Elon Musk, known for his CEO roles at Tesla TSLA and SpaceX and for his recent political engagements, has shared his thoughts on being a CEO many times. Despite his current status, Musk revealed that running companies is not something he ever aspired to. In a 2022 tweet, Musk wrote, "Running companies hurts my heart but I don't see any other way to bring technology and design to fruition."
Don't Miss:
- This Adobe-backed AI marketing startup went from a $5 to $85 million valuation working with brands like L'Oréal, Hasbro, and Sweetgreen in just three years – here's how there's an opportunity to invest at $1,000 for only $0.50/share today.
- Deloitte's fastest-growing software company partners with Amazon, Walmart & Target – You can still get 4,000 of its pre-IPO shares for just $1,000
Musk explained that he never intended to be a CEO; his main interest was in working on product development and technology.
In the early days of Tesla, Musk attempted to find someone else to take on the CEO role. At first, he believed that Bill Harris, the former CEO of Intuit INTU, would be a good fit because of his background. Harris wasn't the right fit, though, as Musk revealed in the Third Row Tesla podcast. To support Tesla's success, Musk eventually assumed the role of CEO.
Throughout Musk's career, this situation has occurred multiple times. Whether with PayPal, Tesla or SpaceX, Musk stepped into leadership roles, often out of necessity rather than personal ambition.
See Also: The global games market is projected to generate $272B by the end of the year — for $0.55/share, this VC-backed startup with a 7M+ userbase gives investors easy access to this asset market.
Musk also tried to become CEO of Zip2, his first significant business effort in the late 1990s, but the attempt failed. He then encountered leadership issues at X.com (which later became PayPal) and was replaced. Still, Musk pursued his goal of creating new technology despite these obstacles.
When Tesla was founded in 2003, Musk was already interested in electric vehicle technology. After test-driving the tZero electric sports car, he decided to get involved in the electric vehicle market. He joined Tesla, which, contrary to popular belief, was founded by Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, Ian Wright and JB Straubel and invested in the company.
Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — you can become an investor for $0.80 per share today.
Under Eberhard's direction, Tesla encountered several difficulties in its early years, such as financial and technological challenges. Musk took over as CEO in 2008 to stabilize the business. Nevertheless, Tesla faced significant obstacles later on as well.
As Musk noted in his June 2022 post, being CEO was not his initial goal, but he felt no one else was available to lead the company effectively. For Musk, assuming the CEO post has been less about maintaining a traditional corporate position and more about embracing technological advances and innovations.
Read Next:
- ‘Scrolling to UBI': Deloitte's #1 fastest-growing software company allows users to earn money on their phones – invest today with $1,000 for just $0.25/share
- If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it?
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
