Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

Mechanical Engineering Dream

Mechanical Engineering Dream

I mean, what do you think is a mechanical engineering dream job if it were you?

Work at Chevrolet? ExxonMobile? American Airlines?

Or do you want to build spaceships and self-driving cars at SpaceX or Tesla?

Who wants the status quo if you can innovate instead?

Thiel has watched Musk go through this maturation—from the driven but insecure CEO of PayPal to a confident CEO who commands the respect of thousands. “I think there are ways he has dramatically improved over time,” said Thiel. Most impressive to Thiel has been Musk’s ability to find bright, ambitious people and lure them to his companies. “He has the most talented people in the aerospace industry working for him, and the same case can be made for Tesla, where, if you’re a talented mechanical engineer who likes building cars, then you’re going to Tesla because it’s probably the only company in the U.S. where you can do interesting new things.

-Ashley Vance, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (Amazon)

Industry That Needs A Major Upgrade

Industry That Needs A Major Upgrade

Asking what archaic industry could use a major upgrade might not be a bad place to start when looking to innovate.

  • What businesses still are using fax machines?
  • What industries adapt technology slower, and why?
  • Where can a significant impact be made in the most obvious way?

I mean, he thought this – and then went and did Paypal.

It’s conviction and focus on an amazing level.

In the years that followed, Musk considered starting an Internet bank and discussed it openly during his internship at Pinnacle Research in 1995. The youthful Musk lectured the scientists about the inevitable transition coming in finance toward online systems, but they tried to talk him down, saying that it would takes ages for Web security to be good enough to win over consumers. Musk, though, remained convinced that the finance industry could do with a major upgrade and that he could have a big influence on banking with a relatively small investment.

-Ashley Vance, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future (Amazon)

Sterling Terrell