4 ms·

Agree. Shotwell at the helm would be fantastic.

panick21_ 4y ago
Based on what? Do you just hold everything else constant and remove Musk. Is there any evidence that this would be the case? Seems to me that all evidence points in the opposite direction, and all companies not led by Musk are not nearly as ambitious, goals oriented and successful. If Musk had left the company in 2014, do you think Starship and Starlink would be what they are now? Because I think that is pretty unlikely.
- mlindner 4y ago
  Indeed if you go back in history at any point of SpaceX's past and simply pluck out Elon, lots of things that SpaceX does now simply wouldn't have happened.
- TaylorAlexander 4y ago
  To be clear I have not yet perfected my time machine. I am not suggesting Musk be replaced in 2014, but now. Starship has all the momentum it needs and I have plenty of confidence in Shotwell to stabilize that program and ensure its success. She seems equally committed to getting humanity to Mars but she might be a better face for the company, and is certainly competent.
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  - panick21_ 4y ago
    But what about the next thing. There will always be the next big challenge. There are many big challenges left to actually make Mars happen. And even if the Mars thing happens, what's next? One could have made the argument that Musk should have gone after the Falcon 9 was reusable as well. Shotwell is certainty competent and would likely do a good job as you suggest. But the best thing is if they just continue to work together as they have, that seems to have worked the best and I wouldn't want to mess with it.
wongarsu 4y ago
Isn't it basically Shotwell at he helm right now? Sure, Elon is the one giving factory tours, being visionary and playing a big role in R&D, but internally Shotwell seems to do everything you would expect from a CEO. Maybe you could argue who's more in charge of strategic direction at SpaceX, but on the other hand SpaceX seems to be doing great in that division.
- deleted 4y ago
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- mlindner 4y ago
  You should check out her own words on this from 2021. https://archive.ph/p4Nkz https://archive.ph/p4Nkz > Shotwell: The way Elon and I share the load, he focuses on development. He's still very highly engaged in the day-to-day operations, but his focus is on development. He was the lead on Starlink, and I started shifting my focus to Starlink around late spring, early summer of last year. Elon’s focus in that time was moving to Starship, that is his primary focus at SpaceX. It doesn't mean he's not thinking about the company on a day-to-day basis, but his emphasis is to get the Starship program to orbit. This of course is slightly old because Shotwell has done another shift and has taken (at least temporary) control of Starship. Generally if it's something interacting with the US government, Shotwell handles it.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

Based on what? Do you just hold everything else constant and remove Musk. Is there any evidence that this would be the case? Seems to me that all evidence points in the opposite direction, and all companies not led by Musk are not nearly as ambitious, goals oriented and successful. If Musk had left the company in 2014, do you think Starship and Starlink would be what they are now? Because I think that is pretty unlikely.

mlindner 4y ago
Indeed if you go back in history at any point of SpaceX's past and simply pluck out Elon, lots of things that SpaceX does now simply wouldn't have happened.
TaylorAlexander 4y ago
To be clear I have not yet perfected my time machine. I am not suggesting Musk be replaced in 2014, but now. Starship has all the momentum it needs and I have plenty of confidence in Shotwell to stabilize that program and ensure its success. She seems equally committed to getting humanity to Mars but she might be a better face for the company, and is certainly competent.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- panick21_ 4y ago
  But what about the next thing. There will always be the next big challenge. There are many big challenges left to actually make Mars happen. And even if the Mars thing happens, what's next? One could have made the argument that Musk should have gone after the Falcon 9 was reusable as well. Shotwell is certainty competent and would likely do a good job as you suggest. But the best thing is if they just continue to work together as they have, that seems to have worked the best and I wouldn't want to mess with it.

wongarsu 4y ago

Isn't it basically Shotwell at he helm right now? Sure, Elon is the one giving factory tours, being visionary and playing a big role in R&D, but internally Shotwell seems to do everything you would expect from a CEO. Maybe you could argue who's more in charge of strategic direction at SpaceX, but on the other hand SpaceX seems to be doing great in that division.

deleted 4y ago
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mlindner 4y ago
You should check out her own words on this from 2021. https://archive.ph/p4Nkz https://archive.ph/p4Nkz > Shotwell: The way Elon and I share the load, he focuses on development. He's still very highly engaged in the day-to-day operations, but his focus is on development. He was the lead on Starlink, and I started shifting my focus to Starlink around late spring, early summer of last year. Elon’s focus in that time was moving to Starship, that is his primary focus at SpaceX. It doesn't mean he's not thinking about the company on a day-to-day basis, but his emphasis is to get the Starship program to orbit. This of course is slightly old because Shotwell has done another shift and has taken (at least temporary) control of Starship. Generally if it's something interacting with the US government, Shotwell handles it.
deleted 4y ago
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