the chaos it has caused, Elon understands that at this point price is the most important part in the decision for buying a Tesla for lots of people, and paying sales just hinders selling.
- praneshp 8y ago
  > Just look at the $35k Tesla that he pulled off by kicking out sales. A regular CEO wouldn't have done that. You know that's reversed right? https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2019/03/11/tesla-puts-brakes-on-shutting-down-all-showrooms https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2019/03/11/tesla-puts-brakes...
  - drusepth 8y ago
    The decision to close most of the stores is (mostly) reversed, but the price drop to $35k for the Model 3 is not reversed. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121980_tesla-will-raise-prices-on-all-but-35k-model-3-keep-more-stores-open https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121980_tesla-will-rais...
    - praneshp 8y ago
      Partially correct. _Some_ variants of model 3 will continue to be sold at 35k
- ovi256 8y ago
  >Just go to Blind. Can you do that without a tesla.com email address ?
- navigatesol 8y ago
  I have no doubt he micromanages, but that's a long way from being "heavily involved" with the engineering of the products. In fact, it's the opposite, no?

>Musk is heavily involved in the engineering efforts at Tesla and SpaceX. Is there any evidence of this, outside of him personally claiming this to be the case?

hxegon 8y ago

https://www.quora.com/Does-Elon-Musk-do-some-very-technical-work-code-design-etc-at-SpaceX https://www.quora.com/Does-Elon-Musk-do-some-very-technical-... I'm too lazy to track down more right now. I don't know of anyone claiming (with evidence) that he doesn't. In his biography there's interviews with people inside and out of spacex/tesla talking about it that are pretty convincing.

navigatesol 8y ago
That thread has a quote from an interview, and then a bunch of random people saying he does. I already know the mythology surrounding his engineering credentials. But I think perpetuating it does a real disservice to the real engineers doing work on these products. Do people really think that a bright, "well read" physics undergraduate can lead the practical engineering work on rockets and cars? I find it hard to believe.
- _Microft 8y ago
  Do people really think that a bright, "well read" physics undergraduate can lead the practical engineering work on rockets and cars? Most people do not. Don't blame Musk for missing that memo. :P (By the way: the book Mindset by Carol Dweck might be an eye-opener...)
- ocdtrekkie 8y ago
  My guess is this guy probably has more claim to "actually makes rockets" than Elon does: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/tom-mueller-spacex-cto-who-makes-elon-musks-rockets-fly.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/25/tom-mueller-spacex-cto-who-m... I'm sure Elon sticks himself into tons of meetings, and hence has a lot of knowledge about what's discussed. And I don't doubt that he sets the goals for the engineers to meet, makes aesthetic and design decisions like some of the interviews suggest. But I think the guys Mueller manages are the people who actually make Falcons fly.

xiphias2 8y ago

Just go to Blind. He is doing micromanaging. Also he is ,,managing by Twitter''. Whether that is good or bad is not clear, but so far he has a great track record. Just look at the $35k Tesla that he pulled off by kicking out sales. A regular CEO wouldn't have done that. With all the chaos it has caused, Elon understands that at this point price is the most important part in the decision for buying a Tesla for lots of people, and paying sales just hinders selling.

praneshp 8y ago
> Just look at the $35k Tesla that he pulled off by kicking out sales. A regular CEO wouldn't have done that. You know that's reversed right? https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2019/03/11/tesla-puts-brakes-on-shutting-down-all-showrooms https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2019/03/11/tesla-puts-brakes...
- drusepth 8y ago
  The decision to close most of the stores is (mostly) reversed, but the price drop to $35k for the Model 3 is not reversed. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121980_tesla-will-raise-prices-on-all-but-35k-model-3-keep-more-stores-open https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121980_tesla-will-rais...
  - praneshp 8y ago
    Partially correct. _Some_ variants of model 3 will continue to be sold at 35k
ovi256 8y ago
>Just go to Blind. Can you do that without a tesla.com email address ?
navigatesol 8y ago
I have no doubt he micromanages, but that's a long way from being "heavily involved" with the engineering of the products. In fact, it's the opposite, no?