3 ms·

I’m not sure what planet the author is living on. 70 years of oligopoly would suggest otherwise. Seat belts, safety glass and steering columns that don’t harpoo

• vlovich123 4y ago
  I think the argument is which perspective you take. From the internal observe perspective, you actually have to do the thing for the thing to get done. Yes you need individuals. If you take an external observer perspective that collectively internal and external pressures cause individuals with talent and drive to go and tackle that problem. For example, even if you personally did absolutely nothing, Apple will still collectively create some new fangled device with new features, new performance etc etc. That’s literally true of every human endeavor - no person is doing it alone regardless of how pivotal they may seem. So then the question is “how pivotal is Musk personally”. Certainly Tesla existed outside of him but I think his accomplishment there was to make EV cars sexy and grow that industry from nothing despite headwinds. Would it have happened without him? Not sure. I’m not as bullish as the author given how Tesla really was a motivating force for them to get the show on the road and government regulations in the space are a joke (vs what is actually needed) and even still manufacturers are dragging their feet. So I think the author is right that “it would have happened anyway” but wrong about the scale of the specific impact Musk has had through Tesla.