Thread by @Tweetermeyer

I've been trying to avoid talking about the Nürburgring pissing match, but I will say this: whatever else you might think about Tesla, it is unwise to doubt their ability to focus intense amounts of engineering talent/creativity on a short-term goal with publicity at stake.

Tesla has proven again and again that this is exactly what they are entirely optimized for: hackathon heroics. They have achieved amazing things doing this... in fact, it is the source of basically all their most important achievements. Which are real, and impressive.

Putting what is probably a Roadster 2 development chassis/drivetrain into a Model S body and setting a hot lap is something I trust Tesla to do well.

Efficiently running a supply chain, manufacturing or service operation at scale, day in and day out? Eh... not so much.

Simple rule of thumb for Tesla-watchers: if it seems like something Elon genuinely cares about in a deep, personal way, expect your expectations to be exceeded. If not, expect deep disappointment.

Of course, this requires a realistic view of what Elon cares about.

Tesla's culture revolves around heroics, because that's basically what it exists for. Tesla is Elon Musk's private heroics production shop.

With that in mind, consider what Bertolt Brecht said about the auto industry: "unhappy is the automaker that needs a hero."

I hear about Tesla people applying for jobs at other companies (in traditional auto and "mobility tech") and regaling interviewers with tales of their heroics... and they don't get callbacks. Heroics don't impress serious operations people. Heroics are a sign of cultural failure.

So, in a way, the fans are right: you shouldn't bet against Elon when he's decided to focus on a specific heroic accomplishment. But that same heroic quality is his (and thus Tesla's) tragic flaw when it comes to actually running an automaker at any kind of scale.

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