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Funny there were people just like you saying the exact same thing about Enron when Bethany ran her famous article back then (yes this is the same author that to

Funny there were people just like you saying the exact same thing about Enron when Bethany ran her famous article back then (yes this is the same author that took down Enron). As with Tesla Enron was big on "innovation". Innovations fail, and the stress of dealing with them tends to lead CEOs into unethical behavior. There's nothing wrong with taking risks and failing. There is something wrong with taking investor money and using it to bail out an unrelated company.

CamperBob2 7y ago
The difference is, Enron didn't build any cars, manufacture any solar panels, or launch any rockets. Anyone buying into Musk's vision understands that they're buying into all of it, for better or worse. Either that, or they're too dumb to be entrusted with large amounts of money, and markets have a way of handling that situation quickly and efficiently.
- jdsully 7y ago
  Your right, they built Power Plants [1] and fibre optic networks instead [2]. Enron was at its core an infrastructure company. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabhol_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabhol_Power_Station [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/01/01/broadband-strategy-got-enron-in-trouble/86ce87f6-33e6-4efe-90c5-067c795e9e8c/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/01/01/b... They are only remembered for their financial "innovations" which was ultimately their downfall. But to suggest they didn't make anything tangible is false. They even had a "Netflix" style streaming service setup with Block Buster at one point.
  - CamperBob2 7y ago
    They financed them. They moved money around, they didn't build anything. I've never seen an "Enron" logo on any actual products. Enron accomplished nothing that wouldn't have happened without them, in one form or another. Agree with him or not, Musk tackles things that either wouldn't happen at all without him, or that would happen too slowly to matter. The reality is, we need both kinds of companies, but we also need them to behave ethically.
    - jdsully 7y ago
      Enron employed boots on the ground construction workers and line men. They started as an LNG pipeline company. All of those blue collar workers lost their pensions when they went bankrupt. You can see some of them in the Enron documentary “Smartest Guys In The Room”. They were not some hedge fund merely shuffling paper around. GE is a very apt comparison.

CamperBob2 7y ago

The difference is, Enron didn't build any cars, manufacture any solar panels, or launch any rockets. Anyone buying into Musk's vision understands that they're buying into all of it, for better or worse. Either that, or they're too dumb to be entrusted with large amounts of money, and markets have a way of handling that situation quickly and efficiently.

jdsully 7y ago
Your right, they built Power Plants [1] and fibre optic networks instead [2]. Enron was at its core an infrastructure company. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabhol_Power_Station https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dabhol_Power_Station [2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/01/01/broadband-strategy-got-enron-in-trouble/86ce87f6-33e6-4efe-90c5-067c795e9e8c/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2002/01/01/b... They are only remembered for their financial "innovations" which was ultimately their downfall. But to suggest they didn't make anything tangible is false. They even had a "Netflix" style streaming service setup with Block Buster at one point.
- CamperBob2 7y ago
  They financed them. They moved money around, they didn't build anything. I've never seen an "Enron" logo on any actual products. Enron accomplished nothing that wouldn't have happened without them, in one form or another. Agree with him or not, Musk tackles things that either wouldn't happen at all without him, or that would happen too slowly to matter. The reality is, we need both kinds of companies, but we also need them to behave ethically.
  - jdsully 7y ago
    Enron employed boots on the ground construction workers and line men. They started as an LNG pipeline company. All of those blue collar workers lost their pensions when they went bankrupt. You can see some of them in the Enron documentary “Smartest Guys In The Room”. They were not some hedge fund merely shuffling paper around. GE is a very apt comparison.