
Dr. Elon and Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla's Production Hell - SirLJ
https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/
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Traster
Every story I hear about Musk just makes me think: avoid him at all costs.
Work for him? Be miserable, underpaid, likely get fired and never share in the
success. Invest in him? Your money becomes his, whether it's questionable
mergers subsidizing his other ventures, SEC violations sending the stock
crazy, or just continual unrealistic timelines on deliverables. Buy his
products? They probably have significant short-comings compared to the
competitors and you'll be giving up every iota of control - after you've
shelled out thousands of dollars it's still up to Tesla to decide whether you
get the car's basic safety updates. Even just happen to work on a project that
Musk has decided he wants to work on and you're liable to get publicly smeared
as a pedofile.

I think it's possible Elon Musk pushes forward technology in some material
ways (I think there are also good arguments he doesn't). But fuck me, he seems
to do it at the cost of literally everyone around him.

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jiveturkey
the facts of the article are interesting. the opining is not.

one of the lead statements is how the flush popout door handles are a
signature tesla bit and that musk foresaw their importance. LOL! like the
falcon doors, they are stupid. many cars have flush handles, or even no
handles. (e.g. corvette)

i think i saw it reported, but it may have been word of mouth, that
engineering hated the handles. they ended up having to ship broken ones. the
second gen are just buttons that are decorated as handles. like many other
cars. for the article to state that the handles are something that ultimately
worked (they didn't) and that are a critically defining part of the car (they
aren't) demonstrates the author's lack of deep understanding of what he is
reporting on.

the falcon doors are stupid because of the extra cost (design and manufacture)
and reduced functionality. it excludes the possibility of a roof box or roof
rails, which is important for an SUV.

On the plus side, back to facts or maybe anecdotes, I did love the quote "We
have to stop hitting ourselves in the head". Musk using the royal _we_. It's
too rich.

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woodandsteel
Funny the story left out that at the same time SpaceX was going from triumph
to triumph, and Musk also launched the Boring company.

Also, if the story has any truth, then it would seem that Musk is suffering
from emotional problems, and should get some professional help.

~~~
Apocryphon
It's possible that not all companies run by the same person suffers from the
same extent of problems. Square is doing quite well and has had a good
reputation, unlike Twitter, despite both having been founded by Jack Dorsey.
Apple has a culture of intense secrecy, occasionally broken by leaked rumors
of authoritarian severity, while Pixar does not, despite both having been led
by Steve Jobs in one way or another.

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jiveturkey
can confirm, once removed. i know 2 former and one current tesla software
engineers. i’d never work there based on the small sample i’ve polled.

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SirLJ
"The young Tesla engineer was excited. Ecstatic, in fact. It was a Saturday in
October 2017, and he was working at the Gigafactory, Tesla’s enormous battery
manufacturing plant in Nevada. Over the previous year, he had been living out
of a suitcase, putting in 13-hour days, seven days a week. This was his first
real job. And now a colleague had tracked him down to say that Elon Musk—Elon
Musk!—needed his personal help..."

