Elon Musk discusses his experiences working long hours, often 22 hours a day, seven days a week, and sleeping in the factory. He acknowledges that working such long hours is not sustainable and that people should not be expected to work this hard. Musk also talks about the difficulties he faced in starting his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, and how he had to make tough decisions, such as choosing between investing in one company or splitting his resources between two.
Musk shares his philosophy on starting a business, emphasizing the importance of having a high pain threshold, being willing to take risks, and seeking out negative feedback. He also discusses his personal experiences, including how he was unable to get a job at Netscape and had to start his own company, and how he worked tirelessly to develop his first company, often sleeping in the office and showering at the YMCA.
Musk also talks about his experiences with SpaceX, including how he had to overcome numerous challenges and setbacks, including three consecutive launch failures. He attributes his success to his refusal to give up and his willingness to take risks. Additionally, Musk expresses his disappointment that some of his heroes, including Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, have spoken out against commercial space flight, but hopes that they will visit his facilities and see the progress that is being made.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The speaker worked 22 hours a day, 7 days a week.
2. The speaker slept in the factory where they worked.
3. The speaker worked in various departments, including the paint shop, general assembly, body shop, and others.
4. The speaker had to make a difficult decision in 2008 to split their remaining $30-40 million between two companies, Tesla and another.
5. If the speaker had not put their money into Tesla, the company would likely have died.
6. The speaker's goal with Tesla is to create things that people love and that bring them joy.
7. The speaker believes that starting a business requires having a high pain threshold.
8. The speaker started their first company in 1995 because they couldn't get a job at any of the few internet companies that existed at the time.
9. The speaker tried to get a job at Netscape but was too shy to talk to anyone in the lobby.
10. The speaker and their brother rented a small office and slept on the couch when they were starting their first company.
11. The speaker drilled a hole through the floor to connect to a nearby ISP to get internet connectivity for $100 a month.
12. The speaker worked 7 days a week, all waking hours, when starting their company.
13. The speaker believes in actively seeking out and listening to negative feedback to improve their products.
14. The speaker went to Russia three times to look at buying a refurbished ICBM for SpaceX.
15. The first three launches of SpaceX's rocket failed, and the fourth launch was the last chance for the company to succeed.
16. The speaker became the chief engineer of the rocket because they couldn't find a good chief engineer to hire.
17. The speaker does not give up easily and would only stop if they were dead or completely incapacitated.
18. Neil Armstrong and Gene Cernan, two American heroes, have testified against commercial space flight and the way SpaceX is developing it.
19. The speaker is sad to see these heroes criticizing their work and wishes they would visit and see the hardware being developed.