Musk has degrees in economics and physics. My undergrad is in physics and my dad is an engineer. They are definitely different skillsets.
When I decided to build a treehouse for my kids, I came up with a clean sheet design. My dad saw my drift and walked me through a redesign the preserved the core idea. And then my neighbor, a general contractor, supervised the build (and pretty much doubled every safety margin along the way). My other neighbor (a self-employed roofer) did the crazy bits.
I would be inclined to credit Musk with broad outlines and I would give him credit for being able to participate in the engineering process by asking some sensible questions. I would not be inclined to credit him with imposing tried-and-true design methods and constraints. Similarly, I would give him credit for broad outline path-to-profitability. I would not give him credit for day-to-day diligence of double-entry accounting that the CFO worries about or the contract negotiations his PMs answer to the CFO's staff for.
Not only he sold two tech companies where he worked as a software engineer early in his career, but he has been the chief engineer for SpaceX for almost twenty years, and the results of that kind of speak for themselves?
They gave up on patents over a decade ago so we might never really know, but it’s widely reported that he designed the original falcon rocket, has a hand in the engine designs, the dragon capsule, the space suits, and now starship and everything surrounding it. For most people just being a part of one of these projects would be a mark of success...
It's been 311 days since Elon Musk promised to produce ventilators at the SpaceX factory.
It's been 546 days since Elon Musk claimed Tesla was increasing production of solar roofs towards one thousand per week by end of 2019
It's been 644 days since Elon Musk said there will be a million fully autonomous Tesla robotaxis in a year
It's been 726 days since Elon Musk said Tesla would likely be cash flow positive in all quarters going forward. Tesla lost $702.1 million in Q1 2019 and $408 million in Q2 2019.
It's been 747 days since Elon Musk said the new Roadster will use rocket technology that will allow it to fly
It's been 761 days since Elon Musk said brake pads on a Tesla would never need to be replaced.
It's been 817 days since Elon Musk said Teslas should be able to read and understand parking signage by end of 2019.
It's been 902 days since Elon Musk tweeted funding was secured to take Tesla private at $420 a share.
It's been 925 days since Elon Musk said he would rescue children stuck in a cave with a custom built mini-sub.
It's been 929 days since Elon Musk pledged to fix Flint's lead water crisis.
It's been 958 days since Elon Musk promised employees that there would be no more layoffs. They laid off 1000 employees 718 days ago.
---
Truth doesn't seem like something he's particularly concerned with
