Elon Musk Q&A with The Deal

MaryKathleenFlynn · 11-06-2008, 05:15 AM

Tesla Motors CEO and its biggest investor Elon Musk gave me an in-depth interview about the big changes at the companies, the challenges and the financing. Check it out at: Tesla founder Elon Musk: 'Never had a failure, and I'm not going to add one now' (Tech Confidential - Behind The Money Blog)

Cheers, Mary Kathleen Flynn
Senior Editor/Senior Video Producer
The Deal & Tech Confidential

graham · 11-06-2008, 06:22 AM

Thank you for this interview.

I thought his take on why Tesla keeps going through CEOs was interesting:

Quote:

You're Tesla's fourth CEO. Why has it been so difficult to find the right person to run Tesla, and why do you think you're the right person for the job?

[Tesla founder] Martin Eberhard was definitely not the right person. That became clear when after the Series D investors did additional dilligence we discovered that Martin was wrong about important elements of the business. He had misled us about the cost of the car and the time frame of when it could go into production. That's why it required Michael Marks [former CEO of Flextronics International Inc. and an early investor in Tesla] to step in on an emergency basis as interim CEO. Then we launched a search for a CEO, and I thought Ze'ev Drori was the right person at that time to run the company.

Ze'ev's background is in startups, and Tesla was a huge mess at the end of last year. Ze'ev and I worked together to fix that mess. He's a great guy, and he was a huge help. But in the final analysis we weren't able to raise a big equity round, and it was clear I'd have to invest much more money in the company. I thought it made sense for me to have both hands on the wheel, given that I've got so much on the table here with Tesla. I talked to Ze'ev, and he said he'd feel the same way in my position. There's no negativity, and Ze'ev continues to be on the board as vice chairman. If the economy were in better shape, or if I had less personally at stake, there's no reason why he couldn't have done the job going forward, but I've got so much at stake and the economy is in such a tough position I just had to drive the ship myself.

WarpedOne · 11-06-2008, 07:30 AM

Quote:

He had misled us about the cost of the car

Now, where is the lawsuit then?

doug · 11-06-2008, 07:43 AM

Elon mentions battery swap and fast recharge again:

Quote:

We have some ideas to address the range issue with a battery pack you can swap out, like you would with a laptop or a cell phone, but it would be done mechanically--and it would be done faster than you can fill a car with gasoline.

There's also a fast-charge capability so that a battery could be recharged in 45 minutes instead of three and a half hours. Say you were driving from L.A. to San Francisco, which is 400 miles. By 300 miles, I'm sure you need a bathroom break or a meal break. So you go to a fast-charge station that's near a selection of restaurants and other amenities. You stop for a meal or a cup of coffee, come back in 15 minutes and you've charged the battery for another 100 miles to finish the journey to San Francisco.

AFAIK, we first heard about that here: Fareed Zakaria interviews Elon

DDB · 11-06-2008, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarpedOne

Now, where is the lawsuit then?

I'm pretty sure all of those investors reviewed the financials...did Martin cook the books? I'm only kidding. Why wouldn't Elon take the opportunity to bury the hatchet instead of stick the knife in a little further...I do not understand people sometimes.

WarpedOne · 11-06-2008, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Why wouldn't Elon take the opportunity to bury the hatchet instead of stick the knife in a little further

Insecurity, envy, fear.
Why? He's only human.

DisneylandIsHome · 11-06-2008, 12:09 PM

Mary Kathleen, please consider interviewing Martin on his view on why Elon has gone through so many CEOs. It would be interesting to understand his point of view.

I may have misremembered this, but I believe early on Martin recognized his own lack of experience running a large company, so he started a CEO search long before Elon replaced him.

malcolm · 11-06-2008, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DisneylandIsHome

I may have misremembered this, but I believe early on Martin recognized his own lack of experience running a large company, so he started a CEO search long before Elon replaced him.

Nope - your memory's just fine:

Quote:

I initiated a CEO search many months ago as Tesla Motors has grown in size and complexity beyond twice the size and at least five times the complexity of any organization I have run before. I was becoming concerned that my own inexperience with large organizations and operations would soon become a limitation for the company’s success, and I set the machinery of change in motion in advance of any problems.

Tesla Motors - think

That was posted by Martin in the middle of August 2007.

Meanwhile...

Quote:

but I've got so much at stake and the economy is in such a tough position I just had to drive the ship myself.

Reminds me of a line from Scooby Doo:-

"What's the secret of your success?"

"Teamwork! I do a tremendous amount of teamwork!"

TEG · 11-06-2008, 12:50 PM

The article talks about Roadster production costs as a major point of contention.

As I recall, the Roadster program had lots of costs added on along the way that were not part of the original plan. The old blogs had talked of headlight redesigns, door sill height adjustments, improved seats, new sound systems, and even the plan to go for a two speed instead of starting with a 1 speed.
Recall all the agony of added weight and having to upgrade various things in response.

I think Martin may have been caught "between a rock and hard place" trying to control costs but at the same time being asked to spend more money trying to make the product better and better.

Recall the old blog title The Perfect Car, Enemy of the Good Car
To some degree delays and cost overruns might be attributed to a premature quest for perfection?

malcolm · 11-06-2008, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TEG

As I recall, the Roadster program had lots of costs added on along the way that were not part of the original plan. The old blogs had talked of headlight redesigns, door sill height adjustments, improved seats, new sound systems, and even the plan to go for a two speed instead of starting with a 1 speed.

And these were implemented at Elon's insistence. He even paid for the headlight redesign himself, because he felt it was so important.

I don't disagree with these changes, but it's ridiculous for him to blame others for the size of the bill when he was the one who insisted on ordering all the chef's specials.