This segment almost moved me to write this article months ago.ĬEOs these days have been polished more than Michelangelo’s David (potentially incorrect statement - someone should do some research on this). And here’s why:Įlon in tears, from this video. At least as importantly, though, many of us simply love the guy. Elon has put himself out there enough that his face often pops into our thoughts when we think about Tesla, or EVs, or cleantech, or space travel - you get the picture. Whether it’s intentional or through pure luck, Elon has very effectively become the face of Tesla Motors and SpaceX … and even SolarCity to an extent, despite the fact that he spends very little time on the company and the CEO is cousin Lyndon Rive (probably one of the few faces that came to mind in the exercise recommended above). It’s pretty disappointing for me to witness. Yet … the approach is largely ignored by cleantech companies. Having a human who is the well known and liked face of a company is a great way to advance the company’s customer base and grow its business. Humans connect with humans more than anything else. Frankly, I think that’s a huge #FAIL on the part of the communications and marketing arms behind most cleantech companies, as well as the CEOs themselves.

I’ll jump to my list of reasons shortly, but first, see how many cleantech CEOs you can picture with a couple minutes of thought.ĭespite covering this industry obsessively for years, there are just a handful of people who come to mind for me. Furthermore, I think those two factors contribute a great deal to the success of some of his companies, especially Tesla Motors. It’s also largely because of specific aspects of his personality and how he interacts with the public.

He’s loved so much not just because of what he’s achieved and what his companies do, though. Actually, he’s an iconic figure and quite idolized in several sub-cultures.

Elon Musk photo by Steve Jurvetson ( some rights reserved).Įlon Musk is in a unique category not just because of how superbly he has done in business - from Zip2 to PayPal to Tesla & SpaceX & SolarCity.

Lyndon rive net worth