Thomas Edison did this with the incandescent light bulb. He claimed he had it working long before he actually did. Holmes was doing the same thing. Indeed, she

Thomas Edison did this with the incandescent light bulb. He claimed he had it working long before he actually did. Holmes was doing the same thing. Indeed, she often referenced Edison's quote about having to fail 10,000 times. And named their machine the Edison. Theranos was paying the salary of ~800 employees. They were trying to make it work (though by all accounts were given an ultimately impossible task). It seems likely she was a true believer and had convinced herself it was possible. Ignoring the problems and base reality. Also having convinced herself that it was for the greater good. "We're going to save lives. No one has to die too young, like my uncle did". In the meantime, pretended that it works. Fake it till you make it. Elon isn't really doing that though, given the results he's shown many times over. It helps that he's an engineer operating from first principles and has a physics-based mindset. I think the reality bending he does is more in the realm of expectation and time. Hence unrealistic estimates. But they're things that are ultimately doable and tend to get done.