Elon Musk in Mondays at the Mission

Someone needs to replace the battery in the fire alarm. Other than that, not a bad video.

thanks for the link RunningOnMangoes and welcome to TMC.

this talk was in a classroom of middle schoolers, and while there's plenty here we've seen from Elon in other interviews, the kids brought out reflection/details from Elon I'd not seen elsewhere.

for example, about 20:00 minutes in he talked about some key early decisions on developing the Roadster. Pretty sure I've heard second thoughts before about using the Lotus Elise, but here he said, they made two "pretty stupid" decisions... it cost way more to use the Elise than designing from scratch and retained downside of the Elise platform. The second stupid decision he said was licensing technology from AC Propulsion... here, Elon suggested none of it was really useful. He went on to say, the mistakes here may have been helpful... had they known they'd have to design a car from scratch they might not have attempted it.

I also really liked that one kid asked (paraphrasing) "how did you go from being to shy to talk to anyone at the Netscape lobby to someone so out in the world doing things?" never heard this interesting question from an adult. while not a detailed answer, Elon basically said in typical directness that he forced himself, and shared that it was quite mentally painful.

SteveG3 said:

I also really liked that one kid asked (paraphrasing) "how did you go from being to shy to talk to anyone at the Netscape lobby to someone so out in the world doing things?" never heard this interesting question from an adult. while not a detailed answer, Elon basically said in typical directness that he forced himself, and shared that it was quite mentally painful.

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Whenever I watch Elon in a public speaking setting, I always get the impression he has something like Asperger's Syndrome. That would explain a lot. It also impresses me even more that he's willing to constantly put himself out there to talk so much.

jeff_adams said:

Whenever I watch Elon in a public speaking setting, I always get the impression he has something like Asperger's Syndrome. That would explain a lot. It also impresses me even more that he's willing to constantly put himself out there to talk so much.

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Elon did seem somewhat tense in this setting. I've also seen situations like the new 60 minutes interview, where he seems quite relaxed, and an added element of charm and confidence show through. I can see why you brought up Aspergers (and it's clear to me you don't mean it as a judgement), but personally I'm "meh" on labels... I think Elon's simply himself.

that said, Jeff, I definitely feel likewise regarding added appreciation of the extent Elon's put himself out in the world given the discomfort he's tolerated.

SteveG3 said:

Elon did seem somewhat tense in this setting. I've also seen situations like the new 60 minutes interview, where he seems quite relaxed, and an added element of charm and confidence show through. I can see why you brought up Aspergers (and it's clear to me you don't mean it as a judgement), but personally I'm "meh" on labels... I think Elon's simply himself.

that said, Jeff, I definitely feel likewise regarding added appreciation of the extent Elon's put himself out in the world given the discomfort he's tolerated.

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Yeah, not meant as a label or put-down. I have a friend with Aspergers. Many people with the Syndrome do amazing things. In many ways, it can be helpful (for instance, typically allows impressive focus and attention to detail).

The social interaction stuff is the toughest for them. Talking about themselves, speaking to a crowd can be extremely uncomfortable. That's why I'm so impressed that Elon does it as well as he does.

Was this the school his kids attend? He may have been even more nervous because of that.

jeff_adams said:

Was this the school his kids attend? He may have been even more nervous because of that.

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Not so much. Union Rescue Mission is a large homeless shelter in Los Angeles and Mondays at the Mission seems to be some kind of youth program.

I imagine it could be uncomfortable to be a billionaire in a homeless shelter but respect him even more now. I also think the personal nature of the questions was more difficult for him than the typical SpaceX and Tesla questions he gets all the time. Great interview to watch, even with no Tesla info.

Great interview questions! Not your ordinary Elon interview.

jeff_adams said:

Yeah, not meant as a label or put-down. I have a friend with Aspergers. Many people with the Syndrome do amazing things. In many ways, it can be helpful (for instance, typically allows impressive focus and attention to detail).

The social interaction stuff is the toughest for them. Talking about themselves, speaking to a crowd can be extremely uncomfortable. That's why I'm so impressed that Elon does it as well as he does.

Was this the school his kids attend? He may have been even more nervous because of that.

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You may be onto something, Jeff, and as you note not necessarily bad. It's also been conjectured that Isaac Newton had Asperger syndrome. Regarding Elon's dealing with public speaking, I suggest he consult someone like Lionel Logue in "The King's Speech". Elon's not afflicted to nearly the degree that King George was, but if he wants to remain chief spokesman for his companies it wouldn't hurt.

Curt, you do know they just hired a chief spokesperson from Nissan.

Musk’s Tesla Hires Chief Spokesman From Renault-Nissan - Bloomberg

IMO, Elon doesn't need any help. He's doing just fine. He's more human and a CEO that many of us can relate to than any other business leader I'm aware of.

gg_got_a_tesla said:

IMO, Elon doesn't need any help. He's doing just fine. He's more human and a CEO that many of us can relate to than any other business leader I'm aware of.

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Exactly. I find Elon to be one of the best speakers in the world due to the content he shares. I learn something new in every interview he does.

One of the single most enlightening reveals in recent interviews for me was his very short clip at home with his new wife and kids. He obviously did not want to do that bit and has a very interesting view of and relationship with women.

lolachampcar said:

One of the single most enlightening reveals in recent interviews for me was his very short clip at home with his new wife and kids. He obviously did not want to do that bit and has a very interesting view of and relationship with women.

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Can you point to that interview? I must've missed it. Thanks

gg_got_a_tesla said:

IMO, Elon doesn't need any help. He's doing just fine. He's more human and a CEO that many of us can relate to than any other business leader I'm aware of.

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^^^No doubt. Elon's an outlier. he needs to be more like Elon. Not someone else's view of what a genius CEO should be.

Sorry, it was the 60 Minutes piece.

Did you notice the big kid in the orange-red shirt who does bunny ears behind Elon's head during the photos, and then gives him a big hug at the very end?