Why? There are countless examples where SpaceX adapted some simpler consumer product to serve their needs. That's why they were able to compete and drastically

Why? There are countless examples where SpaceX adapted some simpler consumer product to serve their needs. That's why they were able to compete and drastically reduce price. Another reason was they never tried to get cost plus contracts which were the standard for industry (imagine how that affects your incentives) This isn't software where we can laugh at Uber building their own messaging service. These are somewhat specialized parts that are made for orgs that have no concern of cost controls. he's absolutely right to question everything as that gives him the edge. You see something similar with Jobs. From reading his bio, I would say his main skill was ability to sniff out BS. So if he wanted something in a certain way or by a certain time and got push back, he was able to ascert whether it was legitimate or he could just push and raise expectations. And more often than not it worked. The best managers I've had always pushed me and knew when something truly wasn't feasible