What Kind Of Leader Is Elon Musk?
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As far as leadership styles go, Elon Musk is no typical boss. He is demanding, intense, and will accept nothing less than absolute focus. Those who have worked for him describe him as working insane hours—often more than 100 hours per week—and demanding his employees do the same. Such leadership is intimidating, but it has paid off in some monumental ways for him. Look at this: Tesla teetered on the verge of bankruptcy before it emerged as the world's most valuable automaker, with market value surpassing $1 trillion in 2021. Not many CEOs can claim that. He drives people hard, but he leads them toward achievements they never even imagined were possible.
The Data Shows That His Companies Are Breaking Records Even If His Methods Are Not Always Traditional
Let's discuss numbers. In 2023, Tesla had sold over 1.8 million vehicles, up 38% on the previous year. In that year, SpaceX became the busiest commercial launch provider on the planet with 96 rocket launches. It's no small feat. While Musk's leadership can sometimes be chaotic in nature owing to his chop-and-change approach with deadlines, as well as project swapping, the end result is proof enough. From 2019 to 2021, Tesla's stock rose by about 700%. It doesn't happen just like that. It happens where a leader is willing to push the boundaries, even if it does involve doing things that make other people uncomfortable.
His Style Is More About Jumping Into Problems Than Sitting Back And Delegating Everything To Others
Most CEOs attend meetings, make phone calls, and leave the actual work for others. Not Elon Musk. He is the type of leader who gets his boots dirty with his engineers. There was the occasion on which he slept on the Tesla factory floor due to the problems with the production line for the Model 3. That may sound melodramatic, but it is indicative of how he leads through action rather than words. In a Tesla employee poll in 2020, nearly 75% of employees reported being motivated by Musk's work ethic—even if they conceded it came with an enormous amount of pressure. Hands-on leadership like that inspires some, even if it exhausts others.
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He Has Made Some Controversial Moves That Got Mixed Reactions From His Own Teams And The Public
Not everything Musk does as a leader is praised. Upon taking over at Twitter in 2022 (renamed X), he fired a huge segment of staff, even top leaders. He made sudden major changes like charging for verification as well as relaxing content criteria. These attracted considerable criticism even among his followers. Glassdoor ratings for Twitter's company culture fell from 4.2-star ratings down to about 2.6-star ratings within weeks of Musk taking over. Employees reported being afraid or not even knowing what was going on. But Musk did not retreat in the face of criticism. He never hesitates to take unpopular risks, either.
Elon Musk Is The Type Of Leader Who Cares Way More About The Mission Than About People’s Feelings
It's in this segment where Elon Musk's leadership is most evident. He does not care about sugarcoating things or making people comfortable. He is far more concerned about the mission—such as taking people to Mars or making the world electric—than making people feel comfortable in the process. In one leaked email in 2018, Musk informed employees that if avoiding a meeting would get the work done quicker, that they should avoid it. It is this sort of direct, outcomes-oriented thinking that drives how he leads everything he does. For some, it is inspiring. For others, it is sort of harsh.
He Might Not Be The Friendliest Leader Out There But There Is No Denying That His Style Gets Big Things Done
Elon Musk’s leadership is not about being popular—he’s about making crazy, audacious things happen. It may be rockets, tunnels, or electric cars that people actually like driving, but he continues to demonstrate that his approach, no matter how difficult it is to do, is effective. He’s not concerned about being everybody’s favorite boss. He is concerned about reinventing entire industries, and possibly even the future.
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