Yes, and there are other interviews where basic engineering/physics knowledge comes across as well. Many technical people saw it as some kind of shibboleth, and

Yes, and there are other interviews where basic engineering/physics knowledge comes across as well. Many technical people saw it as some kind of shibboleth, and while I think that's a bit silly -- many CEOs are technical, especially in this day and age -- I also think there is a good reason why he became the posterchild for "first principle thinking" and "best part is no part." He didn't just give those concepts lip service, he lived them, and that is special. Corporate structure pushes every executive and manager sharply against these concepts no matter what their technical background. Being wrong (or effectively wrong) about first-principles will get you fired, but nobody gets fired for chasing comps like a second-rate real estate salesman. Being wrong about "best part is no part" will get you fired, but nobody gets fired for kitchen-sink hedging. Large companies are risk averse to a fault and it's no secret why: the optimal career strategy for management is always to favor non-attributable failure over the possibility of outsized success. Every technical person who has seen these problems in action secretly dreams of becoming "benevolent dictator" for a day and defying the ossified risk aversion. It's why many of us are on ycombinator, because startups are a path for this kind of play. Musk was crazy enough and lucky enough to win the startup lottery, double-down all-in on two technical dream plays, and win both of them. Who among us wouldn't want that? Unfortunately, it would seem that being crazy enough to live this dream also made him crazy enough to try... whatever he thinks he is doing with Twitter.