I think Gwynne Shotwell is the rather unsung hero keeping SpaceX running correctly day by day.
Of course she is not Musk famous, but nobody is.
People who hate Musk sometimes try to claim all SpaceX is because of her. That is certainty wrong and she herself would not agree to that. But she is certainty amazing at what she does and starting out doing sales she increased here power and responsibility over the years until she was the clear 2nd in command.
She allows Musk to focus on the new development, innovation and strategy.
Why some refuse to hold him responsible for his statements is just weird.
We've all seen it a thousand times and I'd rather just read about what SpaceX/Tesla/Musk is doing currently than past shit.
When somebody else brings it up, out of genuine believe that she should get more exposure, its easy to throw those groups into the same crowd.
I have very deliberately tried not to do that. Shotwell should get a lot of exposure and a lot of credit.
> Why some refuse to hold him responsible for his statements is just weird.
I don't think most people actually do that. Sure its exists and there are very vocal people out there who do that.
However in general, most people don't agree with some of the things he said or does. On the other hand, I also don't think some of those statements make him the literal devil who should be in prison or even killed is a statement that is often actually made.
Musk is certainty a flawed human, and I have many criticism of him and his companies and his conduct. However, online I am far more often defending him because most of the attacks are not actually well informed and spout the same misinformation in the same over the top way.
Where people just flat out wrote their own history of events and then argue it was the truth.
Hyperloop is a good example. Musk said he would make an idea public, but he wouldn't work on it. That was his position from the beginning. However now when this is brought online people act like he promised Tesla would build a Hyperloop between LA and SF in a year or something like that. Or they just point to companies like 'Hyperloop One' and act as if Musk had anything to do with them.
She worked really hard on a proposal about how they would go about selling the Falcon rocket to potential customers. Elon took one look and said "That's great. I don't want you to write reports and proposals, I want you to do it.".
My god, I would give anything for a boss like that.
The book is titled Liftoff. It's the best SpaceX book there is and is very accurate involving many interviews with early employees. Musk is in the book but he's not featured majorly. It's mostly about all the employees who worked on the early rockets.
You probably wouldn't. A boss that won't give explicit approval for aspects of a project is going to throw you under the bus at the first opportunity. They're not going to take any responsibility if you miss a target. They will however take all the credit for your success.
https://www.ted.com/talks/gwynne_shotwell_spacex_s_plan_to_f...
Passenger service by 2028 on starship for between an economy and business class ticket.
A couple years later they confirmed they were still going for the same timeline.
Pretty heavy statement. Which part is the fraud? The timeline or the ability?
I think it's fair to say far-fetched, but the label fraud or even "sounding like fraud" sounds too heavy.
Airplanes of the 1950s or airplanes of the 2020s? That is a huge difference.
It took the aviation industry 120 years to arrive at current levels of safety.
His achievements are that he invested in the right companies and then he ousted the original visionaries / founders... and finally claiming he is the founder... see Tesla.
Also a real leader usually gives credit where credit is due. Not once have I seen where Musk has credited his team.
And don't get me started with how he's calling a rescue diver a pedo, because his idea of his rescue submarine was rejected. Fragile ego is a dangerous thing.
He wants to be seen as a real life Tony Stark. It's more about him, not really about moving humanity forward, that's just a side effect.
He has a fragile ego and weird behavior on the social networks. At the same time, SpaceX is by far the most successful of all the space startups that have emerged in this century. Most of its competitors are not even unsuccessful, but outright dead. Blue Origin, financed by Bezos, hasn't yet managed to reach the orbit after 22 years of operation.
Yes, it is possible that random forces of luck selected SpaceX for a string of successes. But I think it is deeper than that. Musk has an ability to attract engineering talent and give it enough leeway so that interesting concepts may emerge. Shotwell has an ability to keep the company financially sound and on track.
From accounts of people who have actually worked with him, he’s a legitimately smart guy with a laser focus on executing, albeit a micromanager. All the people I’ve seen saying he’s just some idiot MBA type who doesn’t actually believe what he’s selling are random media personalities and pundits. I can’t claim to know which is true, but one is certainly more credible than the other.
What I was trying to get across is that a founder's own value system and motivations of why a founder is doing a thing are an important factor for the longevity of a company.
To me it appears that Musk is only in it for himself and his legacy. Eventually this will become more apparent and the loyalty and followership he's enjoying will drop.
He's more of a hypeman than a true visionary.
See how he hyped up his other ventures... solar city, self-driving cars you can make money with, electric trucks, hyperloop, etc... still waiting for that self-driving car which should be available 'next year' and that was in 2018 or something.
https://www.cnet.com/news/spacex-signs-a-deal-to-rocket-mili...
In 1940, the French lost half their strongest armored formations, and subsequently their country, through an inability to supply fuel in a timely manner under combat conditions.
An F-35A is a ~$150M weapon system. An F/A-18E/F ~$60M. Both useless without fuel.