Reading Reflection No. 1 (assignment 13A)

1. I read about Elon Musk and his entrepreneurial endeavors in Tesla and Space-X. After watching, what surprised me the most was finding out that Elon himself didn't start Tesla, but that he was just a very early investor in the company. Also, it was interesting to find out all the hardships and problems he went through on the way to riches. Something I most admire about Musk is the fact that he pursued what he wanted to do regardless of the economic crash and regardless of what everyone told him in saying it wouldn't work. He had perseverance and he believed in himself which is hard to do in that situation. Something I least admire about him is his ego. The book kept talking about his big talk and how he always made himself seem better than others when it came to ideas and changing the world. I respect someone's humble grind more than a big mouth. Elon definitely faced adversity on his way to success. He ran out of money at one point and had to stay at a friends house for the time being until he could get back on his feet, but he continued his two companies. Also, a time came when he could only afford one of the two companies to put money into so he chose Tesla, but still kept Space-X in his mind and eventually secured a government subsidy to continue that company. 

2. I noticed that Elon Musk was very determined and very driven. No matter what happened, he was determined to break the status quo and to make the world a sustainable-place. His goals never changed no matter what happened and his aspirations were so huge it was beyond admirable that he followed through with not one, but both of the companies. 

3. One part of the book that was confusing to me was the part about his initial involvement in Tesla. They explained that he heard about people creating this all-electric car and that they needed money, but then towards the end, they kept saying it was his company and his cars, so I am confused if he was an inventor or if he bought the whole company out. 

4. If I could ask two questions, I would ask how he dealt with all the adversity he faced like running out of money, and the other question would be how he saw the small opportunities that overall made his whole success like the government subsidy. I would ask these two as they were essential to his success and seem to be the hardest things to figure out when creating a business and I have heard those are the reasons that people stop so it would be cool to see what he had to say. 

5. Elon was a huge believer in hard work for sure. They mentioned in the book many times of the endless nights of work and how he never stopped working regardless f what was happened, whether it be the economic crash, running out of money, and when everyone told him Tesla wouldn't work at all.