The longer I live, the more often I learn that so called self-made geniuses like Bill Gates didn't even do the thing they're known for, and none of them did any of it alone.
Bill Gates at least can code. His contributions to Microsoft were mostly being a cutthroat businessman, but he can code, and did, in particular the MS Basic runtime. It's all fuzzy but I'd put him at that stage where you can code, but look at your colleagues and realise that you probably shouldn't. The not so fabled 1x developer. Not entirely rarely well-suited both as manager and QA because they understand enough to be helpful but, ego permitting, seeing they have no talent, don't get their creative instincts tied up with actually writing code.
Steve Jobs main claim was that visual design and walling people into marriage of software + hardware as a package was important. And based on the loyalty, profits, he seemed to have focused on the right thing.
As quick as Apple could, they went away from the kit Apple I into expensive unique-looking systems. The Lisa being US$9,995 (equivalent to well over $30,000 in 2023)... NeXT was pretty much the same high-end vision.
Bill Gates bailing out Apple so there could be two main companies like Pepsi and Coke, I really don't get why people don't criticize that. Microsoft was ahead in the Smartphone area long before the iPhone, if they had not bailed out Apple...
Elon Musk can also code - but I don't know if he was actually any good. But supposedly he was quite fast and hardworking back when he worked on Zip2 (and perhaps also PayPal). But it was very likely spaghetti code.
Elon is a lot of things but Tesla wouldn't have taken off with just these two. Elon is just the Steve Jobs of Tesla...and no amount of hate for the guy is going to change that. These two had no plans to mass market the car or build a company from it.
This post is absolutely stupid, but keeps getting reposted because people have a hate boner for Elon Musk.
Tesla started in July 2003, Elon invested $6.5 Million in February 2004. That makes him a co-founder. Their first electric car was released in 2008 with Elon as CEO.(1)
You don't get a startup to the seventh most valuable company by being lazy or lucky.(2)
We do. Principal investors are often listed as cofounders in startups, if they take a significant role in company operations from early in the company lifespan
Yes an investor. Yet, Elon became the largest shareholder when he did invest and actively helped in development/decision-making of the first car. Take off your shit tinted glasses for a second and be rational.
He became chairman in 2004 are you saying that's after Tesla was widely successful? When he won the Global Green for the roadster are you saying some random investor would get that?
How so? Was it producing the first mainstream electric car? Was it because that car traveled 200+mi? Was it because they created one of the quickest cars in the world? Was it because they made a massive charging network?
Thank you for this post.
Musk might be a piece of shit but you don't build/grow several game changing companies by 'just funding' while being incompetent.