Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

Elon Musk Goes To Charm School

Wall Street thought Elon Musk was apologizing. He was letting them know he’s been studying for the next chapter of his incredible journey.

musk

“I want to apologize,” was the sweetest thing Wall Street has ever heard from Elon Musk. That simple mea culpa on his recent earnings call led to a 13% increase in the share price of Tesla, or nearly $2 billion per word. But the apology is only the start. The episode is part of a broader transformation to come — for the company and the iconic founder and inventor. One that may surprise his detractors, and one he has made many times before.

During the call, Musk added a few sweeteners: the company would be cash flow positive by the next quarter and every quarter after that, and production would ramp up. Then he apologized to every analyst he berated on the last call, one by one. From a Wall Street perspective, it doesn’t get much better than making money and hearing Elon Musk say he’s sorry.

It is a far cry from a few months back when Musk sounded more like a petulant teenager, “don’t make a federal case out of it,” and a bill collector waving away a dead beat’s argument, “these questions are so dry, they’re killing me.”

After that led to a stock crash of 8%, the pundits predicted it the inventor was geuninely insane: “I don’t think there’s a more bizarre earnings call I’ve listened to.” said Paul Argenti, a professor at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. The Washington Post wrote, “Musk’s car company, which carries both the hype and inflated valuation of a tech start-up, has struggled…and he’s “back to sleeping at the factory.”

Get the casket ready.

When we think of great inventors, we cheer them in the lab but prefer gray suits in the marketplace. Musk came off to both journalists and Wall Street as a hyperbolic gambler who rolled the dice too many times. He was taking a final Icarian crash run that would prove to the world a crazy inventor is after all, just crazy. Where the Washington Post journalist missed, however, was in not paying attention to her final comment.


In October, former Google Talent Chief Laszlo Bock will keynote Chief Executive’s CEO Talent Summit at West Point, sharing exclusive insights into what makes great teams, and great leaders.

Click Here for event information.


Musk was back at the factory sleeping on the couch. And taking charm lessons.

It wasn’t the first time the conventional wisdom smirked at the iconic founder and inventor. Those who have doubted that he has the right stuff for figuring out the complexity of a new dimension, outer space, or a latest technology, electric vehicles, never spoke to Justine Musk, his first wife. Herself a Wharton grad (where they met), she says of life with Musk: “Elon does what he wants, and he is relentless about it. It’s Elon’s world, and the rest of us just live in it.” She means Musk does not know how to stop. That’s a bad thing when you’re losing money, but it is so great if you’re making it. Now listen to that earnings call again. Chapter two of the Elon Musk journey, coming up.

When I interviewed a noted Silicon Valley venture capitalist who knows Musk well, Zach Coelius, he made it clear Musk has a more onerous job than anyone imagines. When the stakes are as high as Tesla and SpaceX, Musk has fought every nasty startup demon each step of the way.

Here is what Coelius had to say about Musk: “Running a startup is like jumping on a rocket ship flying at the fastest speed possible until it smears you against your wall of incompetence. Even as great an entrepreneur as Elon Musk, he almost went bankrupt with both Tesla and SpaceX. One of the greatest successes in modern history and the thing was dead so many times. His wall of incompetence is a lot higher than mine, but wherever your incompetence resides, that’s where the wall finds you.”

In Musk’s case, he has the stamina to wade through extraordinary challenges, and it implies he can even overcome a cranky personality. When he was rude on that earlier earnings call, that was his wall. It was time to go to the factory and sleep on the couch. Even though he does possess engineering and business skills beyond the scope of anyone else, including the Wall Street analysts, Musk had to find the patience to tell a memorable narrative in a consistent way we mortals can understand. He climbed his wall of incompetence.

Steve Jobs showed us that you could be a petulant inventor most of the time as long as you are also a buoyant personality on stage. Perhaps Elon is channeling Jobs. You could do worse.

RelatedHow Tesla Is Breaking the Big-Budget Advertising Habit


MORE LIKE THIS

  • Get the CEO Briefing

    Sign up today to get weekly access to the latest issues affecting CEOs in every industry
  • upcoming events

    Roundtable

    Strategic Planning Workshop

    1:00 - 5:00 pm

    Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process

    Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:

    1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
    2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
    3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

     

    Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns.  They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning.  Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process.  This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented.  If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form.  The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

    Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

    2:00 - 5:00 pm

    Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations. 

    Limited space available.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

    Golf Outing

    10:30 - 5:00 pm
    General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
    Sponsored by UBS

    General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.

    The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.