[RahulNagaraj]

Wall Street Journal's Tim Higgins has released a new book, called 'Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century'. This new book is said to document the explosive temper and meltdowns of Elon Musk towards his Tesla staff.

According to reports, the book documents the other side of Elon Musk, the one that has a habit of going off on employees, be it, hourly workers or top executives. It also states how, Musk's outbursts became increasingly "unpredictable, indiscriminate & public".



The book also reportedly documents Elon Musk screaming at Peter Rawlinson, then chief engineer for the Model S. Elon Musk reportedly also asked Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard to fire an entire engineering team. But then, Eberhard was himself shown the door later, when he failed to follow through and fire the team of engineers.

All these are just a few incidents that are said to have been documented in the book. However, Elon Musk is said to have denied many of the incidents mentioned.

Source: Business Insider

Link to Team-BHP news

[aargee]

Meanwhile I was wondering how long Beth can be tight lipped; hopefully some media will persuade or coerce to speak up

[IntoTheStorm]

Just downloaded the audio book on Audible free of cost ( I had 1 credit left)

[howler]

While the man is brilliant , he’s on one major ego trip most of the time. He’s known to humiliate and sack people that don’t toe his line. Add to that insane working hours and and a constant paranoia , and you have one very stressful work environment. But then , he’s sending cars to Mars and I’m sitting here typing this out.

[norhog]

Originally Posted by howler

While the man is brilliant , he’s on one major ego trip most of the time. He’s known to humiliate and sack people that don’t toe his line. Add to that insane working hours and and a constant paranoia , and you have one very stressful work environment. But then , he’s sending cars to Mars and I’m sitting here typing this out.

Well, it is kind of required, no? All the guys here on this very forum, running businesses or holding some position where work needs to be got done from subordinates will second this. It is needed!! Period!! (Sometimes)

That is the truth..

People coming up with all sweet and fancy explanations are just plain and simply lying.

[AZT]

This is not just true for Elon but many billionaire businessmen. Closer to home we have stories of one of our most respected business house promoters being a different person in real compared to what people think.

Social media teams work too hard to create this persona and then you have news fluff pieces building up on that.

[GoBlue]

While conceiving ground-breaking products (and especially in the automotive sector), it is ALWAYS the case that not everyone in the product team agrees with the vision that was shared when expectations were set by senior management.

While there can be many approaches/perspectives to reason whether the lack of consensus was right or wrong, there is one unequivocal truth - that vision and those expectations had been shared by the people/man in charge of success or failure of that product.

It is not up to employees to diverge from senior management visions at their whims and fancies. I doubt if the people who are cribbing/complaining (sources quoted by this book author) truly understand the magnitude of effort/sheer sacrifice it must have taken Musk and his team to build a disruptive product like the Tesla EV and to convert it into a BUSINESS SUCCESS.

While people in the technology sector enjoy the right/freedom of insubordination, they need to understand that there are many other occupations where insubordination is not tolerated one bit.

Any entrepreneur who has invested their hard-earned money (or investor capital) into a vision MUST be ruthless enough to ensure that their vision is seen through, come what may. They not only have a responsibility to themselves/investors to succeed, it's a do or die situation in several cases.

Disclaimer: this is a personal observation. If great "software" products are being built in absolute comfort in tech companies, with people working for 5-6 hours a day and enjoying weekends off (the usual work-life balance spiel), that does not mean one could join an automotive/car company and expect a similar stress-free work environment. Absorbing scale of massive challenges with a job that that one has willingly signed up for and acting with proportionate maturity, is also essential. It is amusing to see folks accept a challenging position in a company that's known for being a stressful workplace, only to later complain about everything it entails. When you're working with sharks, be ready to get chewed off!

[voldemort]

Any entrepreneur who has invested their hard-earned money (or investor capital) into a vision MUST be ruthless enough to ensure that their vision is seen through, come what may. They not only have a responsibility to themselves/investors to succeed, it's a do or die situation in several cases.

Disclaimer: this is a personal observation. If great "software" products are being built in absolute comfort in tech companies, with people working for 5-6 hours a day and enjoying weekends off (the usual work-life balance spiel), that does not mean one could join an automotive/car company and expect a similar stress-free work environment. Absorbing scale of massive challenges with a job that that one has willingly signed up for and acting with proportionate maturity, is also essential. It is amusing to see folks accept a challenging position in a company that's known for being a stressful workplace, only to later complain about everything it entails. When you're working with sharks, be ready to get chewed off!

This is a false dictotomy fallacy.

As an employee, it is NOT the case that you either make extra-ordinary products and take abuse from the boss, or make ordinary products with a pleasant environment. You can make extraordinary products while still having a good work culture.

No matter how grand the vision may be, there is absolutely no excuse for the boss being a jerk.

If the boss has disagreements (which is inevitable and expected), talk it out politely, discuss, hear everybody's points of view and then make a mature decision, instead of behaving like a jerk.

The engineers at Tesla are likely top notch people who can get things done; best to take them into confidence and build a team that continues to make extraordinary products, instead of testing them like lesser people. (Of course, if they aren't upto the mark, then they could be let go — again, this can be done gracefully).

[Maky]

I think most ultra successful people have been like this when they were in the prime of their career. The best example, or worst depending on your point of view, is the late great Steve Jobs. Well documented that...

I wouldn't bother reading that book.

[vredesbyrd]

So he isn't the benevolent god that tesla fans think he is?

Phew, what a revelation

[v1p3r]

There is not a single great fortune or institution built by a single person, where that person wasn't a hard-charging, borderline-psychopath, near-dictatorial alpha human. Ford, Jobs, Gates, Musk, Zuck, DBA, and all of them.

Wars are not won by consensus, committees, and warm hugs.

[Crow]

I totally disagree with many of the viewpoints shared here. You can build amazing and successful products while maintaining a good work culture. This is not about working 9-5 and chilling during your work hours. Musk’s temper tantrums and meltdowns (if they are true) just make it harder for people to do their jobs.

He should seek therapy and fix his behaviour issues, as should any other jerk of a boss. There’s no need to be dealing with your boss’s emotional baggage when you’re a brilliant engineer slogging every day to make a vision come true.

Gone are the days of tolerating the BS of bosses because the said person is brilliant. I’m firmly on the side of “work to live” and not at all “live to work.” Basecamp is an example of how you can create an incredibly successful business with great working hours and paying your employees a great salary. I’m sure there are several other successful businesses where the work culture is great too.

There’s no need to glorify the failings of an egotistical billionaire. They should be called out for it and held accountable.

[Mustang Sammy]

Couldn’t agree more. The cult of personality and the spiel about working to “change the world” is just kool-aid to keep the serfs at their desks and lab benches for insane hours.
When you retire are you going to remember the number of releases you led or the tech gizmos you launched (most of them in landfills by then) or the memories you made with your loved ones and friends?

[AMG Power]

Democracy is a dirty word in management - something they know but don’t teach you openly in B schools because it is politically incorrect. If you thought Agile Transformation, 360 degree appraisals, compensation committees, audit committees were part of the reason for the success of companies - no, they aren’t.

Nothing surprising about Musk’s behaviour. Jobs was a level worse. Stole ideas from employees and would present it to the company as his own. Bad temper? Comes with the territory.

On the other hand look at the big IT companies now - almost all of them are breeding grounds for inefficiencies, incompetence and work ethics that would make the government a super star.

Jobs and Musk have had extremely high levels of stress, huge failures and have brought companies back from the brink of disaster to success. When this happens you’re not exactly a happy guy and your entire staff become whipping boys.

[Cyborg]

If he is a bad abusive boss with a foul temper, why are people continuing to work there. Is there a gun to their head? If the answer is no, then shape up as per the boss or get out, don’t crib and cry like a baby, school got over long time back.

Cold hard fact of life.

Cheers