Well, that's alot of "luck" then. If only everyone could be as "lucky". I wonder how many CEOs have in-depth understanding of their products? My guess is it would be few.
What brings it to mind here is there’s a thought experiment that considers a very large number of people playing a series of rounds of Russian roulette. At the end there are a handful of very lucky and very wealthy people (and a vast graveyard of th unlucky).
I don't understand why we think successful business people somehow have the same acumen, or equivalent inclinations as a philosopher or an artist. For sure there is some overlap, but at the end of the day I think it's more probable Elon's intelligence and aptitude are overrated by just about everyone while his people managing skills and luck are underrated by just about everyone.
Selection bias in action - we don't hear anything about the people who were less lucky than him.
One should never underestimate the importance of luck (and, if you are clever enough, you can even optimize for that).
> He takes questions at Tesla earnings calls that other CEOs would delegate to lower level executives
He can lie better and he is controlling micromanager.
(i’m very much not holding my breath for the vr/ar goggle thing, though)