Elon Musk Chapter 6-7 复盘笔记 9.16

PART 1 Expressions

1. Quite often, the Tesla engineers brought their Silicon Valley attitude to the automakers’ traditional stomping grounds.

Stomp = stamp, to walk with heavy steps or to put your foot down very hard

Alex stomped angrily out of the meeting.

Sb’s stomping ground = sb’s stamping ground, a favorite place where sb often goes


2. Not wanting to pay the exorbitant costs to use one of these chambers, the Tesla engineers opted to rent an ice cream delivery truck with a large refrigerated trailer.

An exorbitant price, amount of money etc is much higher than it should be SYN astronomical

Exorbitant rates of interest

Exorbitant rent/ prices


3. Tesla had wanted to deliver the Roadster in November 2007, but the transmission issues lingered, and by the time January 1, 2008, rolled around, the company had to once again start from scratch, on a third transmission push.

roll around (British roll round): If a time, event etc that happens regularly rolls around, it arrives or takes place again

By the time Wednesday rolled around, I still hadn't finish.


4. When some new hires came on, they were horrified to discover just how haphazard Tesla’s plan appeared.

[hæpˈhæzəd] happening or done in a way that is not planned or organized

Education provision in this country is haphazard.

a haphazard way/ manner/ fashion

I continued my studies in a rather haphazard way.


5. As Eberhard saw it, other people at Tesla had foisted a wonky finance software application on him that made it tricky to accurately track costs

foist sth on/ upon sb: to force sb to accept or have to deal with sth that they do not want to

I keep getting extra work foisted on me.


6. When an issue like the Roadster’s faulty carbon-fiber body panels cropped up, Musk dealt with it directly.

crop: if a plant crops, it produces fruit, grain etc

crop up:

1. if a problem crops up, it happens or appears suddenly and in an unexpected way SYN arise

2. if sth such as a name or subject crops up, it appears in sth you read or hear SYN come up

Your name kept cropping up in conversation.


7. I appreciated that he didn’t sugarcoat things

1:to coat with sugar

2:to make superficially attractive or palatable

Jeffree Star, never one to sugarcoat things, was quick to publicly share his opinion.


8. He didn’t see eye to eye with Droriand also shied away from the idea of frying his soul to get the sedan out.

shy away from sth: (v.) to avoid doing sth or dealing with sth because you are not confident enough or you are worried or nervous about it

They criticized the leadership, but shied away from a direct challenge.


PART 2  Thoughts

Morning rolls around. I wake up and dive straight into text messages, group chats, emails and Weibo. I flounder about for a few seconds and then send an emoji or made some frivolous comments. More often than not, I find myself stuck in a social quagmire, losing focus on my own priorities and succumbing to the needs of others. I do get baffled why I cannot just wind down with a coffee or a book instead of hastily following up a load of downright nonsense. Upon reflection, it may be chalked up to the sense of social uneasiness. I would feel depressed at the thought of being socially secluded or sidelined.

By contrast, Elon Musk is the antithesis of this sort. Among other claims to fame, Musk was accused of being a ruthless dictator and brisk to his subordinates. Rumor has it that he would give cold shoulders to salespersons from other companies. He even castigated an employee who missed an event to witness his child’s birth.

Unbeknownst to me, social discord or dysfunction does not necessarily brings about stress. Rather than tune yourself in to the trivial matters of others and muddle your priorities, you can relish your loneliness by zooming in on your own needs and wants.


PART 3 Summary

Musk turned 30 in 2001 and he began to revisit his entrenched childhood fantasies about rocket ships. His trip to Russia was fruitless as the Russians rebuffed Musk's offering for two missiles. Musk thereby established Space Exploration Technologies, namely, the SpaceX so that he could build rockets on his own and undercut existing launch companies by building a modest-sized substitute. The initial plan to launch the first rocket in 2003 came to naught as the SpaceX team encountered numerous technical bottlenecks. In 2004, the Merlin engine made by Mueller and his team reached fruition. 2 years later, the team finally limbered up to launch Falcon 1 but the attempt was not successful. Neither was the other shot made a year later. Worse still, a financial crunch is looming on the horizon.

In the fall of 2003, Musk fell for the project of electric vehicles lodged by J.B. Straubel. He offered to fund AC Propulsion to transform its tzeros into commercial electric vehicles but the run-off-the-mill entrepreneurs turned him down. In early 2004, Eberhard and Tarpenning, the cofounders of Tesla Motors, came to Musk and pitched their electric cars. With a whopping investment of $6.5 million, Musk became the largest shareholder and took up the mantle as the chairman of Tesla. In mid-2006, EP1 (engineering prototype 1) and EP2 came to life in close succession and grabbed the attention of the well-offs.

Telsa set up a battery factory in Thailand in order to meet its tight budget. It turned out, however, to be adding cost and delays to the Roadster production. Musk shook up the top management team as he found out the issue of high manufacturing cost. Eberhard was removed as CEO and later backed out of Tesla. Michael Marks, the internal chief tried to package Tesla as an asset  to be sold, which infuriated Musk. From then on, Musk propelled the employees to work even harder and made on-spot scrutiny. Heading into 2008, the company was running out of money and Musk verged on a nervous breakdown.


Elon Musk
最后编辑于
©著作权归作者所有,转载或内容合作请联系作者
  • 序言:七十年代末,一起剥皮案震惊了整个滨河市,随后出现的几起案子,更是在滨河造成了极大的恐慌,老刑警刘岩,带你破解...
    沈念sama阅读 206,602评论 6 481
  • 序言:滨河连续发生了三起死亡事件,死亡现场离奇诡异,居然都是意外死亡,警方通过查阅死者的电脑和手机,发现死者居然都...
    沈念sama阅读 88,442评论 2 382
  • 文/潘晓璐 我一进店门,熙熙楼的掌柜王于贵愁眉苦脸地迎上来,“玉大人,你说我怎么就摊上这事。” “怎么了?”我有些...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 152,878评论 0 344
  • 文/不坏的土叔 我叫张陵,是天一观的道长。 经常有香客问我,道长,这世上最难降的妖魔是什么? 我笑而不...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 55,306评论 1 279
  • 正文 为了忘掉前任,我火速办了婚礼,结果婚礼上,老公的妹妹穿的比我还像新娘。我一直安慰自己,他们只是感情好,可当我...
    茶点故事阅读 64,330评论 5 373
  • 文/花漫 我一把揭开白布。 她就那样静静地躺着,像睡着了一般。 火红的嫁衣衬着肌肤如雪。 梳的纹丝不乱的头发上,一...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 49,071评论 1 285
  • 那天,我揣着相机与录音,去河边找鬼。 笑死,一个胖子当着我的面吹牛,可吹牛的内容都是我干的。 我是一名探鬼主播,决...
    沈念sama阅读 38,382评论 3 400
  • 文/苍兰香墨 我猛地睁开眼,长吁一口气:“原来是场噩梦啊……” “哼!你这毒妇竟也来了?” 一声冷哼从身侧响起,我...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 37,006评论 0 259
  • 序言:老挝万荣一对情侣失踪,失踪者是张志新(化名)和其女友刘颖,没想到半个月后,有当地人在树林里发现了一具尸体,经...
    沈念sama阅读 43,512评论 1 300
  • 正文 独居荒郊野岭守林人离奇死亡,尸身上长有42处带血的脓包…… 初始之章·张勋 以下内容为张勋视角 年9月15日...
    茶点故事阅读 35,965评论 2 325
  • 正文 我和宋清朗相恋三年,在试婚纱的时候发现自己被绿了。 大学时的朋友给我发了我未婚夫和他白月光在一起吃饭的照片。...
    茶点故事阅读 38,094评论 1 333
  • 序言:一个原本活蹦乱跳的男人离奇死亡,死状恐怖,灵堂内的尸体忽然破棺而出,到底是诈尸还是另有隐情,我是刑警宁泽,带...
    沈念sama阅读 33,732评论 4 323
  • 正文 年R本政府宣布,位于F岛的核电站,受9级特大地震影响,放射性物质发生泄漏。R本人自食恶果不足惜,却给世界环境...
    茶点故事阅读 39,283评论 3 307
  • 文/蒙蒙 一、第九天 我趴在偏房一处隐蔽的房顶上张望。 院中可真热闹,春花似锦、人声如沸。这庄子的主人今日做“春日...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 30,286评论 0 19
  • 文/苍兰香墨 我抬头看了看天上的太阳。三九已至,却和暖如春,着一层夹袄步出监牢的瞬间,已是汗流浃背。 一阵脚步声响...
    开封第一讲书人阅读 31,512评论 1 262
  • 我被黑心中介骗来泰国打工, 没想到刚下飞机就差点儿被人妖公主榨干…… 1. 我叫王不留,地道东北人。 一个月前我还...
    沈念sama阅读 45,536评论 2 354
  • 正文 我出身青楼,却偏偏与公主长得像,于是被迫代替她去往敌国和亲。 传闻我的和亲对象是个残疾皇子,可洞房花烛夜当晚...
    茶点故事阅读 42,828评论 2 345

推荐阅读更多精彩内容

  • PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING APPLE DEVELOPER PROGRAM LICENSE...
    念念不忘的阅读 13,433评论 5 6
  • 最近抑郁症、自闭症,这些词溢满了生活。随着高速发展的今天,又一项潜在的心理疾病正向大家靠近,这就是焦虑症。 焦虑症...
    洪木木阅读 427评论 0 2
  • 昨天在等电梯时听到2个女人的谈话,正在讨论当天的母亲节,其中一个女人很高兴的对另外一个说:“我儿子问我母亲节想要什...
    Alucoco阅读 2,055评论 0 0
  • 目录 第八章 躁动的红原 在陆地的边界处,向极北之处逼近失足之洋的方位,死寂山脉把自己的手脚延伸到这里为止,只留下...
    SMILeeee阅读 137评论 0 0
  • 我的母亲 肖肖 我在农村长大,以后也会在农村生活,村里人大部分都很勤奋,但见过最辛苦勤劳的女人,是我妈。 我妈八岁...
    闲说杂谈阅读 405评论 0 0