--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: favored moving toward open-source…" description: "\"“favored moving toward open-source software like Linux, while Musk championed Microsoft’s data-center software as being more likely to keep productivit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_favored-moving-toward-open-source-softwa_3181132.jpg" --- # favored moving toward open-source software like Linux… ![“favored moving toward open-source software like Linux, while Musk championed Microsoft’s data-center software as being more likely to keep productivity high. This squabble may sound silly to outsiders, but it was the equivalent of a religious war to the engineers,” quote by Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_favored-moving-toward-open-source-softwa_3181132.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_favored-moving-toward-open-source-softwa_3181132.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/836/ashlee-vance-4672_musk_favored-moving-toward-open-source-softwa_3181132.jpg) > ““favored moving toward open-source software like Linux, while Musk championed Microsoft’s data-center software as being more likely to keep productivity high. This squabble may sound silly to outsiders, but it was the equivalent of a religious war to the engineers,”” [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Engineers saw a clash between open‑source Linux and Microsoft data‑center software as a quasi‑religious conflict. **In simple terms:** Engineers debated open‑source vs proprietary tools like a war. Key Takeaway Balance openness with productivity needs. Themes technology culture software open‑source productivity Mood reflective analytical Type technical culture When to use this quote - team building - tool selection - project management Key Concepts software ecosystems engineer identity corporate strategy Questions to Reflect On - What values drive your tool preference? - How can teams reconcile differing philosophies? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex technical choices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Open source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-source/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) ## Related quotes > [“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/) > [“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…](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/) > [“That ability to stay focused in the midst of a crisis stands as one of Musk’s main advantages over other executives and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/that-ability-to-stay-focused-in-the-midst-of-a-crisis-stands-as-one/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) > [“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…](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/) > [“This left Musk searching for an industry that had tons of money and inefficiencies that he and the Internet could exploit. Musk began thinking…](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/) > [“Musk’s vision, and, of late, execution seem to combine the best of Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller. 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They give up their lives for Musk, and they usually do all of this simultaneously.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashlee-vance/cult-of-musk-employees-fear-musk-they-adore-musk-they-give-up-their/) [Ashlee Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) ## 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. 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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/) [Explore all 91 Ashlee Vance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashlee-vance/) ## More Musk quotes > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. 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I'd have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-etzioni/it-s-hard-for-me-to-speculate-about-what-motivates-somebody-like/) [Oren Etzioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-etzioni/) > [“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/) > [Funny, isn't it? The airlines go to all that trouble to keep you from taking a gun on board, then they just hand you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/funny-isn-t-it-the-airlines-go-to-all-that-trouble-to-keep-you-from/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Do not resemble me-Never be like a musk melon Cut in two identical halves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/do-not-resemble-me-never-be-like-a-musk-melon-cut-in-two-identical/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [“And this is one of the first things one learns from Musk’s example—he is relentless in his pursuit of the bold and, the bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-h-diamandis/and-this-is-one-of-the-first-things-one-learns-from-musk-s-example-he/) [Peter H. Diamandis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-h-diamandis/) > [Doubt is a precipice on the way to God. Blessed is he who is freed from its bonds. He who fares without any doubt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/doubt-is-a-precipice-on-the-way-to-god-blessed-is-he-who-is-freed/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [“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/) > [His smell—the scent of a demon, cinnamon incense, amber musk—wrapped around me, filled my lungs. I felt like I could breathe again, without every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilith-saintcrow/his-smell-the-scent-of-a-demon-cinnamon-incense-amber-musk-wrapped/) [Lilith Saintcrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilith-saintcrow/) > [“He’s less a CEO chasing riches than a general marshaling troops to secure victory. 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