Now that you've made this comparison, I can never unsee it. They're extremely similar! This makes me wonder whose going to be Musk's Tesla. I.e., what's the first amazing idea he's going to throw away (out of mainly hubris) that actually solves his problems.
Edison didn't try to run the businesses he spun off. He licensed patents and collected royalties, and had equity in the manufacturing businesses. But he didn't try to run General Electric.