3 ms·

Years ago, a friend worked in the Autopilot group. It took them a year to procure servers to store the telemetry of the existing cars, and then weeks to have th

Years ago, a friend worked in the Autopilot group. It took them a year to procure servers to store the telemetry of the existing cars, and then weeks to have them setup. They don't work there anymore. From their experience, I know one thing: I will never work for Elon Musk. He may be a great visionary and salesman, but he's a horrible manager.

etaioinshrdlu 5y ago
This is fascinating, but what caused the delays specifically?
- AceJohnny2 5y ago
  Server procurement was a CFO thing, and their specific requirements didn't fit under the existing buckets, so it took them a long time to get it approved. It was stunning to see the complete disconnect between Musk's grand declarations and what the organization was actually setup to deliver. Frankly, it just gives me more respect for Tim Cook, who as COO at Apple made his company able to turnaround and deliver HW in record time. Edit: in retrospect I wonder if Musk's grand public declarations were actually a way to control and pressure his own organization. Remember, Musk didn't actually found Tesla, he rescued it from bankruptcy after the Roadster didn't return as much as needed, so he inherited an existing structure.
systemvoltage 5y ago
Just like your anecdote, I have one to share as well: I know a close friend that works on space lasers at SpaceX and has a blast, best job ever according to him and he thinks Elon is an excellent manager mostly because there is zero bureaucracy and people are not afraid of "Do nothing" option as well as removing complexity. In fact, he wouldn't work anywhere else after seeing the company culture. I know it's cool to hate Elon.
- ipsum2 5y ago
  I don't think Elon has a day-to-day role at SpaceX unlike at Tesla, right? From what I've read, Gwynne Shotwell is the main person in charge there.
  - simondotau 5y ago
    Elon spends nearly as much time at SpaceX as he does Tesla. There's no question that Elon regularly mucks in at the lowest levels of engineering at SpaceX. If you want evidence from a reasonably neutral observer, take Sandy Munro (himself an engineer who has worked on everything from cars to aeroplanes). He recently interviewed Elon, ostensibly about Tesla but the interview was in a meeting room at SpaceX. After the interview he was invited to a two hour design review meeting and was "blown away" at Elon's depth of involvement. https://youtu.be/S1nc_chrNQk?t=370 https://youtu.be/S1nc_chrNQk?t=370 (6:10 to 8:45)
  - Geee 5y ago
    He is very much involved at actual day-to-day engineering at SpaceX. He is the CEO and the chief engineer there. Sources: https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/k1e0ta/evidence_that_musk_is_the_chief_engineer_of_spacex/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/k1e0ta/eviden... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1nc_chrNQk&t=377s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1nc_chrNQk&t=377s
- AceJohnny2 5y ago
  I dunno, "move fast and break things" works for rockets [1], not so much for cars. [1] https://youtu.be/bvim4rsNHkQ https://youtu.be/bvim4rsNHkQ

etaioinshrdlu 5y ago

This is fascinating, but what caused the delays specifically?

AceJohnny2 5y ago
Server procurement was a CFO thing, and their specific requirements didn't fit under the existing buckets, so it took them a long time to get it approved. It was stunning to see the complete disconnect between Musk's grand declarations and what the organization was actually setup to deliver. Frankly, it just gives me more respect for Tim Cook, who as COO at Apple made his company able to turnaround and deliver HW in record time. Edit: in retrospect I wonder if Musk's grand public declarations were actually a way to control and pressure his own organization. Remember, Musk didn't actually found Tesla, he rescued it from bankruptcy after the Roadster didn't return as much as needed, so he inherited an existing structure.

systemvoltage 5y ago

Just like your anecdote, I have one to share as well: I know a close friend that works on space lasers at SpaceX and has a blast, best job ever according to him and he thinks Elon is an excellent manager mostly because there is zero bureaucracy and people are not afraid of "Do nothing" option as well as removing complexity. In fact, he wouldn't work anywhere else after seeing the company culture. I know it's cool to hate Elon.

ipsum2 5y ago
I don't think Elon has a day-to-day role at SpaceX unlike at Tesla, right? From what I've read, Gwynne Shotwell is the main person in charge there.
- simondotau 5y ago
  Elon spends nearly as much time at SpaceX as he does Tesla. There's no question that Elon regularly mucks in at the lowest levels of engineering at SpaceX. If you want evidence from a reasonably neutral observer, take Sandy Munro (himself an engineer who has worked on everything from cars to aeroplanes). He recently interviewed Elon, ostensibly about Tesla but the interview was in a meeting room at SpaceX. After the interview he was invited to a two hour design review meeting and was "blown away" at Elon's depth of involvement. https://youtu.be/S1nc_chrNQk?t=370 https://youtu.be/S1nc_chrNQk?t=370 (6:10 to 8:45)
- Geee 5y ago
  He is very much involved at actual day-to-day engineering at SpaceX. He is the CEO and the chief engineer there. Sources: https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/k1e0ta/evidence_that_musk_is_the_chief_engineer_of_spacex/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/k1e0ta/eviden... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1nc_chrNQk&t=377s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1nc_chrNQk&t=377s
AceJohnny2 5y ago
I dunno, "move fast and break things" works for rockets [1], not so much for cars. [1] https://youtu.be/bvim4rsNHkQ https://youtu.be/bvim4rsNHkQ