When he said he wanted to build an affordable electric car, people laughed at him. They said it couldn’t be done.
He said he would make that car drive itself with just computer vision. Again, the world laughed. They mocked him. They said it couldn’t be done.
So he told shareholders: Pay me nothing. Don’t give me $1 of compensation unless I grow this to one of the largest companies in the world. And if I do, allow me to purchase 10% of that company at today’s prices.
Shareholders agreed, it was a good deal. The media laughed, and called these goals impossible.
Fast forward to today, and Tesla cars are so affordable shareholders are crying themselves to sleep at night. Tesla is the #1 producer of electric vehicles in the world, and last year the Tesla Model Y was the best selling car in the world. It was the first time an electric car has ever been #1. Tesla remains the most profitable EV business on Earth.
On top of that, Teslas as old as 2016 are now driving themselves entirely curb to curb with no intervention using FSD 12. That is astonishing.
And yet, when shareholders are asked whether his 2018 compensation plan should be confiscated many loudly stand up and scream “YES”
What has he done for us lately? What is he even good for? Just allow the government to confiscate his wealth, I approve because I do not like his tweets.
History will look back at us with pure bewilderment. It is an indictment of our times — times of decay, with Boeing airplanes falling apart — that our greatest innovators are now our greatest public enemies. No wonder everything sucks.
Elon Musk and the Tesla team have made my life so much better by building me a great electric robot car. They have redefined the product category — it’s not even a car anymore. Everybody is going to want one of these.
Elon Musk is the man. His companies are seeds of change that will grow to transform the world as we know it. Sadly, it seems that he will only be truly appreciated after he is gone. Only when we no longer have him will we realize what we lost.