Criscmt
Member
I am as invested in Tesla as almost any here, in terms of % of one’s investments in TSLA.And this here is what gives us an unfair advantage over the market, I believe. Below was a little something I wrote couple of months ago. TL;DR: You need a second Elon Musk to compete with Tesla.
THE FUTILE JOURNEY TO FIND THE NEXT TESLA
I find it sad that 99% of so called investors have no idea who Elon Musk is. I attribute this to the nasty media attack on Musk and the general ignorance/shallowness of the average investor. Now that I'm done insulting you, allow me to give you a glimpse into the man Neil de Grasse Tyson called the most important human on Earth:
Born in South Africa, Musk began reading at a young age. By 9, he has already finished the Encyclopedia Britanica and countless other books. He's said to have photographic memory and can recite rocket formulas from conversation with SpaceX employees.
At 32 year old, he has created and sold Zip2 and PayPal, pocketing nearly $200M.
He proceeded to split that money into SpaceX and Tesla, challenging Lockheed Martin, Boeing, the entire automotive industry.
SpaceX has now become the leading space exploration company, undercutting existing launch companies by 80% per launch.
Tesla is now worth nearly the entire automotive industry combined.
SpaceX and Tesla are the top 2 dream employers for graduating engineering students. They only employ the brightest and hungriest engineers.
Musk is known for working his employees to the bones, often on a 90 hour weekly schedule.
Most employees and associates, even enemies and fired employees, mention his name with respect and admiration. Musk is loved, feared, and worshipped by his employees.
Whenever an engineer tells him something cant be done, they would be fired from the team with Musk assuming the employee's job and finishing it.
SpaceX and Tesla, therefore, have the highest risk taking attitude in the world. Thats how they beat companies once worth 100x their valuation.
Musk's philosophy is called the first principle: taking every problem down to the physic level. Whatever works, do it. No politics. No committees. Only relentless trials and errors until a solution has been reach. Rinse and repeat on a perpentual pursuit of the cheapest way to make the best products to accelerate the world's transitition to renewable energy.
So why is this important!?
Much like how thinking in First Principle has brought SpaceX and Tesla to a cult status, investors should also use it to study a company.
It amuses me when people think, now that GM, Ford, VW, etc. have promised to pour billions of dollar into researching EVs, they will become worthwhile competitors to Tesla. Equally sad are the new crop of EV startups: NKLA, SPAQ, HYLN, WKHS, etc. Some think money is the key. Some think experience. Infrastructure. Batteries.
Wrong.
Dead wrong.
If any of these was the key, SpaceX and Tesla would never have survived. Both basically started out in little garages. Musk came close to running out of money amid 2008. While GM filed for bankruptcy and Ford put up its blue oval emblem for collateral for a loan, Tesla survived with all of its dignity. While Mitt Romney called Tesla a loser in the 2008 debate with Barrack Obama, Tesla paid back the governtment loan it took early, every cent with interest.
No.
The culture is the key. It is simply unfathomable for the average so called investor what a team of brightest minds working under the most ruthless leader in the world could accomplish. And who sit atop that culture? Musk.
As Marc Tarpening, Tesla co-founder said, you dont want to compete against Musk. He will crush you totally in every aspect.
So anyone looking for the next Tesla, do you have the next Elon Musk? If not, you will fail.
It also amuses me that the number one reason anyone would go out and look for the next Tesla is that they think they miss the boat on TSLA.
Let me paint you a picture: you gave Elon Musk $200M and the Great Recession and he built the two most valuable companies, each in its respective industry. Today, Tesla has first dib on engineering talents, factories and stores in every continent, and 15 ****ing billion dollars in the bank, and you think Tesla is at the end of its growth curve? This is just the ramp up stage to a multi trillion dollar company within a decade.
Wake up. There will not be the next Tesla. Its already here. Its called Tesla. You have front row ticket to this significant piece of history. Its your choice whether to join it or just watch.
I wasn’t talking about “next Tesla”, but someone “next to” Tesla, and I expect them to be a distant second.
I am not expecting Tesla to capture even 50% of the market, let alone 100%. I believe we (all here) have a strong consensus on this.
