Tesla is the automobile company that has the vision to revolutionize transportation with Electric Vehicles. CEO of the company, Elon Musk, has been the front face of the company for years. The famous engineer and inventor is also the founder of The Boring Company and the aerospace firm SpaceX.
Most affordable Tesla car, the Model 3 has been anticipated for years and the first 30 units have finally been handed over. Elon Musk may just step away from his years long journey of car making. Musk envisions a world revolutionized transportation which is not limited to electric vehicles alone. He dreams of rockets, tunnels, and Hyperloop. The man is just not made to limit himself to car making forever.
Most of the people say that the company has already fulfilled its promises as far as the electric vehicles are concerned, particularly after the launch of its very affordable Model 3. Tesla is now all about the mundane tasks of producing and improving the same vehicles, and there are many people who have enough capabilities to handle this job. Musk, as most people believe, is a visionary with rare talents, a genius who should be pursuing dreams much bigger and crazier.
Tesla is a company barely older than a decade, and it has already managed to reach the heights of century old automakers like Ford. As far as EVs are concerned, next phase of the company involves some minor tasks like meeting deadlines, improving efficiencies, strengthening supply chains, handling labor, and basically everything that dozens of automakers have been doing for ages. Musk is clearly not a person who is needed for something like that!
Tesla is not a company limited to EVs; the aspiring energy company is producing remarkable solar panels and batteries which perfectly complement the sparky vehicles that they make. The world wants a man of Musk’s caliber who made it possible to distance himself from the assembly line to focus more on his dreams of colonizing Mars, digging tunnels under traffic, and deal with the forthcoming AI apocalypse.
An auto-industry veteran Bob Lutz, who has recently served as product chief at General Motors, also suggests the same and says,
“Elon Musk would probably do well to elevate himself to the role of supreme leader, visionary, and soul of the company, and hire one or two really solid auto professionals who know how to run the business.”
Before Musk, many other like Bill Gates at Microsoft, Larry Page and Sergey Brin at Google, and Howard Schultz at Starbucks have all distanced themselves from the tedious tasks of manufacturing and focused on the broader perspectives.
Musk recently mentioned that he would stay with Tesla as long as the company keeps him, but he did say that he will consider leaving, once the Model 3 gets to the market. Elon Musk staying the CEO of the company is not a big matter in itself, but the man personally looks at too many details. He even calls himself a ‘nano-manager,’ and even moved his desk to the end of a Model 3 production line and kept a sleeping bag in a conference room.
Elon Musk’s capacity to rise above and beyond production is not just a suggestion, but a desperate need. As Patricia Lenkov, founder of head-hunting firm Agility Executive Search says,
“The best leaders know when to perform transition, when to bring in expertise of other kinds. When they don’t, you end up in crisis mode.”
Tesla has long been associated with Musk and whether or not Musk steps down as the CEO, the company desperately needs him to remain the face of the company to sell his magic personality.