I have been thinking about Elon Musk a lot this year.
Maybe too much. But at the same time he is arguably the most powerful person on earth.
So it makes sense to give him some thought.
If I had to give him a rating it would be 7/10 where 10/10 is basically a super human or Jesus, lol.
So a very good score for a mortal human, but still room for improvement.
This review is based on my gut feeling and all the info I have digested over the years. A lot, but still not enough to say I claim this review to be the truth. It's totally subjective anyway.
What I admire:
I believe his life quest of securing a bright future for all of humanity is both real, all consuming and intense. He is going through horrible experiences. Like working crazy hours and fighting for his companies' survival for years. All while taking great risks that could ruin his life or ego if failing. I also believe he cares deeply about the truth, and don't mind voicing an unpopular opinion if he believe it to be just or right. Bravery. And I never get tired of just how intensely he fights to succeed. He never gives up. Always 100% power. This might be common in sports, but to have this level of fighting spirit and will in the business world, to the point where he will sacrifice everything if needed, is probably very rare. I love a leader in the arena. A leader in the trenches. He delivers!
What I dislike:
I don't really care about all the gossip. I do have to subtract a few % points for so many failed relationships, but other than that, I try to stay out of something I (and all of you!!) know little about: His private life.
The things I dislike about Musk, has a lot to do with the Silicon Valley or broader US culture: It's all about him or his companies. He is the star. The companies are the children. The employees dispensible overworked labour. This text will get very long if I have to give concrete examples. I will try to instead be concrete about how things could be different.
- What if you could build a world changing company and at the same time be a member of B corp?
- What if all employees, so also guys on the floor, would be offered company shares and good pay?
- What if you could be a humanist CEO, lead and act with warmth, while also changing the world?
- What if you could show respect to everyone, while maintaining your speed, directness and strong opinions. I think it's possible.
Maybe all of these items are not simultaneously possible simply because of how the world currently works. But at least a few of them should be.
To be fair, several other Silicon Valley tech elites are either in the same boat or worse.
In summary:
I shall dissect this quoute and use it to summarize 😀
"It's not the destination or the journey, it's who you are travelling with".
I believe Musk is obsessed with the destination (save humanity) or maybe even parts of the journey. But the last part with fellow travellers seem less important. At least in the sense, that we all belong on the ship together.
I am sure Musk knows about the theory that the world will eventually end. The universe will expand into inifite cold nothing. Even the theory he mentioned years ago that we might be inside a simulation is not much more positive...
My point is the world will end at some point. I think he agrees. And Elon Musk wants to help prolong humanity. Which is cool. But is it really the most important thing right now?
I mean is the settlement of humanity om Mars 30 years earlier (just my guess of Musks impact) really the most important thing right now?
Shouldn't we rather strive to become the most awesome humankind we could be?
To improve the "Who you are travelling with" seems to be the more important quest of our times.
Yes I am taking things to the extreme here. And yes, Musk fixing critical issues in our life time like green transition (and potentially removing corrupt state power over media - no conclusion yet) is freaking awesome, which is why he - despite my critism - receives a strong 7/10.
And if he turns out to be for real with fighting the corruption of power and media and doesn't end up creating a partisan or corrupt media himself in that fight he will move to an 8/10. The next years will tell.
Elon Musk is a hero. Could he also please be a bit more warm? ❤️