On CNBC this morning Joe Kernan, who is no Apple fanboy, laid in to Musk saying he has no business talking smack about Apple and that so far Apple has transformed our lives more so than anything Musk has done. Of course the little wimpy Andrew Ross Sorkin had to chime in and say he thinks Musk is the next Steve Jobs. :rolleyes:
Or watch him present something or talk in an interview. He doesn't have come across as having that Jobsian laser focus, but he has created some great stuff, so it's really about his natural ability to present that I think is the problem. I don't think anyone here would disagree that Musk is a more talented engineer than Jobs, if we were to flip that coin.
Exhibit A:
[VIDEO]
Jobs was a salesman, Musk is a genius engineer. Jobs was great with his vision and speaking abilities. Musk has the same vision but actually creates the product instead of pushing others to do it.
In what way is he 'shaping the future'? Selling $135,000 SUVs that have falcon wing doors? Are you suggesting no one made electric cars, charging stations, and batteries (which he has not yet really done) before?
What new envelope-pushing innovation in the car industry is Tesla known for? I am not trying to be contentious, I'd really like to know.
You do realise that this is exactly the same kind of argument that Apple-haters use to claim that Apple is not innovative?
Apple didn't make the first portable media player, Apple didn't make the first touch-screen phone, Apple didn't make the first tablet, Apple didn't make the first smart watch - therefore Apple is not innovative. Additionally, their versions of all these products are overpriced toys. You and I both know that this argument is horseshit. That what makes Apple innovative, is their ability, time and again, to take existing technology and refine it to be the best it can be; producing product lines that yes, others have done before, but Apple's is the first version that doesn't suck.
Same with Tesla - they have refined EV tech and made the first electric cars that don't suck.
Wow, didn't expect the snarky South African to show up so soon in his personality. He's going to have to produce a people's EV to win back any of my respect. He could call it the Voltwagen (just sayin'). Come on Elon, stop your cryin' and do it.
Or, I wonder, is he really saying Tesla hires losers and Apple offers them a way out and to redeem them in a culture of super profitability. Apple's so nice (sniffle) to give those poor, unqualified, low lifes a place to hang their hats while they consider their shame. Apple's all about the re-invention, MP3 player, cell phone, etc why not Tesla castoffs. Maybe he just wants out of the automobile business and he's trying to goad Apple into buying him out. I mean, again I must wonder, what percentage of Tesla owners are carrying those loser produced products around right now.
He's saying he's glad that Apple is entering the electric car business, because he wants electric cars to take over from gasoline powered cars in general (for the environment's sake). But at the same time he does not think Apple will be able to make better cars than Tesla. There is no contradiction there. The new world of electric cars will have multiple competing companies just like the gasoline car world did, and he thinks no matter how many new guys come along he can still make the best car.
And he may be right about Apple not necessarily kicking butt in this industry. To those who think Jony Ive's amazing design is going to blow all the other car companies away, there's not much freedom in automobile design because the shape (how streamlined it is) has a major effect on gas usage or battery efficiency. That is why all cars look the same. I predict that Apple's car (when it eventually comes out) will look hardly any different from a Tesla.
It's not because they couldn't do it, it's because it doesn't make business sense. Did you know that Tesla is LOSING money? Negative profit.
Tesla is making plenty of money. They have one of the higher profit margins on cars in the industry just like Apple does on phones. The issue Is they are building the worlds largest factory to drive down the cost of future cars.
Hmm, is this a reprint of an old article about Balmer sounding off about one of Microsofts many failures? You would only have had to change the names. If I were a Tesla investor, I'd be wondering why it was starting to smell like low tide.
Because roads aren't constantly changed to hog up any increase in gas mileage, and horsepower.
What are the roads in your metaphor? The processors? My processor speed keeps increasing and my battery life also increases. That's an increase in both ends. I don't see that with any cars. If you increase performance you loose efficiency.
Software, and the Internet, and I wasn't just referring to smartphones.
In what way is he 'shaping the future'? Selling $135,000 SUVs that have falcon wing doors? Are you suggesting no one made electric cars, charging stations, and batteries (which he has not yet really done) before?
What new envelope-pushing innovation in the car industry is Tesla known for? I am not trying to be contentious, I'd really like to know.
You do realise that this is exactly the same kind of argument that Apple-haters use to claim that Apple is not innovative?
Apple didn't make the first portable media player, Apple didn't make the first touch-screen phone, Apple didn't make the first tablet, Apple didn't make the first smart watch - therefore Apple is not innovative. Additionally, their versions of all these products are overpriced toys. You and I both know that this argument is horseshit. That what makes Apple innovative, is their ability, time and again, to take existing technology and refine it to be the best it can be; producing product lines that yes, others have done before, but Apple's is the first version that doesn't suck.
Same with Tesla - they have refined EV tech and made the first electric cars that don't suck.
That was not a non-answer. Or do you subscribe to the point of view that because Apple didn’t do the first portable media player, touch-screen phone, tablet, or smart watch, that Apple is not innovative? It is *exactly* the same argument that you used against Tesla. You can’t have it both ways, either Tesla is innovative for the same reasons Apple is innovative, or neither are innovative because they didn’t do anything “first”.
Steve Jobs was twice the salesman that Elon Musk is and then some. Steve routinely criticized Apple's competitors. One should expect a CEO to criticize competitors'
I get what Musk is trying to do. He's trying to exude self-confidence. He's trying to show that Apple doesn't scare him. He wants to show that the rumors about Apple poaching Tesla engineers and Apple planning a move into the car business doesn't scare him in the slightest. IMO, the most effective way for him to show that Apple doesn't scare would have been to say nothing at all.
As much as Steve was a salesman, one thing he never did was to criticize would-be competitors, i.e. talk smack about rumored products, at least as far as I can remember. He criticized products that his competitors were either already selling or had announced to be sold. I don't think Steve ever criticized companies rumored to be competing against him.
What 'competitors'? In what way does the Watch or the iPad compete with Tesla?!
That was not a non-answer. Or do you subscribe to the point of view that because Apple didn’t do the first portable media player, touch-screen phone, tablet, or smart watch, that Apple is not innovative? It is *exactly* the same argument that you used against Tesla. You can’t have it both ways, either Tesla is innovative for the same reasons Apple is innovative, or neither are innovative because they didn’t do anything “first”.
Apple has innovated and pushed the envelope on any number of new products and processes. Way too numerous to list. I don't need to tell someone like you about all of Apple's innovations. It's not about creating new product categories per se.
In any event, my question to the OP was not about Apple, it was about Tesla. Neither you nor the OP has named a major automobile innovation from Tesla. It was a serious question, worthy of a serious answer. Not a diversionary one.
Comments
Another BlackBerry case...
"But cars are very complex compared to phones or smartwatches."
Why don't you go make your own phone then mr Musk! What an imbecile.
I'd say there were more man hours in a single iPhone than the entire history of the automobile industry combined.
I used to have respect for this guy, now he's beginning to sound like any other fool that stood in the way of Apple.
You do realise that this is exactly the same kind of argument that Apple-haters use to claim that Apple is not innovative?
Apple didn't make the first portable media player, Apple didn't make the first touch-screen phone, Apple didn't make the first tablet, Apple didn't make the first smart watch - therefore Apple is not innovative. Additionally, their versions of all these products are overpriced toys. You and I both know that this argument is horseshit. That what makes Apple innovative, is their ability, time and again, to take existing technology and refine it to be the best it can be; producing product lines that yes, others have done before, but Apple's is the first version that doesn't suck.
Same with Tesla - they have refined EV tech and made the first electric cars that don't suck.
Or, I wonder, is he really saying Tesla hires losers and Apple offers them a way out and to redeem them in a culture of super profitability. Apple's so nice (sniffle) to give those poor, unqualified, low lifes a place to hang their hats while they consider their shame. Apple's all about the re-invention, MP3 player, cell phone, etc why not Tesla castoffs. Maybe he just wants out of the automobile business and he's trying to goad Apple into buying him out. I mean, again I must wonder, what percentage of Tesla owners are carrying those loser produced products around right now.
Musk has found the way to bring out the very best in his former employees now working at Apple... Well done!
[IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/nxmfqg.jpg[/IMG]
He's saying he's glad that Apple is entering the electric car business, because he wants electric cars to take over from gasoline powered cars in general (for the environment's sake). But at the same time he does not think Apple will be able to make better cars than Tesla. There is no contradiction there. The new world of electric cars will have multiple competing companies just like the gasoline car world did, and he thinks no matter how many new guys come along he can still make the best car.
And he may be right about Apple not necessarily kicking butt in this industry. To those who think Jony Ive's amazing design is going to blow all the other car companies away, there's not much freedom in automobile design because the shape (how streamlined it is) has a major effect on gas usage or battery efficiency. That is why all cars look the same. I predict that Apple's car (when it eventually comes out) will look hardly any different from a Tesla.
As long as the interior looks different. I think Tesla's dashboard is fugly.
Tesla is making plenty of money. They have one of the higher profit margins on cars in the industry just like Apple does on phones. The issue Is they are building the worlds largest factory to drive down the cost of future cars.
Some nice battery tech I guess.
That's about all.
Software, and the Internet, and I wasn't just referring to smartphones.
Thank you for the non-answer answer. :rolleyes:
That was not a non-answer. Or do you subscribe to the point of view that because Apple didn’t do the first portable media player, touch-screen phone, tablet, or smart watch, that Apple is not innovative? It is *exactly* the same argument that you used against Tesla. You can’t have it both ways, either Tesla is innovative for the same reasons Apple is innovative, or neither are innovative because they didn’t do anything “first”.
What 'competitors'? In what way does the Watch or the iPad compete with Tesla?!
Apple has innovated and pushed the envelope on any number of new products and processes. Way too numerous to list. I don't need to tell someone like you about all of Apple's innovations. It's not about creating new product categories per se.
In any event, my question to the OP was not about Apple, it was about Tesla. Neither you nor the OP has named a major automobile innovation from Tesla. It was a serious question, worthy of a serious answer. Not a diversionary one.