Assignment 13A – Reading Reflection No. 1

• What surprised you the most?
• His devotion to the future and his work ethics. He is very committed to his goals in life, to his work in cars, Tesla, and Space X, Solar City. His employees are hardworking and know that he is not one to fool around when it comes down to business. Since the beginning this is how Elon Musk and his companies have worked and it’s interesting how they continue to strive greatness.

• What about the entrepreneur did you most admire?
• That he is devoted to “saving the human race.” The future is upon us and he is one of the very few that continues to open and explore new ideas to the public that can lead us to future products. For example, although this is not mentioned I have read much about Tesla and its new model 3. Elon came out with this car so the average family could afford an electric car. There is a 2-year wait list for this vehicle. Thousands sold even before the car was out in the market. All Elon had done was showcased it before manufacturing even started and people were already buying it.

• What about the entrepreneur did you least admire?
• He was not interested in interviewing for the book. If you’re this important to our future and are one of the most popular in technological industry, what’s the big deal? People want to know more about you. We are putting our trust in you when purchasing your cars. You’re in charge of Space X, our future in space. Why not know more about the person we admire?

• Did the entrepreneur encounter adversity and failure? If so, what did they do about it?
• After selling the PayPal company, Elon used that money to begin what is now Space X. There were many times the company would fail and almost had to close but somehow with Elon’s dedication they overcame adversity. He has fired people in the past for making simple mistakes and that is something that can become a big issue for the companies. If someone were to get fired for one small mistake they did, people would have a different job every day.

• What competencies did you notice that the entrepreneur exhibited? 
• His interest in technology was the way to go for Elon Musk. Since he was young he was always interested in the Internet, space, energy, etc. He first start-up led him to a few million which helped him create PayPal which he eventually sold to EBay. These earnings then later helped him with Space X.

• Identify at least one part of the reading that was confusing to you.
• The unified field theory of Elon Musk was confusing. There was so much between his personal life and work alternating in between each other. His thoughts on raising kids without adversity I’m sure is something that parents think of all the time but is quite impossible. Little things that would bother him like typos in an email is just a human mistake. It seems as if he’s trying to fix the things that are so simple yet so hard to fix because they come natural to us.

• If you were able to ask two questions to the entrepreneur, what would you ask? Why?
• What are your next ideas on the future of cars now that you have created electric cars? Will you be expanding those ideas so that Tesla can become a manufacturer as big as Ford? Will you expand your knowledge of energy and space more into the technological industry and maybe team up with Apple or Microsoft?

• For fun: what do you think the entrepreneur's opinion was of hard work? Do you share that opinion?
• Elon’s definition of hard work is working practically 24/7. Always work to perfection. Don’t take no for an answer. Creativity is key. I do agree with this opinion but I also think it’s good to sometimes take a break. Taking a break can open your mind more instead of staying so consumed in a certain thought all the time.