Does Elon Musk remind you of Howard Hughes?

[valueinvestor]

Don’t know a lot about Howard Hughes but watching Aviator, there are some striking similarities. Those who are invested in Tesla worried about key person risks at all?

 

He doesn’t seem the most stable of CEOs, but then again, it’s probably because he does not care about social conventions.

 

Just wanted to know if I was the only one who thinks this :S

[Parsad]

Don’t know a lot about Howard Hughes but watching Aviator, there are some striking similarities. Those who are invested in Tesla worried about key person risks at all?

 

He doesn’t seem the most stable of CEOs, but then again, it’s probably because he does not care about social conventions.

 

Just wanted to know if I was the only one who thinks this :S

 

Sure...he's reminiscent of many flamboyant entrepreneurs...Richard Branson comes to mind as well.  I do know that Jonathan Favreau's original "Iron Man" version of Tony Stark, played by Robert Downey Jr, was based on his friendship with Elon Musk.  Cheers!

[tng]

Don’t know a lot about Howard Hughes but watching Aviator, there are some striking similarities. Those who are invested in Tesla worried about key person risks at all?

 

He doesn’t seem the most stable of CEOs, but then again, it’s probably because he does not care about social conventions.

 

Just wanted to know if I was the only one who thinks this :S

 

I think anybody investing in Tesla should be 100% concerned about how big of a role Elon Musk plays in it. He has a cult-like following and that contributed greatly to his ability to raise capital for the company. There were a few times where Tesla seemed to be at the brink. I think some percentage of his employees buy into him and they might not follow another person. Tesla wouldn't have worked without a person like Musk, but Tesla investors are also at the mercy of his weird quirks and impulses.

[rkbabang]

Don’t know a lot about Howard Hughes but watching Aviator, there are some striking similarities. Those who are invested in Tesla worried about key person risks at all?

 

He doesn’t seem the most stable of CEOs, but then again, it’s probably because he does not care about social conventions.

 

Just wanted to know if I was the only one who thinks this :S

 

I think anybody investing in Tesla should be 100% concerned about how big of a role Elon Musk plays in it. He has a cult-like following and that contributed greatly to his ability to raise capital for the company. There were a few times where Tesla seemed to be at the brink. I think some percentage of his employees buy into him and they might not follow another person. Tesla wouldn't have worked without a person like Musk, but Tesla investors are also at the mercy of his weird quirks and impulses.

 

There are many companies who could not have become what they are without their founders.  Amazon wouldn't be what it is without Bezos, Apple without Jobs, etc...  The question is can Musk get it to the point where it can survive without him?  Jobs did it with Apple, Amazon is at that point by now.  Tesla still is not yet.  There is a danger there, but Musk is relatively young and should be able to stick with it for a while yet.

 

[valueinvestor]

No doubt Elon Musk would be brilliant, and the world so far in my view is a net positive with Elon Musk here. I don't think he has a death wish with his dreams to go to space, however his goal to "save the world" is can be quite daunting/stressful.

 

He doesn't seem to care about shareholders, but rather cares more about environmental impacts, us being a multi-planet species, and the dangers of AI - and I don't blame him.

 

The difference between him and Bezos, Gates, Buffet, etc - is that those individuals really showed care for their shareholders - or at least long term shareholders.

 

With Elon Musk, it seems he's more determined to save the world, which makes me happy that he's rewarded for it. However as a small-time investor with his life savings, it's hard to invest and not see this as a possibility.

 

Tony Stark was a great hero, but as a CEO...

[cwericb]

"Does Elon Musk remind you of Howard Hughes?

 

What an interesting comparison. Yes. As one who has read a fair amount about Hughes' life and followed him in the news during his later years, I would say that there are definitely a lot of similarities.