There have been many colourful characters in modern history. Some make us laugh, and some make us cry. When Elon Musk burst upon the scene of contemporary social history, he was swamped trying to get an electrical car company up and running. At the time, General Motors was experiencing near-death throes but was thrown a lifeline by Barack Obama, whose government gave the legacy automobile manufacturer a loan of 30 billion dollars. The fact that General Motors’ vehicles were using exclusively Internal Combustion Engines did nothing to help the company.
On March 30, 2009, President Obama laid out a framework for General Motors to achieve viability that required the Company to rework its business plan, accelerate its operational restructuring and make far greater reductions in its outstanding liabilities. After two months of significant management engagement, General Motors has developed such a plan and has already begun to make progress toward its achievement. The Company has also secured commitments of meaningful sacrifice from all of its major stakeholder groups, sacrifices sufficient for this plan to proceed forward. As a result, the President has deemed GM’s plan viable and will be making available about $30 billion of additional federal assistance to support GM’s restructuring plan. To effectuate its plan, General Motors will use Section 363 of the bankruptcy code to clear away the remaining impediments to its successful re-launch. THE WHITE HOUSE: President Barack Obama: Obama Administration General Motors Restructuring.
At the time, America was experiencing an energy crisis. Elon Musk was coincidentally thrust into the limelight because he was trying to develop a car that would run exclusively on electricity. Various enterprises were claiming to be able to run a vehicle solely on water at the time. Musk’s innovation was not only revolutionary but a timely game changer.
Tesla Motors Inc., which received $465 million in U.S. Energy Department loans to develop and build electric cars, will repay the funds five years ahead of schedule in a plan approved by the government. The carmaker said in its annual report yesterday that the department approved amended terms of the loan agreements that enable it to complete repayment by December 2017. Starting in 2015, the Palo Alto, California-based company will make accelerated payments from excess free cash flow, Chief Financial Officer Deepak Ahuja said in a telephone interview. NBC NEWS: Tesla Repaying Obama Administration Loan 5 Years Early By The Maddow Blog and Steve Benen, March 12, 2013.
Oil prices started rising in the U.S. in early 2002 and continued their climb from a low of $30 per barrel in 2002 to a high of around $150 by mid-2008. The principal reason that Americans ignored the earlier price increase would seem to be because they could afford to do so. However, as the financial crisis of 2007-09 increased uncertainty and pushed the economy into a recession in December 2007, Americans decreased their demand for oil and oil prices crashed. From a high price of $150 per barrel of oil in mid-2008, the price crashed back to around $30 by the end of 2008. Although gasoline prices were likely a key factor behind plunging sales for U.S. automakers in the first half of 2008, falling income appear to be the biggest factor. E COMMONS: Loyola University Chicago: Oil Prices and the Impact of the Financial Crisis of 2007-2009 By Anastasios G. Malliaris, November 2011.
Although Tesla faced challenges during its formative years, the company progressed from strength to strength under Musk’s leadership. It established a strong foothold in California, where the environmentally sensitive population. Provided a nurturing cradle for a company that professed to be futuristic. It was at the forefront of developing and promoting technology to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and to protect the environment. In fact, we are desperately in need of such innovation. Since global warming is a gruesome reality. From the Golden State, Tesla expanded to China. This seems to have been a logical move because China was the number one environmental polluter on the planet, where it met with overall success after experiencing some initial setbacks. Now Tesla is in Germany.
Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg is Tesla’s first manufacturing location in Europe and our most advanced, sustainable and efficient facility yet. Hundreds of thousands of Model Y vehicles and millions of battery cells are manufactured at Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. TESLA: Gigafactory, Berlin-Brandenburg.
Elon Musk’s personality and eccentricities set him apart from other CEOs in modern American society. He makes some highly irrational statements, and comments on a wide variety of subjects that have no relationship to each other. Most people know from experience and common sense that under all circumstances, the less said the better. As we read in scripture, “He who guards his mouth preserves his life,
But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.” Proverbs 13:3 (NKJV)
- Most CEOs tend to choose their words carefully, fearing the consequences of saying anything that could be deemed controversial.
- But Elon Musk is not nearly as cautious, sometimes appearing to speak his mind and deal with the consequences later. INC.
Kiichiro Sato / Associated Press In July, Musk called British diver Vernon Unsworth, who was involved in the Thai cave rescue, a pedophile in a tweet and said he would bet money to back his accusation after Unsworth said the miniature submarine Musk designed and sent to Thailand to help with the rescue would have been ineffective and was merely a publicity stunt. Musk later apologized to Unsworth and deleted the tweet.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
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