Innovators and sociopaths: a look at Tesla vs Enron

Musk is in the headlines yet again, and once more, it’s not good publicity as of late. Call it what you like, but his antics are stirring up controversy. All that aside, he’s still largely heralded as a great genius; as an unprecedented businessman with unique features. But is he really unique, and is he really a genius? 

There are some analogies to be drawn between Musk and other so called visionaries who ran what the next big thing at the time. Jeff Skilling came to run what was often referred to as the most innovative company in the US in the early 2000s. The company was named “America’s Most Innovative Company” by the magazine Fortune for six consecutive years, from 1996 to 2001. That company was of course, Enron.

As Enron’s financial situation started attracting more and more scrutiny, Skilling developed a habit of lashing out at critics. This of course reminds us of how Musk and how musk dealt with questions on their delayed roll-outs, and how he referred to analysts’ questions as ‘boneheaded’.

The similarity between Enron and Tesla, is that if you raised concerns, however valid or credible they might be, chances are you’d be looked at as something of a buffoon, as if you just didn’t get it. With Tesla, if you’re confused by their opaque accounting practices, their scattered and haphazard approach to product management, or even the actual environmental upside to the EV’s, you’ll quickly be labelled a FUDster, for someone who spreads fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Over the course of its lifetime, Enron branched into trading in a plethora of products. They were originally involved in the transmission of natural gas and electricity, but branched out into trading a variety of products, such as petrochemicals, plastics, paper and pulp, and even weather risk management — it all just got more and more exotic as the fraud went on. This is of course somewhat similar to how Tesla have ventured into tunnel drilling, solar panels, insurance, autonomous driving, flamethrowers. 

Sociopaths have a reputation for being dishonest and deceitful. They often feel comfortable lying to get their own way, or to get themselves out of trouble. In fact, it is almost impossible for them to be truthful on a consistent basis. When it comes to Musk, the list of dishonest statements or outright lies runs extremely long. Of course, given his status as the environmental savor, his claims, promises and predictions are very rarely scrutinized (or even remembered for that long), and he remains a media darling. 

For a very long time, people assumed that the reason some analysts couldn’t understand Enron’s books was because they couldn’t decipher the genius behind the business. In this episode, we take a look at some of Elon’s more egregious predictions and promises. Will the Tesla saga end in a similar fashion to Enron?

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