Elon Musk's foot-in-mouth disease appears to be progressing. In an interview at the Disruptive by Design conference in Manhattan, he told Wired magazine Editor in Chief Chris Anderson that he would like a crack at running Detroit.
"When the mess gets sorted out, I'd like to have a conversation with whoever's in charge at the time -- the car czar or whoever -- and say 'I'd like to run your plants, if you don't mind,'" Musk said
Musk probably thinks he can bring all sorts of "Silicon Valley efficiencies" to big auto plants, but he's about two decades behind in that regard. And let's face it, Musk has yet to build a single car on his own yet, so his ability to run even one auto plant is questionable.
Speaking of which, it's been nearly three months since Tesla announced that it was close to securing a site for the production of its Model S Concept car. It's been radio silence on that front since. Not a good sign given that Tesla is still telling people that the Model S will begin production in late 2011.
And for the record, despite the Wired headline, Elon Musk had nothing to do with the founding of Tesla Motors.
Tesla Motors Founder: Let Me Run Detroit
brn says:
07:57 AM, 06/16/09
The world is full of arm chair quarterbacks.
rick8365 says:
08:04 AM, 06/16/09
^excellent point.
What a tool!
sschicago says:
08:42 AM, 06/16/09
what a douche
redliner says:
10:22 AM, 06/16/09
Arrogant @ss
pennfootball71 says:
10:25 AM, 06/16/09
Well...There you have it, but when was the last time a car company built a car themselves? Think about it.
inlinesix says:
10:38 AM, 06/16/09
Ed Hellwig posts a lot of opinions without doing a lot of research. Lets take a closer look at this. Maybe he is looking for a lot of discussion from readers.
The idiots in Detroit who green lighted cars such as the Pontiac Aztec, the Lincoln Mark LT, and the Chrysler Crossfire are obviously the better people for the job. Don't forget they took private jets to request more money from the American people when they can't sell cars.
Elon created PayPal, has degrees in Physics and Economics and has created several other leading software programs. He has seen success in many endeavors so why not assume that he could help create new innovations in car manufacturing and design and how it is related to software?
mirth says:
11:39 AM, 06/16/09
First is was Cerberus - and we saw how brilliantly they ran a car company - now it's Musk. These guys don't have a first clue of the complexities of building automobiles. But Musk, for one, is going to find out. I'm not expecting his "Model S" any time soon.
estreka says:
11:40 AM, 06/16/09
I wonder who'll buy Tesla when they enter bankruptcy.
bankerdanny says:
11:57 AM, 06/16/09
inlinesix,
Musk's accomplishments are indeed impressive. But creating a software company which does not require production of a physical product utilizing thousands of parts does not in any way qualify him to operate a huge manufacturing operation.
Hellwig has it right I think. Prove you can produce your own car in large quantities with good quality at a profit THEN offer to take over GM.
mnorm1 says:
12:23 PM, 06/16/09
If they fire assholes, why does Musk still have a job there?
stovt001 says:
12:33 PM, 06/16/09
Anyone else get the feeling Musk would be captain of the B ship when it comes time to evacuate the planet?
zjev says:
05:53 PM, 06/16/09
Right on Estreka! Yeah, isn't Musk trying to get government funding for his crap Tesla?! And when they called him on it he made himself sound even more dumb. He needs to stop doing interviews and spend more time building his Tesla XF...I mean Model S
petrolhead85 says:
07:33 PM, 06/16/09
Will someone please punch this egotistical moron in the face?
sschicago says:
08:18 PM, 06/16/09
i second that motion petrolhead85
aretheregods says:
11:29 AM, 06/17/09
People who make derogatory comments about the heads of corporations that have only met success as of late seem to be the least well informed individuals. And it would also stand to reason that the people writing this blog are of the same group.
I could see if Elon Musk had punched you in the face, but as it stands, speaking the truth is really not something deserving of the defamation in these posts.
And I really don't see why someone would believe that the people who either directly or indirectly brought down the fall of a major industry could possibly do a better job than somebody to whom nasa has virtually given the keys to the space administration (space-x)... I mean, really... come on.
I understand that building cars must be hard, but building space ships would seem to be, possibly, an order of magnitude more difficult.
But maybe that's just me. You people on this blog seem to be much bigger @-holes than this guy.
mirth says:
09:30 AM, 06/18/09
"speaking the truth"? Are you sure you're talking about Musk? Speaking as someone who has read quite a few interviews with this guy, I think the general consensus of this blog are spot on. It's the blog that's "speaking the truth", not Musk...
jkp1187 says:
03:34 PM, 06/18/09
Elon Musk successful at Tesla? Get real. The guy's a carnival barker who can't keep his business afloat without injections of cash from Washington, just like GM and Chrysler.
Of course, GM actually put more EV's in customer hands than Tesla has so far.
socasurf10 says:
12:14 AM, 06/19/09
When the dust settles. . . Alan Mullaly for Ford will be the car Czar for saving Ford without begging Congress for more money. GM, will be "leaner, stronger, smaller," headed by a guy who knows nothing about cars but apparently knocked ATT out of the water, and Fiat/Chrysler's Sergio Marchionne will be best buds with Mullaly because they understand how to "reivent" companies gone wrong. Why on earth would this guy -Musk- have such a high sense of entitlement, as if he could do any better? This is the kind of guy who would assume total power and then approve cars like the Pontiac Aztec. Great that's all I'm gonna think about when I think of Tesla and Musk, stupid, ugly, pretentious P-Az.