[gadnuk]

There's a reason the turnover rate at all of his companies is very high. Not exactly the easiest or nicest guy to work for.

His companies have succeeded despite him, because they have the right people at the helm leading operations (example: Shotwell at SpaceX).

Musk at Twitter gives you a glimpse as to why he was fired from PayPal 2 decades ago.

[mgiannopoulos]

Are there any other examples of successful companies with explosive growth like Tesla and SpaceX despite the founder/CEO being a complete megalomaniac idiot?

[papito]

Most companies in the US stay afloat even despite the incompetent, self-sabotaging geniuses at the top. Only because the employees are hard-working little bees saving the companies from themselves. We can't get fired - need health insurance and all that.

[mgiannopoulos]

Tesla and SpaceX are not simply staying afloat though. They are dominating their respective fields.

[brazzledazzle]

Tesla is substantially reliant on the promise that full self-driving is just around the corner when it's likely not. Between lawsuits about it, rumors that they're abandoning a vision-only strategy in newer models and the threat of regulatory action due to growing safety concerns. That haphazardness that seems to be characteristic of Musk is coming home to roost for tesla.

SpaceX is a different beast entirely and one might consider the contributions of Gwynne Shotwell and Thomas Mueller.

[mgiannopoulos]

The grand majority of Tesla buyers don’t purchase the FSD package. At the same time, Tesla grows revenues by 50% every year. Yet somehow Tesla’s death is just around the corner?

[dbsmith83]

There is a difference between dominating a field and being a pioneer in a field. Competition is coming for Tesla. We'll see what happens soon enough

[ProAm]

WeWork?

[mgiannopoulos]

It’s not doing so well as it used to and billions of dollars of investment were lost while the founders were kicked off the company. Doesn’t seem a good comparison imho.

[Dudelander]

Ironically Genius is in this category.