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> But here’s where the CEO becomes relevant. Tesla is, in many ways, Elon Musk. Some parts are astonishing, inspiring, and good — what I’ve called above the car

> But here’s where the CEO becomes relevant. Tesla is, in many ways, Elon Musk. Some parts are astonishing, inspiring, and good — what I’ve called above the car on down. Other parts are little more than lies and gimmicks. From what I understand (and I may be completely wrong), those "astonishing and good" parts, about the design of the vehicle itself, were already mostly in place before Musk managed to place himself as Tesla's CEO (which is an interesting story in itself).

epgui 3y ago
Where did you hear that? Elon was CEO long before the Model 3 existed. Before Elon was CEO, they weren’t delivering any cars at all.
robertlagrant 3y ago
> From what I understand (and I may be completely wrong), those "astonishing and good" parts, about the design of the vehicle itself, were already mostly in place before Musk managed to place himself as Tesla's CEO (which is an interesting story in itself). I find it very hard to know what's true about such a polarising figure. Personally I don't think it's likely that Musk has done what he's done without talent and a lot of hard work, especially in an age of constant iconoclasm. But I could be wrong.
- epgui 3y ago
  I think a big part of the problem is that people tend to see things in black and white (or rather, fail to account for nuance). Elon is a massively intelligent and business savvy guy with strong engineering talent. He is also unhinged and an absolute idiot. Both things are true at the same time and in different ways. People tend to let one of the two perspectives overwhelm their impression of him as a whole.
  - robertlagrant 3y ago
    I think it depends how you assess people. It's "Says the thing a large group of us have deemed impolite" vs "Working hard to build an optimistic future based on large technological improvements". I can imagine people who take the time to be good at assessing either of those find it hard to care about or understand the other one.
TMWNN 3y ago
> From what I understand (and I may be completely wrong), those "astonishing and good" parts, about the design of the vehicle itself, were already mostly in place before Musk managed to place himself as Tesla's CEO (which is an interesting story in itself). You are completely wrong. Musk joined as the first major outside investor in February 2004, six months after the company's founding. The Roadster, Tesla's first automobile, did not come out until 2008.

epgui 3y ago

Where did you hear that? Elon was CEO long before the Model 3 existed. Before Elon was CEO, they weren’t delivering any cars at all.

robertlagrant 3y ago

> From what I understand (and I may be completely wrong), those "astonishing and good" parts, about the design of the vehicle itself, were already mostly in place before Musk managed to place himself as Tesla's CEO (which is an interesting story in itself). I find it very hard to know what's true about such a polarising figure. Personally I don't think it's likely that Musk has done what he's done without talent and a lot of hard work, especially in an age of constant iconoclasm. But I could be wrong.

epgui 3y ago
I think a big part of the problem is that people tend to see things in black and white (or rather, fail to account for nuance). Elon is a massively intelligent and business savvy guy with strong engineering talent. He is also unhinged and an absolute idiot. Both things are true at the same time and in different ways. People tend to let one of the two perspectives overwhelm their impression of him as a whole.
- robertlagrant 3y ago
  I think it depends how you assess people. It's "Says the thing a large group of us have deemed impolite" vs "Working hard to build an optimistic future based on large technological improvements". I can imagine people who take the time to be good at assessing either of those find it hard to care about or understand the other one.

TMWNN 3y ago

> From what I understand (and I may be completely wrong), those "astonishing and good" parts, about the design of the vehicle itself, were already mostly in place before Musk managed to place himself as Tesla's CEO (which is an interesting story in itself). You are completely wrong. Musk joined as the first major outside investor in February 2004, six months after the company's founding. The Roadster, Tesla's first automobile, did not come out until 2008.