Question

Question B1

In 2002, Musk sold his second internet startup, PayPal, to eBay for $1.5 billion. His first company, a Web software firm, was acquired by Compaq. Currently, Musk is the CEO of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Tesla Motors, and also the chairman and the largest shareholder of SolarCity, an energy technology company. SpaceX, which builds rockets for companies and countries to put satellites in space, was the first private company to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. It’s reigniting interest in space exploration. Tesla Motors is the world’s most prominent maker of electric cars and is proving that electric cars can be green, sexy, and profitable. SolarCity is now the leading provider of domestic solar panels in the United States. Each of these ventures has transformed an industry: PayPal – Internet payments; Tesla – automobiles; SpaceX – aeronautics; and SolarCity – energy. (Modified from source: Kristoffer Tripplaar/Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images)

Based on the above case, name the type of problems Musk deal with when developing these new ventures.

Answer 1

One of the most successful entrepreneurs around the world, Elon Musk, who has a net worth of $ 20.5 billion and owns several companies such as Tesla and SpaceX, disappointed many times during his career, yet all those failures give him a lesson to learn and made him successful today.

Let's talk about all the problems he faces throughout his career and how he overcomes all of them:

Problems with Tesla

• Tesla was struggling during the 2008 financial crisis and nearly collapsed. When Tesla was working on the Model S, it needed a lot of funds, but at the time Elon Musk thought it better to bankrupt himself than to stop the project. He invested all the money he had got by selling PayPal to that project, rather than shutting it down. Today Tesla is one of the most successful niche car companies in the production of electric cars, due to the fact that Elon Musk worked strongly and was determined to keep the company alive.

Problems with SpaceX

• SpaceX spent 16 months trying to prove that it was possible to land one of its rockets on its ocean-going recovery drone ships. The first attempt took place on 10 January 2015. This was decently successful, in fact, as the company demonstrated a level of precise control that rockets would have to be received within mere yards of landing. It was not until April 28, 2016, for SpaceX to make three consecutive successful landings on a drone-ship. In their 4 attempts, the rockets fell into flames, however, this did not discourage him and his crew Space X. He instead took these failures and analyzed them to learn from his mistakes instead of being discouraged.

In short, despite all the failures and destroyed rockets, Musk's motivation, perseverance, and risk is why he is still working towards his goals with high motivation, in addition to being a successful entrepreneur and role model.