--- title: "19 Tesla Quotes By Ashlee Vance" description: "19 Tesla quotes by Ashlee Vance. Plus more from Ashlee Vance and more Tesla sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/ashlee-vance-4672_first-principles_the-way-elon-talks-about-this-is-that-yo_2195722.jpg" --- > [“The way Elon talks about this is that you always need to start with the first principles of a problem. What are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/the-way-elon-talks-about-this-is-that-you-always-need-to-start-with/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/ashlee-vance-4672_first-principles_the-way-elon-talks-about-this-is-that-yo_2195722.jpg) > [“Musk came to see man’s fate in the universe as a personal obligation. If that meant pursuing cleaner energy technology or building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/musk-came-to-see-man-s-fate-in-the-universe-as-a-personal-obligation/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_musk-came-to-see-man-s-fate-in-the-unive_2752611.jpg) > [“Musk’s vision, and, of late, execution seem to combine the best of Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. With”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/musk-s-vision-and-of-late-execution-seem-to-combine-the-best-of-henry/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1af/ashlee-vance-4672_dreams_musk-s-vision-and-of-late-execution-seem_1231053.jpg) > [“When Elon gets into something, he develops just this different level of interest in it than other people. That is what differentiates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/when-elon-gets-into-something-he-develops-just-this-different-level/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/ashlee-vance-4672_different-level_when-elon-gets-into-something-he-develop_2966263.jpg) > [“Rarely did Tesla get hung up overanalyzing a situation. The company would pick a plan of attack, and when it failed at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/rarely-did-tesla-get-hung-up-overanalyzing-a-situation-the-company/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/ashlee-vance-4672_tesla_rarely-did-tesla-get-hung-up-overanalyzi_840378.jpg) > [“At Tesla, there was no history, no baggage. There was just a vision of products that could change the world. Who wouldn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/at-tesla-there-was-no-history-no-baggage-there-was-just-a-vision-of/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/ashlee-vance-4672_change-the-world_at-tesla-there-was-no-history-no-baggage_3120284.jpg) > [“This left Musk searching for an industry that had tons of money and inefficiencies that he and the Internet could exploit. Musk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/this-left-musk-searching-for-an-industry-that-had-tons-of-money-and/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/ashlee-vance-4672_internet_this-left-musk-searching-for-an-industry_1286731.jpg) > [“Like Steve Jobs before him, Musk is able to think up things that consumers did not even know they wanted—the door handles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/like-steve-jobs-before-him-musk-is-able-to-think-up-things-that/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_like-steve-jobs-before-him-musk-is-able_385682.jpg) > [“As Musk put it, “Try to imagine explaining that you’re investing in an electric car company, and everything you read about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/as-musk-put-it-try-to-imagine-explaining-that-you-re-investing-in-an/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2f/ashlee-vance-4672_business_as-musk-put-it-try-to-imagine-explaining_1820560.jpg) > [“I may have been optimistic with respect to the timing on some of these things, but I didn’t over-promise on the outcome,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/i-may-have-been-optimistic-with-respect-to-the-timing-on-some-of/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/ashlee-vance-4672_hope_i-may-have-been-optimistic-with-respect_2400146.jpg) > [“Throughout these early years, the engineers credited Eberhard with making quick, crisp decisions. Rarely did Tesla get hung up overanalyzing a situation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/throughout-these-early-years-the-engineers-credited-eberhard-with/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/ashlee-vance-4672_tesla_throughout-these-early-years-the-enginee_255237.jpg) > [“Musk had never run a car factory before and was considered arrogant and amateurish by Detroit. Yet, one year after the Model…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/musk-had-never-run-a-car-factory-before-and-was-considered-arrogant/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/ashlee-vance-4672_elon-musk_musk-had-never-run-a-car-factory-before_2937457.jpg) > [“Another testing procedure required that the Roadsters go into a special cooling chamber to check how they would respond to frigid temperatures.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/another-testing-procedure-required-that-the-roadsters-go-into-a/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/ashlee-vance-4672_ice-cream_another-testing-procedure-required-that_1469500.jpg) > [“During a time in which clean-tech businesses have gone bankrupt with alarming regularity, Musk has built two of the most successful clean-tech…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/during-a-time-in-which-clean-tech-businesses-have-gone-bankrupt-with/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/ashlee-vance-4672_business_during-a-time-in-which-clean-tech-busine_1133987.jpg) > [“The guys like Straubel who had been at Tesla since the beginning are quick to remind people that the chance to build…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/the-guys-like-straubel-who-had-been-at-tesla-since-the-beginning-are/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/ashlee-vance-4672_business-opportunity_the-guys-like-straubel-who-had-been-at-t_2670309.jpg) > [“When Musk announced in 2014 that Tesla would open-source all of its patents, analysts tried to decide whether this was a publicity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/when-musk-announced-in-2014-that-tesla-would-open-source-all-of-its/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/ashlee-vance-4672_electric-cars_when-musk-announced-in-2014-that-tesla-w_2167284.jpg) > [“The media reports from the day described the car as the love child of an Aston Martin and a Maserati. In reality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/the-media-reports-from-the-day-described-the-car-as-the-love-child-of/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/ashlee-vance-4672_aston-martin_the-media-reports-from-the-day-described_1721556.jpg) > [“What Musk had done that the rival automakers missed or didn’t have the means to combat was turn Tesla into a lifestyle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/what-musk-had-done-that-the-rival-automakers-missed-or-didn-t-have/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b27/ashlee-vance-4672_programming_what-musk-had-done-that-the-rival-automa_1365695.jpg) > [“Steve Jurvetson, the venture capitalist who has invested in SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, worked for Jobs, and knows Gates well, also described…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/steve-jurvetson-the-venture-capitalist-who-has-invested-in-spacex/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/ashlee-vance-4672_quote_steve-jurvetson-the-venture-capitalist-w_932977.jpg) ## Other authors on Tesla ## More by Ashlee Vance > [“Thought Leadership “Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future” Book by Ashlee Vance “Take risks now and do something bold.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/thought-leadership-elon-musk-tesla-spacex-and-the-quest-for-a/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“He points out that one of the really tough things is figuring out what questions to ask,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/he-points-out-that-one-of-the-really-tough-things-is-figuring-out/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“Musk sits somewhere on the autism spectrum and that he has trouble considering other people’s emotions and caring about their well-being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/musk-sits-somewhere-on-the-autism-spectrum-and-that-he-has-trouble/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“He’s less a CEO chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. Where Mark Zuckerberg wants to help you share baby photos,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/he-s-less-a-ceo-chasing-riches-than-a-general-marshaling-troops-to/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“sometimes at the Sheraton hotel in Palo Alto.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/sometimes-at-the-sheraton-hotel-in-palo-alto/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“Throughout these early years, the engineers credited Eberhard with making quick, crisp decisions. Rarely did Tesla get hung up overanalyzing a situation. The company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/throughout-these-early-years-the-engineers-credited-eberhard-with/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“When Musk is present, the chats tend toward the absurd and fantastic”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/when-musk-is-present-the-chats-tend-toward-the-absurd-and-fantastic/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“Whereas if they change a rule and something good happens, they don’t even get a reward. So, it’s very asymmetric. It’s then very easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/whereas-if-they-change-a-rule-and-something-good-happens-they-don-t/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“I might have fixed that thing but now I’ve made the person unproductive. It just wasn’t a good way to go about things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/i-might-have-fixed-that-thing-but-now-i-ve-made-the-person/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“Like Steve Jobs before him, Musk is able to think up things that consumers did not even know they wanted—the door handles, the giant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/like-steve-jobs-before-him-musk-is-able-to-think-up-things-that/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“Musk pulled Justine close while they danced, and informed her, “I am the alpha in this relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/musk-pulled-justine-close-while-they-danced-and-informed-her-i-am-the/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“for Musk, the distinction between stumbling into something and having intent is important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/for-musk-the-distinction-between-stumbling-into-something-and-having/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“Well, we will decide we’re going into production and then a miracle is going to happen,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/well-we-will-decide-we-re-going-into-production-and-then-a-miracle-is/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“You don’t tell Elon you can’t do something. That will get you kicked out of the room”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/you-don-t-tell-elon-you-can-t-do-something-that-will-get-you-kicked/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“Founded in June 2002, Space Exploration Technologies came to life in humble settings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/founded-in-june-2002-space-exploration-technologies-came-to-life-in/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tesla/ashlee-vance/#itemlist", "name": "19 Tesla Quotes By Ashlee Vance", "numberOfItems": 19, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The way Elon talks about this is that you always need to start with the first principles of a problem. What are the physics of it? How much time will it take? How much will it cost? How much cheaper can I make it?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/the-way-elon-talks-about-this-is-that-you-always-need-to-start-with/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/ashlee-vance-4672_first-principles_the-way-elon-talks-about-this-is-that-yo_2195722.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/ashlee-vance-4672_first-principles_the-way-elon-talks-about-this-is-that-yo_2195722.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/ashlee-vance-4672_first-principles_the-way-elon-talks-about-this-is-that-yo_2195722.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The way Elon talks about this is that you always need to start with the first principles of a problem. What…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Musk came to see man’s fate in the universe as a personal obligation. If that meant pursuing cleaner energy technology or building spaceships to extend the human species’s reach, then so be it.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/musk-came-to-see-man-s-fate-in-the-universe-as-a-personal-obligation/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_musk-came-to-see-man-s-fate-in-the-unive_2752611.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_musk-came-to-see-man-s-fate-in-the-unive_2752611.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/399/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_musk-came-to-see-man-s-fate-in-the-unive_2752611.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Musk came to see man’s fate in the universe as a personal obligation. If that meant pursuing cleaner energy…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Musk’s vision, and, of late, execution seem to combine the best of Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. With”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/musk-s-vision-and-of-late-execution-seem-to-combine-the-best-of-henry/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1af/ashlee-vance-4672_dreams_musk-s-vision-and-of-late-execution-seem_1231053.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1af/ashlee-vance-4672_dreams_musk-s-vision-and-of-late-execution-seem_1231053.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1af/ashlee-vance-4672_dreams_musk-s-vision-and-of-late-execution-seem_1231053.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Musk’s vision, and, of late, execution seem to combine the best of Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. With” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When Elon gets into something, he develops just this different level of interest in it than other people. That is what differentiates Elon from the rest of humanity.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/when-elon-gets-into-something-he-develops-just-this-different-level/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/ashlee-vance-4672_different-level_when-elon-gets-into-something-he-develop_2966263.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/ashlee-vance-4672_different-level_when-elon-gets-into-something-he-develop_2966263.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/ashlee-vance-4672_different-level_when-elon-gets-into-something-he-develop_2966263.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When Elon gets into something, he develops just this different level of interest in it than other people…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Rarely did Tesla get hung up overanalyzing a situation. The company would pick a plan of attack, and when it failed at something, it failed fast and then tried a new approach.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/rarely-did-tesla-get-hung-up-overanalyzing-a-situation-the-company/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/ashlee-vance-4672_tesla_rarely-did-tesla-get-hung-up-overanalyzi_840378.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/ashlee-vance-4672_tesla_rarely-did-tesla-get-hung-up-overanalyzi_840378.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/964/ashlee-vance-4672_tesla_rarely-did-tesla-get-hung-up-overanalyzi_840378.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Rarely did Tesla get hung up overanalyzing a situation. The company would pick a plan of attack, and when it…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“At Tesla, there was no history, no baggage. There was just a vision of products that could change the world. Who wouldn’t want to be involved with that?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/at-tesla-there-was-no-history-no-baggage-there-was-just-a-vision-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/ashlee-vance-4672_change-the-world_at-tesla-there-was-no-history-no-baggage_3120284.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/ashlee-vance-4672_change-the-world_at-tesla-there-was-no-history-no-baggage_3120284.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43c/ashlee-vance-4672_change-the-world_at-tesla-there-was-no-history-no-baggage_3120284.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“At Tesla, there was no history, no baggage. There was just a vision of products that could change the world…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This left Musk searching for an industry that had tons of money and inefficiencies that he and the Internet could exploit. Musk began thinking back to his time as an intern at the Bank of Nova Scotia. His big takeaway from that job, that bankers are rich and dumb, now had the feel of a massive opportunity”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/this-left-musk-searching-for-an-industry-that-had-tons-of-money-and/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/ashlee-vance-4672_internet_this-left-musk-searching-for-an-industry_1286731.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/ashlee-vance-4672_internet_this-left-musk-searching-for-an-industry_1286731.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8f/ashlee-vance-4672_internet_this-left-musk-searching-for-an-industry_1286731.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This left Musk searching for an industry that had tons of money and inefficiencies that he and the Internet…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Like Steve Jobs before him, Musk is able to think up things that consumers did not even know they wanted—the door handles, the giant touch-screen—and to envision a shared point of view for all of Tesla’s products and services.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/like-steve-jobs-before-him-musk-is-able-to-think-up-things-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_like-steve-jobs-before-him-musk-is-able_385682.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_like-steve-jobs-before-him-musk-is-able_385682.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/804/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_like-steve-jobs-before-him-musk-is-able_385682.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Like Steve Jobs before him, Musk is able to think up things that consumers did not even know they wanted—the…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As Musk put it, “Try to imagine explaining that you’re investing in an electric car company, and everything you read about the car company sounds like it is shit and doomed and it’s a recession and no one is buying cars.” All Musk had to do to dig Tesla out of this conundrum was lose his entire fortune and verge on a nervous breakdown.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/as-musk-put-it-try-to-imagine-explaining-that-you-re-investing-in-an/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2f/ashlee-vance-4672_business_as-musk-put-it-try-to-imagine-explaining_1820560.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2f/ashlee-vance-4672_business_as-musk-put-it-try-to-imagine-explaining_1820560.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c2f/ashlee-vance-4672_business_as-musk-put-it-try-to-imagine-explaining_1820560.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As Musk put it, “Try to imagine explaining that you’re investing in an electric car company, and everything…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I may have been optimistic with respect to the timing on some of these things, but I didn’t over-promise on the outcome,” Musk told me during an interview after the Model S launch. “I have done everything I said I was going to do.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/i-may-have-been-optimistic-with-respect-to-the-timing-on-some-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/ashlee-vance-4672_hope_i-may-have-been-optimistic-with-respect_2400146.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/ashlee-vance-4672_hope_i-may-have-been-optimistic-with-respect_2400146.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ce/ashlee-vance-4672_hope_i-may-have-been-optimistic-with-respect_2400146.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I may have been optimistic with respect to the timing on some of these things, but I didn’t over-promise on…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Throughout these early years, the engineers credited Eberhard with making quick, crisp decisions. Rarely did Tesla get hung up overanalyzing a situation. The company would pick a plan of attack, and when it failed at something, it failed fast and then tried a new approach.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/throughout-these-early-years-the-engineers-credited-eberhard-with/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/ashlee-vance-4672_tesla_throughout-these-early-years-the-enginee_255237.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/ashlee-vance-4672_tesla_throughout-these-early-years-the-enginee_255237.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cd/ashlee-vance-4672_tesla_throughout-these-early-years-the-enginee_255237.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Throughout these early years, the engineers credited Eberhard with making quick, crisp decisions. Rarely did…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Musk had never run a car factory before and was considered arrogant and amateurish by Detroit. Yet, one year after the Model S went on sale, Tesla had posted a profit, hit $562 million in quarterly revenue, raised its sales forecast, and become as valuable as Mazda Motor. Elon Musk had built the automotive equivalent of the iPhone.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/musk-had-never-run-a-car-factory-before-and-was-considered-arrogant/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/ashlee-vance-4672_elon-musk_musk-had-never-run-a-car-factory-before_2937457.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/ashlee-vance-4672_elon-musk_musk-had-never-run-a-car-factory-before_2937457.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/ashlee-vance-4672_elon-musk_musk-had-never-run-a-car-factory-before_2937457.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Musk had never run a car factory before and was considered arrogant and amateurish by Detroit. Yet, one year…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Another testing procedure required that the Roadsters go into a special cooling chamber to check how they would respond to frigid temperatures. Not wanting to pay the exorbitant costs to use one of these chambers, the Tesla engineers opted to rent an ice cream delivery truck with a large refrigerated trailer. Someone would drive a Roadster into the truck, and the engineers would don parkas and work on the car.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/another-testing-procedure-required-that-the-roadsters-go-into-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/ashlee-vance-4672_ice-cream_another-testing-procedure-required-that_1469500.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/ashlee-vance-4672_ice-cream_another-testing-procedure-required-that_1469500.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e31/ashlee-vance-4672_ice-cream_another-testing-procedure-required-that_1469500.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Another testing procedure required that the Roadsters go into a special cooling chamber to check how they…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“During a time in which clean-tech businesses have gone bankrupt with alarming regularity, Musk has built two of the most successful clean-tech companies in the world. The Musk Co. empire of factories, tens of thousands of workers, and industrial might has incumbents on the run and has turned Musk into one of the richest men in the world, with a net worth around $10 billion. The visit to”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/during-a-time-in-which-clean-tech-businesses-have-gone-bankrupt-with/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/ashlee-vance-4672_business_during-a-time-in-which-clean-tech-busine_1133987.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/ashlee-vance-4672_business_during-a-time-in-which-clean-tech-busine_1133987.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/061/ashlee-vance-4672_business_during-a-time-in-which-clean-tech-busine_1133987.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“During a time in which clean-tech businesses have gone bankrupt with alarming regularity, Musk has built two…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The guys like Straubel who had been at Tesla since the beginning are quick to remind people that the chance to build an awesome electric car had been there all along. “It’s not really like there was a rush to this idea, and we got there first,” Straubel said. “It is frequently forgotten in hindsight that people thought this was the shittiest business opportunity on the planet. The venture capitalists were all running for the hills.” What separated Tesla from the competition was the willingness to charge after its vision without compromise, a complete commitment to execute to Musk’s standards.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/the-guys-like-straubel-who-had-been-at-tesla-since-the-beginning-are/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/ashlee-vance-4672_business-opportunity_the-guys-like-straubel-who-had-been-at-t_2670309.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/ashlee-vance-4672_business-opportunity_the-guys-like-straubel-who-had-been-at-t_2670309.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/615/ashlee-vance-4672_business-opportunity_the-guys-like-straubel-who-had-been-at-t_2670309.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The guys like Straubel who had been at Tesla since the beginning are quick to remind people that the chance…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When Musk announced in 2014 that Tesla would open-source all of its patents, analysts tried to decide whether this was a publicity stunt or if it hid an ulterior motive or a catch. But the decision was a straightforward one for Musk. He wants people to make and buy electric cars. Man’s future, as he sees it, depends on this. If open-sourcing Tesla’s patents means other companies can build electric cars more easily, then that is good for mankind, and the ideas should be free. The cynic will scoff at this, and understandably so. Musk, however, has been programmed to behave this way and tends to be sincere when explaining his thinking—almost to a fault.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/when-musk-announced-in-2014-that-tesla-would-open-source-all-of-its/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/ashlee-vance-4672_electric-cars_when-musk-announced-in-2014-that-tesla-w_2167284.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/ashlee-vance-4672_electric-cars_when-musk-announced-in-2014-that-tesla-w_2167284.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/011/ashlee-vance-4672_electric-cars_when-musk-announced-in-2014-that-tesla-w_2167284.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When Musk announced in 2014 that Tesla would open-source all of its patents, analysts tried to decide…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The media reports from the day described the car as the love child of an Aston Martin and a Maserati. In reality, the sedan barely held together. It still had the base structure of a Mercedes CLS, although no one in the press knew that, and some of the body panels and the hood were stuck to the frame with magnets. “They could just slide the hood right off,” said Bruce Leak, a Tesla owner invited to attend the event. “It wasn’t really attached.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/the-media-reports-from-the-day-described-the-car-as-the-love-child-of/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/ashlee-vance-4672_aston-martin_the-media-reports-from-the-day-described_1721556.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/ashlee-vance-4672_aston-martin_the-media-reports-from-the-day-described_1721556.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/ashlee-vance-4672_aston-martin_the-media-reports-from-the-day-described_1721556.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The media reports from the day described the car as the love child of an Aston Martin and a Maserati. In…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What Musk had done that the rival automakers missed or didn’t have the means to combat was turn Tesla into a lifestyle. It did not just sell someone a car. It sold them an image, a feeling they were tapping into the future, a relationship. Apple did the same thing decades ago with the Mac and then again with the iPod and iPhone. Even those who were not religious about their affiliation to Apple were sucked into its universe once they bought the hardware and downloaded software like iTunes. This sort of relationship is hard to pull off if you don’t control as much of the lifestyle as possible. PC makers that farmed their software out to Microsoft, their chips to Intel, and their design to Asia could never make machines as beautiful and as complete as Apple’s. They also could not respond in time as Apple took this expertise to new areas and hooked people on its applications. You can see Musk’s embrace of the car as lifestyle in Tesla’s abandonment of model years. Tesla does not designate cars as being 2014s or 2015s, and it also doesn’t have “all the 2014s in stock must go, go, go and make room for the new cars” sales. It produces the best Model S it can at the time, and that’s what the customer receives. This means that Tesla does not develop and hold on to a bunch of new features over the course of the year and then unleash them in a new model all at once. It adds features one by one to the manufacturing line when they’re ready. Some customers may be frustrated to miss out on a feature here and there. Tesla, however, manages to deliver most of the upgrades as software updates that everyone gets, providing current Model S owners with pleasant surprises.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/what-musk-had-done-that-the-rival-automakers-missed-or-didn-t-have/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b27/ashlee-vance-4672_programming_what-musk-had-done-that-the-rival-automa_1365695.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b27/ashlee-vance-4672_programming_what-musk-had-done-that-the-rival-automa_1365695.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b27/ashlee-vance-4672_programming_what-musk-had-done-that-the-rival-automa_1365695.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What Musk had done that the rival automakers missed or didn’t have the means to combat was turn Tesla into a…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Steve Jurvetson, the venture capitalist who has invested in SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, worked for Jobs, and knows Gates well, also described Musk as an upgraded mix of the two. “Like Jobs, Elon does not tolerate C or D players,” said Jurvetson. “But I’d say he’s nicer than Jobs and a bit more refined than Bill Gates.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ashlee Vance" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/steve-jurvetson-the-venture-capitalist-who-has-invested-in-spacex/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/ashlee-vance-4672_quote_steve-jurvetson-the-venture-capitalist-w_932977.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/ashlee-vance-4672_quote_steve-jurvetson-the-venture-capitalist-w_932977.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/ashlee-vance-4672_quote_steve-jurvetson-the-venture-capitalist-w_932977.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Steve Jurvetson, the venture capitalist who has invested in SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, worked for Jobs…” — Ashlee Vance", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tesla/ashlee-vance/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tesla/ashlee-vance/", "name": "Tesla Quotes by Ashlee Vance", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tesla/ashlee-vance/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/755/ashlee-vance-4672_first-principles_the-way-elon-talks-about-this-is-that-yo_2195722.jpg" }, "description": "19 Tesla quotes by Ashlee Vance. Plus more from Ashlee Vance and more Tesla sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tesla/ashlee-vance/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tesla/ashlee-vance/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tesla", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tesla/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Ashlee Vance", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tesla/ashlee-vance/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```