13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

Assignment 13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance

1) What surprised me the most:

I found Elon Musk’s perseverance through hard times to be astounding. He not only survived but also managed to through the hardest of times that he experienced.

What about the entrepreneur did I most admire:

I most admired Elon’s perseverance. When his ideas and entrepreneurial ventures failed or faced adversity, Musk stayed strong and overcame that failure and adversity.

What about the entrepreneur did I least admire:

Regarding Tesla, I least admire that Tesla is not actualizing profits. Although Tesla has still been somewhat of a major success, it has not been a financial success as I believe businesses should be.

Adversity/Failure encountered by Elon Musk and how he handled it:

As stated above, Elon Musk faced aversity and failure head on. He persevered and thrived through hard times. He did not concern himself too much with the negative thoughts and opinions of others.

2) What competencies did I notice that Elon Musk exhibited:

Elon Musk exhibited the competency of being innovative. Musk’s entrepreneurial ventures are founded primarily on his innovation and actualization of the said innovation.

3) One part of the reading identified that was confusing to me:

I found the majority of the reading to have been simplified and easy to understand. I do however have a hard time comprehending how Elon Musk actualized his vision so efficiently. I have a hard time understanding Elon’s entrepreneurial spirit.

4) Two questions that I would ask Elon Musk and why?

I would ask Elon Musk where he sees Tesla 10 years from now. I am very curious where Tesla will be 10 years from now, and I am curious as to what Mr. Musk envisions.

I would also ask Elon how important it is to him that Tesla yields profits or if economic responsibility is not one of his major concerns. I am unsure as to how important it is to Elon that Tesla makes money and how big of a concern to him it is that Tesla has failed to make money thus far.

5) What I think Elon Musk’s opinion of hard work is and do I share that opinion?

I think that Elon Musk’s opinion of hard work is working an excessive number of hours per work to actualize one’s goals. I believe that Elon Musk’s opinion of hard work may be oriented slightly more towards white collar than blue collar work. I share this opinion of what hard work is; however, my opinion of hard work is oriented slightly more towards blue collar than white collar work.