13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

For this assignment, I read “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” by Ashlee Vance. Here are my thoughts:

1)    You read about an entrepreneur:

·      What surprised you the most?

o   I think what surprised me the most about Elon Musk was just about his childhood and growing up. Before reading his biography, I knew of Elon Musk and his many successes, however I was unaware of how he came to be one of the most influential entrepreneurs of our generation. I did not expect Musk to have grown up in poverty from the age of 10 after his parents divorced and his mom was left working 5 jobs to support their family. Not only was he exposed to poverty at a young age, but Elon was actually bullied as a child. I think that when many people think of these successful entrepreneurs, they fail to realize that they are actual people too who have experienced many of the same hardships that we have experienced and that was what really surprised and spoke to me.

·      What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?

o   I think what I most admire about Elon Musk is his determination and work ethic. After his parents divorced at the age of 10 and his mom was left working 5 jobs to take care of the family, Elon took an interest in learning how to program. I think that seeing his mom work hard to take care of his family really pushed him to work even harder to become successful. The biography depicts Musk as a self-starter that motivated himself intrinsically to continue to improve himself and learn new skills and I think that is something we all can learn from.

·      What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?

o   I think what I least admire about Elon Musk after reading his biography is just the way that he can be described treating the people who work for his companies. As an entrepreneur with large visions and aspirations, it can be easy to see how Elon Musk can demand a lot out of the people that work for his companies and the book dives into that describing the high-pressure work environments that employees are placed into. I can see some truth in those statements as the book also mentions some of Musk’s past controversies surrounding remarks made to the media and questionable decisions made in running Tesla and SpaceX. It becomes clear after reading this that Musk is very passionate about his work and his companies, but perhaps the passion can sometimes go too far and cause him to make some harsh remarks/decisions.

·      Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?

o   Elon Musk has definitely encountered adversity and failure in many parts of his life. Growing up, he battled adversity within a single-parent home dealing with poverty as well as getting bullied at school. Fast forward to his experiences creating Tesla and SpaceX and he faced many financial difficulties in funding both of his companies. The book describes how he was able to save both of his companies during the economic recession through obtaining financing for Tesla the day before he was supposed to meet payroll, while also securing a government contract with SpaceX that allowed him to keep both of his companies above water. I think what has allowed Musk to face and overcome adversity is his work ethic and determination. Musk continues to work hard in improving his companies and somehow transforms the pressure/stress he faces into fuel to address and overcome these obstacles. Even now, Tesla and SpaceX have yet to become overly “successful” as both companies have dealt with financial issues, however Musk has continued to grind and work on his projects to provide his “babies” the opportunity to blow up and become big-time successes.

2)    What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited?

·      The competencies I noticed that Elon Musk exhibited had to be hard-work, self-motivation, and drive to become successful. Throughout the biography, Musk radiates ambition and drive and I think that can be seen specifically through all of his ventures. Even after becoming successful with Zip2 and PayPal, Musk still continued on his pursuit towards success by remaining ambitious and driven. This led him to continue his entrepreneurial path with Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity, and the Boring Company. The diversity within the companies he has created truly reflects how ambitious Elon Musk has been and the visionary mindset that he has been able to utilize to become this successful. No matter what obstacles are thrown in his way, Musk continues to work hard and overcome all of these hurdles as well as those who have doubted his works.

3)    Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.

·      There was not really any part of the reading that was confusing to me, however near the end where it began to discuss in more detail Musk’s ventures the author began to utilize more jargon to describe the technical aspects of SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. This made it a little bit difficult understanding what was being talked about as I do not have much background knowledge within the industrial technology sector. Fortunately, I was able to decipher what was being stated through the help of Google and figure out what exactly these technical challenges were that these companies are facing.

4)    If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?

·      The first question I would ask Elon Musk is: “What would you have done if you were unable to secure the financing for Tesla?”. I think that this is an interesting question because he was just able to save Tesla in the nick of time, but you just can’t help but wonder what would’ve happened to Elon had he not been able to do that. Maybe he would have invested all of his time into making SpaceX successful or started a new company that could’ve blown up in popularity. The second question I would ask Elon Musk is: “Where do you see yourself within the next 10-15 years?”. Currently, Musk is 48 years old and it would be interesting to hear if he has any future plans to create new companies or if he is content solely working on his projects at hand. In addition to that, it would be interesting to hear where he sees his companies within 10-15 years and if he has any doubts/concerns about the futures of any of his companies.

5)    For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur’s opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?

·      I think Musk’s opinion of hard-work is to just do anything to get the job done. Musk has been pretty vocal about his work-ethic and the fact that he never takes vacations. Musk’s persistence and dedication is what has allowed him to become so successful and I think if you were to ask him what his opinion of hard work is, he would state that it is a necessity in becoming successful. You have to be able to push yourself, without the help of others, and really push hard in times of stress/pressure if you really want to overcome obstacles and get the job done. I do share this opinion because I think that if you really want something bad enough, you have to continue to put work in to obtain the output you want. Musk consistently works hard and continues to improve himself and I think that he sets a great example for what is necessary to become successful as an entrepreneur.