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I can't think of a better role model for engineers than Elon Musk. Some good stuff from this video: 1) Doesn't want to speculate on Hyperloop before he's sure

I can't think of a better role model for engineers than Elon Musk. Some good stuff from this video: 1) Doesn't want to speculate on Hyperloop before he's sure it can exist 2) Freely admits he was too shy to talk to anyone in the Netscape lobby when he went there fresh out of college looking for a job 3) Doesn't read a lot of general business books. Instead reads auto-/biographies of scientists and entrepreneurs. Plus, he likes Burning Man (I love it but it's not for everyone) and casually mentions he had the idea for a "super-sonic vertical takeoff and landing plane" there. In comparison, I just got back from BM and my only work-related idea was that I should really put some more effort into my work. So far I haven't heard any stories about him being an ass either, which is very reassuring for those of us who don't want to be like Steve Jobs. Even in this interview he seems reluctant to reveal too much information about people he didn't like working with. I just wish people like him were more attracted to politics. I wonder if it's because nobody would elect people like Elon Musk or because those people avoid politics.

carbocation 14y ago
> I just wish people like him were more attracted to politics. I wonder if it's because nobody would elect people like Elon Musk or because those people avoid politics. I'm starting to think that I'm OK with the great scientists and entrepreneurs not dabbling in politics. I'd rather have a world where politicians keep doing what they're doing, so long as they don't ruin everything, and entrepreneurs keep doing the same. But maybe this is just a phase in my own thinking. More succinctly, Mr. Musk would have a much lesser impact as POTUS than as himself in his current role.
- jhuckestein 14y ago
  > More succinctly, Mr. Musk would have a much lesser impact as POTUS than as himself in his current role. There's no way to know for sure, but I'm curious about your reasoning. I'm not sure if I'd even agree with you. A technology and science focused president could do a lot of good, not least of all changing the mindset of people. Of course it'll be hard to get anything done with all the bipartisanism and opposition but that's a separate issue.
  - carbocation 14y ago
    > Of course it'll be hard to get anything done with all the bipartisanism and opposition but that's a separate issue. That's actually my point though, which is purely pragmatic. In a world where we don't have to account for politics, sure, I'd love to see what would happen if scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs were to govern. In a world where most of the time in government seems, to this observer, to be spent politicking, I'd rather see people like Mr. Musk doing his own thing.
    - pageld 14y ago
      Jimmy Carter was a nuclear engineer. But a lot of people didn't end up liking what he did. Some still say that he ruined the country. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what he should have/have not done, but I know a lot of people that despise the man. After stating that, I still would like to see more engineering types in leadership positions because engineers are more data driven. However, most engineers are too busy building things to run for office.
      - jnw2 14y ago
        Did Carter show anywhere near as much leadership in pushing the limits of technology as Admiral Rickover did, though?
      - chrischen 14y ago
        Nuclear Engineer? From his Wikipedia I wouldn't really categorize him as a scientist. It also says he was really religious, which is also out of character for a scientist. Woodrow Wilson was an intellectual (though not a scientist) and he was president. Keep in mind the president's cabinet members probably consist of many scientists and this is probably sufficient for advising and keeping the president knowledgeable on issues. Obama's cabinet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Chu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Chu - Nobel prize in physics - Secretary of Energy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Blank http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Blank - PhD in Econ - Secretary of Commerce Probably more scientists on board.
greedo 14y ago
Competence in science and engineering doesn't equate to competence in politics and governance.
- gojomo 14y ago
  ...at least not in the modern American political system, dominated by lawyers. China apparently has a lot of engineers (by training) in its high offices.
- mkramlich 14y ago
  I'm getting to the point where I'd prefer a government run by engineers, scientists, doctors, astronauts, etc. rather than one run by politicians, lawyers, bankers and oil executives. Imperfect? Perhaps. Lesser evil? By far.
  - greedo 14y ago
    I think the problem lies in attraction. Politics is such a dumpster fire that only the most egotistical, self-absorbed and driven type A's are inclined to seek political roles. But that's the cynic in me.
kmfrk 14y ago
He's made comments about how the U.S. taxes are too low - albeit just in passing. Seems like he's not one to shy away from making political statements every now and then.
joelrunyon 14y ago
Is there a biography of Elon Musk? I saw a few on amazon, but they don't seem to be well reviewed? I know he's still young, but given his influence and intrigue, I would buy a solid biography of his in a second.
- kooshball 14y ago
  its too early in his life to have a real biography. there are so many untied ends.
zmmz 14y ago
There is a nice scene in the film Before Sunset where the two main characters are discussing the fact that the female lead, Celine, is working for an NGO. Speaking about what she sees around her: I see it in the people that do the real work, and what's sad in a way is that the people that are the most giving, hardworking, and capable of making this world better, usually don't have the ego and ambition to be a leader.
relix 14y ago
In the book "The Paypal Wars", an account of the almost complete history of Paypal through the eyes of one of its employees, Elon Musk is painted as a stubborn, semi-ass. According to the book, when he was assigned as CEO after the merger, he wanted among other things, to replace the Paypal brand with the X.com brand. The whole company saw this as a bad idea because a lot of people knew and trusted friendly Paypal but not weird, porn-sounding X.com, but Elon apparently didn't care and just wanted "his" brand X.com to be the main look of the company, even after a lot of discussions and metrics showing this could end the company. He ended up being replaced as CEO after a vote because of this whole debacle. It's the only description of Musk that I've read in which he is painted in a negative way. Keep in mind the author might be biased against Elon because Elon was CEO of X.com which was "the enemy" of Paypal.
- ntoshev 14y ago
  Here's what Elon Musk has said about the book: The only negativity in recent years was due to a book called The PayPal Wars, written by a sycophantic jackass called Eric Jackson. This guy was one notch above an intern at PayPal in the first few years of the company, but gives the impression he was a key player and privy to all the high level discussions. Eric couldn't find a real publisher, so Peter funded Eric to self-publish the book. Since Eric worships Peter, the outcome was obvious - Peter sounds like Mel Gibson in Braveheart and my role is somewhere between negligible and a bad seed. However, to his credit, Peter didn't realize the book would be as bad as it was and apologized to me personally at a Room 9 board meeting at David Sacks's home in LA. http://m.gawker.com/230076/an-alternate-history-according-to-elon-musk http://m.gawker.com/230076/an-alternate-history-according-to...
  - relix 14y ago
    Thanks for this contra-point! Interesting to see Elon reply to this description. Personally I have more reason to believe EM than Eric, but still, as always the truth probably lies somewhere in between.
    - Flenser 14y ago

carbocation 14y ago

> I just wish people like him were more attracted to politics. I wonder if it's because nobody would elect people like Elon Musk or because those people avoid politics. I'm starting to think that I'm OK with the great scientists and entrepreneurs not dabbling in politics. I'd rather have a world where politicians keep doing what they're doing, so long as they don't ruin everything, and entrepreneurs keep doing the same. But maybe this is just a phase in my own thinking. More succinctly, Mr. Musk would have a much lesser impact as POTUS than as himself in his current role.

jhuckestein 14y ago
> More succinctly, Mr. Musk would have a much lesser impact as POTUS than as himself in his current role. There's no way to know for sure, but I'm curious about your reasoning. I'm not sure if I'd even agree with you. A technology and science focused president could do a lot of good, not least of all changing the mindset of people. Of course it'll be hard to get anything done with all the bipartisanism and opposition but that's a separate issue.
- carbocation 14y ago
  > Of course it'll be hard to get anything done with all the bipartisanism and opposition but that's a separate issue. That's actually my point though, which is purely pragmatic. In a world where we don't have to account for politics, sure, I'd love to see what would happen if scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs were to govern. In a world where most of the time in government seems, to this observer, to be spent politicking, I'd rather see people like Mr. Musk doing his own thing.
  - pageld 14y ago
    Jimmy Carter was a nuclear engineer. But a lot of people didn't end up liking what he did. Some still say that he ruined the country. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what he should have/have not done, but I know a lot of people that despise the man. After stating that, I still would like to see more engineering types in leadership positions because engineers are more data driven. However, most engineers are too busy building things to run for office.
    - jnw2 14y ago
      Did Carter show anywhere near as much leadership in pushing the limits of technology as Admiral Rickover did, though?
    - chrischen 14y ago
      Nuclear Engineer? From his Wikipedia I wouldn't really categorize him as a scientist. It also says he was really religious, which is also out of character for a scientist. Woodrow Wilson was an intellectual (though not a scientist) and he was president. Keep in mind the president's cabinet members probably consist of many scientists and this is probably sufficient for advising and keeping the president knowledgeable on issues. Obama's cabinet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Chu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Chu - Nobel prize in physics - Secretary of Energy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Blank http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_Blank - PhD in Econ - Secretary of Commerce Probably more scientists on board.

greedo 14y ago

Competence in science and engineering doesn't equate to competence in politics and governance.

gojomo 14y ago
...at least not in the modern American political system, dominated by lawyers. China apparently has a lot of engineers (by training) in its high offices.
mkramlich 14y ago
I'm getting to the point where I'd prefer a government run by engineers, scientists, doctors, astronauts, etc. rather than one run by politicians, lawyers, bankers and oil executives. Imperfect? Perhaps. Lesser evil? By far.
- greedo 14y ago
  I think the problem lies in attraction. Politics is such a dumpster fire that only the most egotistical, self-absorbed and driven type A's are inclined to seek political roles. But that's the cynic in me.

kmfrk 14y ago

He's made comments about how the U.S. taxes are too low - albeit just in passing. Seems like he's not one to shy away from making political statements every now and then.

joelrunyon 14y ago

Is there a biography of Elon Musk? I saw a few on amazon, but they don't seem to be well reviewed? I know he's still young, but given his influence and intrigue, I would buy a solid biography of his in a second.

kooshball 14y ago
its too early in his life to have a real biography. there are so many untied ends.

zmmz 14y ago

There is a nice scene in the film Before Sunset where the two main characters are discussing the fact that the female lead, Celine, is working for an NGO. Speaking about what she sees around her: I see it in the people that do the real work, and what's sad in a way is that the people that are the most giving, hardworking, and capable of making this world better, usually don't have the ego and ambition to be a leader.

relix 14y ago

In the book "The Paypal Wars", an account of the almost complete history of Paypal through the eyes of one of its employees, Elon Musk is painted as a stubborn, semi-ass. According to the book, when he was assigned as CEO after the merger, he wanted among other things, to replace the Paypal brand with the X.com brand. The whole company saw this as a bad idea because a lot of people knew and trusted friendly Paypal but not weird, porn-sounding X.com, but Elon apparently didn't care and just wanted "his" brand X.com to be the main look of the company, even after a lot of discussions and metrics showing this could end the company. He ended up being replaced as CEO after a vote because of this whole debacle. It's the only description of Musk that I've read in which he is painted in a negative way. Keep in mind the author might be biased against Elon because Elon was CEO of X.com which was "the enemy" of Paypal.

ntoshev 14y ago
Here's what Elon Musk has said about the book: The only negativity in recent years was due to a book called The PayPal Wars, written by a sycophantic jackass called Eric Jackson. This guy was one notch above an intern at PayPal in the first few years of the company, but gives the impression he was a key player and privy to all the high level discussions. Eric couldn't find a real publisher, so Peter funded Eric to self-publish the book. Since Eric worships Peter, the outcome was obvious - Peter sounds like Mel Gibson in Braveheart and my role is somewhere between negligible and a bad seed. However, to his credit, Peter didn't realize the book would be as bad as it was and apologized to me personally at a Room 9 board meeting at David Sacks's home in LA. http://m.gawker.com/230076/an-alternate-history-according-to-elon-musk http://m.gawker.com/230076/an-alternate-history-according-to...
- relix 14y ago
  Thanks for this contra-point! Interesting to see Elon reply to this description. Personally I have more reason to believe EM than Eric, but still, as always the truth probably lies somewhere in between.
  - Flenser 14y ago