I still don't get how he managed to be CEO of multiple high-complexity companies. It's already not easy to be CEO of just one.
One can assume he knows how to delegate.
His calculus seems to be: 1. People will find a way to say what they think online. 2. If everyone splinters into their own little self reinforcing bubbles and we can't hear each other, that is quite dangerous in the long term.
That is to say, he arrives at a similar position, but it seems to be driven more by pragmatism than idealism.
I don't like the guy, I don't like tsla, etc. But you have to appreciate what he's been able to do. He's clearly not a dumb guy.
There’s lots of skill involved in finding effective people, developing trust, communicating goals clearly, evaluating outcomes, adjusting.
It doesn't take much time to be the front-man to several organizations. And Musk excels at it. Being the public face of an excelling team that you assembled is a rare skillset (at the level Musk operates).
1) They don't actually spend much time on any one thing per week, on average.
2) Many of the things that count as "work" for them, at their level, are more fun—and even recuperatory—than, say, wrangling spreadsheets at your desk and attending dull-ass compulsory meetings for no reason all day. (put another way: when you have enough money, everything you do is kinda an optional hobby and not something you have to do even if you hate it)
3) They can pay to not have to worry about 90+% of the non-work shit the peons have to. Laundry? Making appointments? Arguing with insurance? Making high-quality, tasty meals? Shopping for the ingredients for those meals? Driving yourself and others places? All strictly optional. That's 10-30 hours of soul-draining bullshit per week just gone (and you can keep any of the parts that you don't find soul-draining—cook, but never have to shop for ingredients, for instance)