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by rbanffy 120 days ago
One relevant motivation for innovators is to escape poverty or the risk of poverty. When you have an adequate social safety net, there is little incentive to overwork oneself in order to build something new. It’s also natural not to keep thinking on what big idea you want to go after for fame and fortune when neither is that much attractive.

Also, it’s worth noting most startups fail, and when that happens, founders are often worse off than when they started. Well born founders can try until something sticks, but poor ones have, at best, one chance.
2 comments
toomuchtodo 120 days ago
Tesla, used in this example, was built by someone who lucked out from a capital perspective (Paypal) to itch an obsession. As you point out, most startups fail. Why has China succeed? State support, not venture capital. Why has Europe not succeed? Lack of will to provide state support to build the state capacity. Nation states have capital, they have workers, they can build or not build these systems. It is a choice.

Europe doesn't need a Tesla, they need a BYD. Learn from China, not the US. Innovation does not require what the author is calling for, imho.

What Is State Capacity? Does China Have It? Does America Really Lack It? - https://www.governance.fyi/p/what-is-state-capacity-does-chi... - November 13th, 2025

The size of BYD's factory - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42228138 - November 2024

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rbanffy 120 days ago
> Tesla, used in this example, was built by someone who lucked out from a capital perspective (Paypal)

I have the impression Tesla existed before and Musk only took over it later.

> Europe doesn't need a Tesla, they need a BYD. Learn from China,

I completely agree with that. The Chinese model of state-supported industry seems a lot more efficient than the US model where companies compete with each other duplicating effort uncontrollably.

Their election system is also interesting - IIRC a candidate for position N needs to first go into position N-1 and demonstrate some competence. This would make a Donald Trump impossible.

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toomuchtodo 120 days ago
Agree that I misspoke about the history of Tesla and it was taken over (commandeered even) by Musk from its founders. Appreciate the loose confirmation of my thesis from someone most likely smarter than me.
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ahazred8ta 119 days ago
For the first eight months of Tesla's existence it was an empty paper shell with no money, no employees, and no office. Musk funded them, led the board, and laid out the strategic plan.
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SvenL 120 days ago
That’s sounds like it should be even better to threaten people’s life to motivate them to be more innovative.

I think the best way to be innovative is to have peace of mind and be able to focus on something without being distracted by fear. Fear as a motivator doesn’t sound right.

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