<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rumor has it that Robert Downey, Jr. used Elon Musk as his template for the billionaire industrialist playboy Tony Stark (see Stan Lee\u2019s Marvel Universe under \u2018A\u2019 for <\/span>Avengers<\/span><\/i> and \u2018I\u2019 for <\/span>Iron Man<\/span><\/i>). \u00a0Certainly there are differences: \u00a0Stark has Pepper Potts, amazing holographic computer technology, no children, and, of course, there is that Iron Man suit. Musk has two ex-wives, five children, better than average computer coding skills, and is the CEO of three major high tech companies, but let\u2019s not split hairs. \u00a0Downey was given a tour of the SpaceX factory and came away from the experience noting the similarities to it and the sets that were being built for the <\/span>Iron Man<\/span><\/i> movie he would soon be starring in. \u00a0Downey was impressed that Musk was, \u201cNot a foul-smelling, fidgety, coder whack job.\u201d \u00a0Downey concluded that both Musk and his Tony Stark character, \u201chad seized an idea to live by and something to dedicate themselves to.\u201d \u00a0Downey made sure that Tony Stark\u2019s workshop had a Tesla Roadster sitting next to his desk effectively making the real Musk and the fictional Stark, according to Downey, \u201c…contemporaries. \u00a0Elon was someone Tony probably hung out with and partied with or more likely they went on some weird jungle trek together to drink concoctions with the shamans.\u201d While Stark tries to save the world by building semi-autonomous robots to protect humanity from various forms of mayhem, both alien and domestic, Elon Musk has set his sites on saving humanity from themselves. \u00a0Elon\u2019s weapons of choice would not be robots (well, not yet, anyway). He would begin his humanity saving crusade with rockets, electric cars, and solar panels. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the days after eBay paid $1.5 billion for the growing financial service PayPal \u00a0(Musk earned some $250 million for his share of the company), Musk eventually set his sights on space. \u00a0A life long science nerd, Elon bandied about several projects like sending a breeding colony of mice on a round trip to Mars or perhaps an automated greenhouse that would show that life could flourish (with a little help) in the harsh Martian environment. \u00a0If Musk has one fault in his visionary plans, it is the uncanny knack for under planning his project budgets and timelines. His current space plan was kickstarted when he was unable to get the Russian space program to take his efforts to purchase rocket bodies seriously. \u00a0Having failed in his bid to purchase a Russian rocket, the homeward bound team drank and brooded in silence for some time. Musk finally announced, \u201cHey guys, I think we can build the rocket ourselves.\u201d SpaceX was born. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ashlee Vance\u2019s book (<\/span>Elon Musk,<\/span><\/i> HarperCollins, 2015) does a marvelous job of telling the tale from the first failures of SpaceX in the early 2000s through 2015 when they were poised to become the United States\u2019 go to provider for resupply missions to the International Space Station. \u00a0Events Vance anticipates in his 2015 book (like the development of the Falcon Heavy rocket and the Dragon V2 capsule intended for carrying humans into space) are already in full swing. With every success, Musk\u2019s SpaceX vision has expanded. He now envisions his company leading the way to Mars to fulfill another of his humanity serving goals: \u00a0make humans an interplanetary species. Musk\u2019s story goes far beyond the hotshot billionaire facade of someone trying to make a buck selling tourist rides to the lower reaches of space ala Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos. Not only is Elon Musk reinventing the \u2018how to get into space economically\u2019 paradigm, he is using his engineering ingenuity to put Americans back to work. \u00a0Silicon Valley high tech start-ups have come and gone, but Musk\u2019s empire is still here. Not only is it still here, it is growing.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Musk didn\u2019t found the Tesla Motors car company. \u00a0That honor goes to Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning who, like Musk, earned a hefty $187 million when their NuevoMedia company (they did pioneering work with an electronic book reader called the Rocket eBook) was purchased by Gemstar International Group, owners of <\/span>TV Guide.<\/span><\/i> \u00a0Everhard and Tarpenning looked around for some form of Earth impacting, life altering technology to invest in. \u00a0They settled on building a better electric car. They started by first tweaking the numbers on a spreadsheet to help them optimise everything from vehicle weight to the size of the batteries needed to make it work. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Anytime a new car company is announced, folks are quick to remember that the last successful major car company founded in the United States was Chrysler…in 1925. \u00a0The major car companies also have had a habit of stiff-arming any form of electric car since the OPEC oil embargoes of the Carter administration. The Tesla founder\u2019s number crunching told them that they would need to concentrate on a lightweight, sporty car that the public would be able to buy directly from them, by-passing the normal dealership sales model. \u00a0They were making slow progress when they approached Musk about investing in the company. His $6.5 million buy-in made him the majority stockholder and the chairman of the board, a position that would allow him to eventually take full control of the company and its direction. They had no car, limited resources, a small staff, and little else to show at the time that Musk came on board. \u00a0What they did have was the smarts to realize that the 18650 lithium batteries were improving steadily and they would become the backbone of Tesla Motor\u2019s ambitions to get an electric car on the road.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tesla Motors expansion into a new headquarters mirrored the growth pattern at SpaceX: \u00a0the large, open factory floor put the engineering department in among the people doing the testing and assembly. \u00a0Musk also took a page from Henry Ford\u2019s industrial handbook and began to develop his companies around the idea Ford called \u2018Vertical Integration\u2019. \u00a0Ford\u2019s idea was to supply his car company with raw materials from subsidiaries owned by the mother company. Musk wanted to wean his companies away from outside suppliers and self manufacture whatever technology that they would need to succeed. \u00a0\u00a0By 2010, Tesla Motors was able to obtain a failed GM\/Toyota factory for a song (paying $42 million for a plant and machinery that originally cost $1 billion), and talk Toyota into investing some $50 million in the company. In essence, they got the whole shooting match for free.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Of course, it hasn\u2019t all been smooth sailing. \u00a0In late March of 2018, the car company sent out a voluntary recall for some 123,000 of their Model S sedans stating, <\/span>\u201cWe have observed excessive corrosion in the power steering bolts, though only in very cold climates, particularly those that frequently use calcium or magnesium road salts, rather than sodium chloride (table salt),” the email read. “Nonetheless, Tesla plans to replace all early Model S power steering bolts in all climates worldwide to account for the possibility that the vehicle may later be used in a highly corrosive environment.\u201d \u00a0While they felt that the failure rate would only be about .02 %, the fact that they are playing it safe and not just chasing nickels and dimes speaks volumes..<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Behind the scenes, Musk began planning a string of recharging stations that would allow Tesla owners to \u2018refuel\u2019 for free. \u00a0Future expansion calls for an automated full battery pack swap out at these stations that would cost the equivalent of an internal combustion engine oil change. \u00a0Critics felt that Tesla Motors wouldn\u2019t be able to make a viable electric car. New models are on the drawing board with family friendly SUV type vehicles and freight hauling trucks on the horizon. \u00a0For Musk to realize his vision of reducing America\u2019s dependence on foreign oil, he will need to make over the solar panel industry as well. Not surprisingly, Musk has already gone full steam into this field as well.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In 2004, Musk\u2019s cousins Lyndon, Peter, and Russ Rive were looking for a new venture that would make them money, while at the same time, \u201cmake us feel good every single day,\u201d according to Lyndon. \u00a0Elon suggested they look into solar energy which compelled the brothers to form SolarCity in 2006. Their model allowed them to buy solar panels from other manufacturers and concentrate on analyzing customer needs and service. \u00a0Their innovative lease to buy financial packages saw them become the largest installer of solar panels in the United States in just six years. In the end, Elon became the largest shareholder (about one third of SolarCity) and the company’s chairman of the board. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Vance sums up Musk\u2019s latest venture: \u00a0\u201cSolarCity, like the rest of Musk\u2019s ventures, did not represent a business opportunity as much as a world-view. \u00a0Musk had decided long ago – in his very rational manner – that solar made sense. Enough solar energy hits the Earth\u2019s surface in about an hour to equal a year\u2019s worth of worldwide energy consumption from all sources put together. \u00a0Improvements in the efficiency of solar panels have been happening at a steady clip. If solar is destined to be mankind\u2019s prefered energy source in the future, then this future should be brought about as quickly as possible.\u201d SolarCity, like Tesla and SpaceX, continues to acquire the Vertical Integration manufacturing facilities it needs to attain Musk\u2019s far reaching vision.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0SolarCity and Tesla Motors are mutually beneficial companies with solar cells and battery storage in common. \u00a0\u00a0SpaceX shares manufacturing improvements and technologies that will help all three companies create more affordable products in their respective fields. \u00a0If one agrees that the majority of the aerospace, automotive, and alternative energy companies underestimated Musk\u2019s efforts, they are not taking him lighty any more. \u00a0By 2015, SolarCity panels were generating a volume of electricity large enough for the company to be classified as a utility. States are throwing billions of dollars in the form of tax incentive programs to get Musk\u2019s facilities built with in their borders. \u00a0Even NASA has shifted from their former stodgy view of SpaceX to embrace them as the the forerunners of the \u2018new\u2019 space program.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The negative stories that portray Musk as an egotistical maniac may have more than a grain of truth behind them. \u00a0The sniggering that used to accompany announcements of his next space adventure have largely been replaced with something that resembles awe. \u00a0Whether one likes him or not, one must admit that he has more in mind than simply amassing a larger fortune. If he wants to improve the lot of mankind while helping to put humans on Mars, I am all in!<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video – As long as we were talking about Iron Man . . .<\/p>\n