PROFESSIONAL INTELLECTUAL COEFFICIENT TEST
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What is Elon Musk's IQ?
There are no official data in this regard, however it is estimated at 155.
Keep in mind that "A high IQ is no guarantee of success."
Elon has needed other factors to balance his potential. Such as:
Attitude: Be persistent, positive and enjoy whatever you are doing.
Wisdom: Understand how people and the world work in general.
Rationality: Observe, analyze and act based on your own or universal principles, without neglecting your instinct.
Elon is a very intelligent and capable person, with a way of seeing the world that goes beyond what the average perceives.
If we want to understand the cause of his success, we shouldn't just look at his IQ:
We have to go a little deeper into his life and find out what makes him different.
I invite you to read this article. I am sure you will love it.
Overcoming failures
Most successful companies
Incredible projects
What you have learned
Do you know Elon Musk? I introduce him to you
I am sure that at some point, most of us (if not all) have wondered about what is more appropriate:
Have a conventional work life, and seek financial stability,
Or rather undertake, innovate, and dedicate our time to personal projects.
Time moves by quickly, and many of our ideas go unrealized. They are still dreams and not realistic goals if we only dedicate ourselves to thinking about them without taking action.
Over the years the conventional goals satisfies less:
What is the point of serving others instead of working on your own ideals?
If you have decided to get out of the conventional, or have already been doing it, you can repeat with enthusiasm:
I am putting my ideas into action, and I have the conviction that I will not fail at it.
I am convinced that when one does things "slowly but surely", with determination and optimism, we can always obtain the desired results.
But, this article is not about us, or about simple tips that the wind ends up carrying.
Rather, it is about him, as the representation of innovation and success, that motivates us to not stop moving forward, and to pursue each of our ideals:
That rebel visionary, who does not know how to respect the conventional and dares to break paradigms.
The same one who got tired of the traffic, and is creating underground tunnels to transport people to 1200 km/h.
The same one that was a key piece and pioneer in digital payments.
Who dreamed of rockets and now serves NASA.
Who has declared himself convinced to start the colonization of Mars, and that will surely be a historical milestone of success.
1. Elon Musk: The Origin
To understand why Elon has become what he represents today, a technological revolutionary, we must start from the beginning.
Elon got his first computer at age 9, a Commodore VIC-20.
This tool allowed him to immerse himself in the vast world of technology.
Commodore VIC-20
Maker: Commodore International
Operating system: KERNAL
RAM: 5 kb
Microprocessor: MOS 6502B con 1 MHz.
Storage: Cassette tape, floppy disk
His parents divorced when he was about 10 years old. Even with these family problems, Elon began to show his genius, with many ideas already running through his mind.
Today we can affirm that there were so many ideals of that child that he could not stop imagining them.
His family came to think that Elon had deafness problems, due to the events that his mother has described repeatedly, where Elon seems to be in another world and completely ignore whatever he is saying.
He got into his own brain and went to another world. Now I know he was designing rockets or something in his head. Maye, Elon Musk's mom
The programmer boy
Elon learned to program at age 10, back in the 80s.
He was a child who, immersed in his curiosity, devoted himself to study, delving deeply into reading and research. This led him to distinguish himself from average children his age.
We can describe how Elon was during his childhood with the following 3 qualities, which were undoubtedly decisive for his success:
Self-taught par excellence
Curious, and
Studious.
Skills matter more than grades Elon Musk
Blastar: A first case of success
Many years passed before Elon began to think about space colonization, lunar travel, electric cars, etc.
However, at age 12, Elon's interest in what lies beyond our planet began to be reflected in what perhaps was the origin of everything: a game called Blastar (similar to Space Invaders, inspired by spaceships and aliens).
I will try to briefly describe the theme of the game to give you an idea of ​​how it worked:
Blastar is a game where we drive a spaceship.
We can control the ship with the keyboard arrows and move it around the screen.
The mission is to destroy alien spacecraft that carry hydrogen bombs to Earth.
Recently, a former Google engineer, Tomas Lloret, adapted the original version of Elon, so that we can all test the game from any browser.
If you want you can play blastar from this link, and come back, to continue reading the article.
As you may have noticed by now, Blastar is quite a simple game, compared to today's video games. Advances in technology now allow higher quality graphics, rules and more complex objectives.
However, Blastar caught the attention of many when it was developed by a 12-year-old boy, an amateur in programming, who entered a world of video games, which in those years was still being discovered.
This is Elon's first example of entrepreneurship, selling the idea and source code for $ 500 to a company. Finally, it was not published, but it was a great experience.
It was in 2015 that a screenshot of the source code was published in Ashlee Vace's book: 'Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the search for a fantastic future'.
If you have as much passion for technology (and its origins) as I do, I am sure you will be fascinated by what is published by Manuel Pazos.
He adapted the Basic code from Blastar, and managed to successfully run the game on his Tesla Model 3
Sensational!
The circle is closed. Running Blastar on a @Tesla Model 3. The game was developed by @elonmusk when he was 12. This version uses the original BASIC code for Spectravideo computers, but with minor modifications in order to run on a MSX system.@Teslarati pic.twitter.com/VQt46WaBOc
— Manuel Pazos (@ManuelPazosMSX) September 17, 2019
If you intend to do something similar, or simply learn more about Elon's life through his first code, I recommend reading the book.
There, the difficulties that he had to face during his childhood and youth are narrated in detail, and how he managed to overcome these problems that were presented to him.
If you want to read the book you can access it through the following link:
'Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the search for a fantastic future'
2. Overcoming Failures, by Elon Musk
Netscape rejection (1995)
Netscape Communications, the company that created the first browser, represents one of Elon's first failures, as after repeated attempts to obtain a position, he was never hired.
Back then, Elon was sure that the internet would change the world, and he wanted to be part of it.
However, he was still not sure how to take his first step:
If he should create a company, or
succeed by working for a business that develops interesting things.
All he knew was that he wanted to create and innovate. He was sure he could dedicate his life to it, but he couldn't make a decision yet.
Elon had a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, and while pursuing a graduate degree at Stanford, he applied for a job at Netscape, receiving no response..
He had a degree in physics, economics, and management. He was also pursuing postgraduate studies in applied physics and materials science. I guess they didn't contact me since I didn't have a degree in computer science, or several years working in a software company. Elon Musk
It did not discourage him:
Elon went to the Netscape facility to introduce himself and seek an opportunity personally.
However, his shyness was greater. To the point that he left the company without exchanging words with any Netscape employee.
Following this rejection, Elon Musk left Stanford, and in partnership with his brother Kimbal Musk and Greg Curry, created his first company called Zip2.
This was later sold for $ 307 million, making him a millionaire.
Paypal as "The worst business concept of the year" (1999)
Elon not only overcame his failures, but those of others as well.
Once upon a time, a company called Confinity:
He had a pretty difficult road. However, later it would be an embryo that would give rise to Paypal, the most used online payment method in the world.
To put you in context:
In mid-1999, devices called Palm Pilot were very fashionable.
These devices served as digital assistants, and are considered the predecessors of smartphones and tablets that we have today.
Confinity's original idea was to transfer money from PalmPilot to PalmPilot. This idea led them to be crowned the worst business idea in 1999.
Plunged in despair, they decided to bet on something even riskier for that time:
They decided to email money, and give away $ 10 to anyone who signs up.
Elon Musk at that time ran a company with a pornographic name, called X.com
Confinity and X.com became direct competitors, hating each other to death for the money they spent on advertising.
But from hate to love there is only one step:
Elon Musk saw the great potential of Confinity, so he proposed a merger with his company X.com
This is how they coincide in:
Redefine objectives and focus on provide payment services online, with the use of a card.
Rename the new company as Paypal (Confinity + X.com)
This strategy would end up boosting the business in an extraordinary way, becoming the most used payment gateway in the world.
Upon reaching approximately 100,000 users, in 2002, Ebay made a proposal to Paypal and ended up buying the company for 1.5 billion dollars.
That same year:
PayPal grows dramatically, reaching more than 1 million users.
This makes Paypal one of the most used payment methods in the world..
This is one of the many reasons why Forbes magazine considers Elon Musk as the most innovative man in the world.
Damn holidays
Elon doesn't believe in vacations.
His opposition to free time and vacations seems to be totally justified by the bad experiences he has had:
Holidays led Elon Musk to lose his position at Paypal.
They even put Elon on the brink of death.
Perhaps the only time he felt so afraid to see his dreams truncated was in 2000, when he acquired Malaria on a vacation in Brazil and South Africa (his country of origin).
Fortunately Elon was able to recover.
In 2001, Elon and his then-wife Justine Wilson decided to take a few days to enjoy their marriage. Holidays that were postponed countless times.
Elon's absence was taken advantage of by Peter Thiel, who did not hesitate to execute a very well organized internal coup, and thus overthrow him from the company's board of directors.
After such bad experiences during his vacations, Elon was convinced that if a parasite does not kill you, your partners can do it.
And this is how in the last 12 years he says he has not taken a vacation. Just a lazy day in some beautiful place, but this could best be described as a simple Sunday at the beach.
However, his losing streaks do not end there:
The next 2 times he's taken breaks his rockets went off.
Over time Elon has become friends with the holidays, but from a very different perspective.
No more long vacations:
He never disconnected from his work completely again. He decided to replace the holidays with the craziest and most eccentric breaks you can imagine:
His vacations range from walking on a biplane in flight,
until appearing in cinematic scenes of world tendency.
Russia refused to sell him a rocket (2001)
19 years ago Elon Musk had no knowledge of space technology.
The only thing that he never lacked was the will and conviction to do what he really wanted.
With many millions on top, and determined to do more than just another business on the internet, he decided to venture into the world of rockets.
Thus, through a few calls, he started his way to what would become one of the most innovative space technology companies in the world, SpaceX.
In no time, Elon achieved the success he was looking for, and these 3 were the key factors to achieve it:
Understand a business opportunity few could imagine.
Study in a self-taught way about space rockets.
Establish a network of contacts that would later help him found SpaceX.
Elon got in touch with Jim Cantrell, a longtime aerospace consultant.
The funny thing about this first call is the way Elon Musk introduces himself.
Jim tells us that it was something so particular that he can even remember by heart the words said by Elon, through a sudden call, which came to him while he was driving:
I am Elon Musk. I am an internet billionaire. I founded PayPal and X.com. I sold X.com to Compaq for $ 165 million in cash and could spend the rest of my life on a beach drinking Mai Tais, but I decided that humanity needs to become a multi-planetary species to survive and I want to do something with my money, to show that humanity can do that. For this I need Russian rockets and that's why I'm calling you. Elon Musk
Over time, he established a business friendship with Cantrell, as well as a network of expert spacecraft advisers, many of whom were Cantrell's colleagues.
In an exceptional way, Cantrell tells us that Musk knew everything, because he managed to become an expert. This mainly because Elon devoured entire rocket books like:
Fundamentals of astrodynamics
International Reference Guide for Space Launch Systems
He has a really applied mind. You literally absorb the knowledge and experience of the people you are with. Jim Cantrell, Aerospace Consultant
Elon needed to experiment, and for this he had the idea of ​​buying Russian rockets, knowing that they were the cheapest available.
For this, he met with a Russian contact, who was clearly very upset by Musk's proposal, arguing that his technology was intended as a weapon of war and not for the whims of capitalist billionaires.
This is how Elon fails in his attempt to acquire Russian rockets.
Elon continued to surround himself with space experts and absorb knowledge and experience.
He once witnessed how friends of Cantrell were able to build a 30-foot-tall rocket on a budget, which although it was unable to take off and exploded during testing, inspired Elon. By his own account, it was like a religious conversion.
Later he was able to build and fly his own rocket. Which was possible thanks to what he gave in return:
Dedication to learn all about the topic,
passion, heart and soul.
Explosions and more explosions 💣
Consolidating the business opportunity that only Elon Musk saw has not been easy.
The road to reusable rockets and savings in space exploration has gone through countless accidents and million-dollar losses.
Elon Musk himself has uploaded a video to his Twitter account where he reviews all those bad times that have helped him learn so much and make SpaceX what it is now.
Long road to reusabity of Falcon 9 primary boost stage…When upper stage & fairing also reusable, costs will drop by a factor >100. pic.twitter.com/WyTAQ3T9EP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 14, 2017
It has definitely been a difficult road, which Elon has taken advantage of. What better prize than the satisfaction of being successful, after having almost lost everything, betting on a space dream that just a few years ago seemed crazy.
Just looking at Musk's excitement at one of his first successful takeoffs, we understand all the sacrifice that went into it.
After having reviewed some of the failures of the man who today is at the top and with highly disruptive innovations:
We understand that despite devastating blows, and when nothing seems to go right, that is when we should be strongest. We must lean on each of those bad experiences, not only to stand up, but to push ourselves and take our projects and ideals to a new level.
The time we have is limited and we will not always have the youth and strength to undertake.
Remember that at the end of life missed opportunities are regretted more than countless failures.
With perseverance and tenacity you get what you want. The word impossible has no meaning. Napoleón Bonaparte (1769–1821) French emperor
3. Elon Musk's ventures over time
Elon was aware of the great potential that the internet had, and in that sense he decided to do something related to it.
The initial idea was to create a network of doctors on the internet. For this, it would be necessary to contact medical professionals and ask them to provide their data to be exposed on the internet.
However, in 1994 the idea of ​​exposing personal information online did not appeal to anyone. They finally gave up on it.
The birth
The Musk Brothers realized that while there was a fear of exposing personal information online, doing the same with contact numbers and business addresses would have a very different impact.
This is how Zip 2 was born, with the initial idea of ​​making local business data available to anyone browsing the web.
They needed to convey to business owners the value of being online.
This was a challenge for the team, given that in 1995 the vast majority of small business owners were not even aware of the internet. In those days it was a privilege to have a computer at home.
Faced with the failure of the call, Elon and his brother decided to knock on doors and that is how they visited many local businesses, explaining about their service and the importance of appearing on the online list. Among them:
restaurants,
hairdressers,
clothes shops,
After receiving an investment of $ 28,000 from their father, the Musk brothers rented an office and started the development of the project.
The absolute person in charge of the development of the software was Elon Musk, and he assumed the responsibility of creating the first version of the system completely.
They managed to get a contract with Navteq, who would provide them with digital maps for free.
With the service up and running, they launched various marketing ideas to increase registered business. They launched a "Premium List" to position businesses interested in gaining greater visibility in the top places.
It was very difficult in the beginning, as the sales team used to come back empty handed, unable to convince business owners to pay for the service. This situation improved over time.
Risk investment
Already with a large amount of local business information and with the implementation of new functionalities to the project, in 1996, the venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures invested 3 million dollars, making its growth take off and consolidating Zip2 as one of the best address system on the internet.
True to its origins, Zip2 maintained a vision of innovation and in that way no longer only limited itself to promoting its service individually to each client. Over time they were venturing into real estate, car dealerships and classified ads, this hand in hand with the most important newspapers such as:
The New York Times,
Knight-Ridder,
Hearst Corporation
Following the great success in 1999, Compaq Computer purchased Zip2 for $ 307 million.
Zip2 was definitely one of the most important pioneers in providing the Internet presence service through a digital map system, which today we can see on a large scale in Google Maps.
Paypal today is the most used payment method in the world.
In a few words, we are talking about a virtual wallet, which without the need to repeatedly enter your personal data, just with your email and password, allows you to do all kinds of banking operations (personal and corporate) safely . You can also integrate PayPal on your website to receive payments online.
The numbers speak for themselves:
Paypal ranks first of all payment technologies on the entire Internet.
It is not only the most used technology. It is also the favorite of the most important brands:
We can attribute its success to the following factors:
Transfer security
Transaction effectiveness
Multiple business alliances
An easy to use platform
Despite all that has been achieved, Paypal does not stop, as it is already seeking to be much more than an online payment service.
For this, it needs to retain its users at a much higher level, in order not to limit itself to punctual payments, but to monopolize the most common operations of users, such as payment of services, payroll, etc.
Once this level is reached, it intends to use all the information collected to provide users with more personalized services.
I'll give you an example:
If a user's payroll were managed with Paypal, revenue will be recorded every month.
In this way, if at any time the deposits to the user cease, Paypal can assume a possible unemployment and offer a loan, according to the customer's payment history, having all this information.
With all that has been achieved, Paypal aims to offer a whole gateway of services that motivate the user to use Paypal as the main manager of their finances. And as has become customary, grow hand in hand with the arrival of new users.
Another of Musk's goals, in addition to the long-awaited population of Mars and the revolution of services through the Internet, is the conservation of the environment through the use of renewable energy.
We are all aware of the terrible conditions our planet is in, and very few of us do anything about it.
Musk decided to directly attack the use of fossil fuels, which are currently used for the generation of electricity.
Solar energy: A new source of electrical energy.
Is solar energy really a solution? It definitely is!
I'll explain:
If a person uses solar energy constantly, pollution of the environment can be avoided by up to approximately 20 thousand tons of greenhouse gases.
Besides helping to preserve the environment, it also favors our economy and especially our health.
This is so because the burning of fossil fuels to obtain energy terribly pollutes the air we breathe.
Cousins: Peter Rive, Lyndon Rive and Elon Musk
Motivated by the initiative and support of Elon Musk, in 2006 cousins ​​Peter and Lyndon Rive founded Solarcity, a company dedicated to the installation of solar panels, for homes and businesses.
SolarCity had a very accelerated growth in its beginnings, since in just 3 years it generated an approximate of 440 MV (megawatts) of energy.
To give you an idea:
Megawatts are the unit used to measure large amounts of energy, such as that needed to move large warships, huge electric motors, etc.
Just 1 megawatt is enough to power approximately 330 homes for a period of 1 hour.
In 2011, as an expansion strategy, SolarCity absorbed companies that were its direct competition. That is, such companies were bought.
Thus, in 2013, SolarCity became the second largest solar energy installation provider in the United States.
Only in 2015 he installed an approximate 870 MV, auguring a very promising future for the cousins.
Trump and the solar energy tax
One of the biggest tragedies for the growth of SolarCity is due to a law enacted by Donal Trump, in early 2018.
This president of the United States surprised everyone with the imposition of a 30% tax on the import of solar panels.
This affected all the large companies dedicated to the solar sector. Such as:
SolarWorld,
Suniva,
FirstSolar, and
These companies have been forced to rethink their costs, and especially their personnel.
It is presumed that this measure is due to the well-known cold war between the United States and China, since approximately 80% of materials for the manufacture of solar panels come from Asian countries, with China topping the list as the largest supplier.
Although Trump has repeatedly explained that the main reason for his decision has been to promote the purchase of these materials from national companies, experts predict poor forecasts as a result of such decision.
Elon Musk's Unified Field Theory
Putting it all together provides good insight and synthesis.
This is a theory that Elon seems to get along very well with, as he has repeatedly stated his intention to integrate his companies in order to achieve a future based on green energy where life is simplified through his technology , in addition to guaranteeing an interplanetary tomorrow.
One of the first steps towards the unification of their companies has been the purchase of SolarCity by Tesla:
This purchase was made for approximately $ 2.6 billion.
The operation was harshly criticized by Tesla shareholders, because SolarCity was not having a good time.
Despite the ups and downs that this merger suffered, Musk achieved the blind faith of its shareholders, thus achieving the first step towards a human life without carbon consumption or emissions that pollute the environment: a future based on electricity.
It seems an accident that these companies were not together from the beginning, since Tesla's reason for being is the use of electrical energy. Today joint growth has been boosted by this merger.
Definitely Tesla and SolarCity were always meant to be one.
T-Zero: The Origin of Tesla
If you thought Tesla was founded by Elon Musk, then you are wrong.
Two engineers, Marc Tarpenning and Martin Eberhard, were the architects of the origin of what we know today as Tesla:
These characters founded a company called AC Propulsion.
The company's main project was T-Zero, an electric vehicle that allowed a range of up to 300 kilometers, and took 4 seconds to get from 0 to 100 km / hour.
Elon Musk in AC Propulsion
Elon Musk couldn't help but relate to the project.
In fact, he ended up contributing in a millionaire way to the project, and also became CEO of the company, renamed Tesla.
Already with Elon at the helm, Tesla embarked on the path of becoming a pioneer in mass production of electric cars:
The Tesla Roadster was Tesla's first car, and it was introduced in 2006.
This event marked a before and after in the automotive world.
All the work behind its manufacture has helped it obtain multiple awards, the same year it was launched.
In addition, this event forced the other companies in the field to work harder and catch up.
Today Tesla is a benchmark of success.
Why was the Tesla Roadster so successful?
In addition to being a car with autonomy greater than 300 km / hour, we can attribute the success to the immense work of innovation behind:
Elon decided not to use third parties for its manufacture.
This is how the Tesla Roadster has more than 300 patents behind it.
They developed almost all of its components on their own, thus guaranteeing a correct integration of its parts.
This translated into efficiency and performance.
To give you an idea, I mention some of the components manufactured autonomously:
Electrical systems and processors
Programs and algorithms for its operation
Tesla doesn't stop:
Over the years it has added various models to its catalog that maintain the essence of its first car, useful and efficient.
It is very likely that you have heard of them at some point. This is the list of available models:
The new Tesla Roadster
It is impressive what Elon Musk has achieved through Tesla:
The company broke sales records, without people ever sitting in one of its cars before.
Elon is committed to selling his cars online, without the need for physical stores.
For car connoisseurs and fans, the new Tesla Roadster is unmatched as it is credited with the title of the world's fastest car, setting records for acceleration, range and performance. A beast!
If you want to see a little of what was the presentation of the Tesla Roadster in 2017, I invite you to watch the following video:
Is Tesla just a carmaker?
Tesla is not just a car manufacturer.
Tesla's raison d'être is to drive the world's transition to green and sustainable energy.
In that sense, Tesla also manufactures clean energy generation and storage products, which benefited greatly from the takeover of the SolarCity company.
Elon Musk believes that the world will be better off without the use of fossil fuels.
His proposal is to replace this conventional way of obtaining energy by an energy and sustainable alternative.
Thus, it has been working through different energy solutions such as:
Tesla plans in the future to provide electric cars, batteries, generation and storage of renewable energy, services that are currently available but that are not yet used in an integrated and massive way.
If independently they are extraordinary, imagine what they can achieve together, as they are the first version of the long-awaited dream of an ecological ecosystem.
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation known colloquially as SpaceX, is a company dedicated to aerospace manufacturing and transportation, which has had since its inception the goals of:
Increase confidence in exploring space and
Mainly reduce costs through the reuse of your rockets.
Falcon 1: A resounding success
After numerous launches and landings that ended in explosions, 2008 finally saw a successful launch.
The protagonist, the Falcon 1, was the first privately owned rocket to reach Earth orbit using liquid fuel.
The successful launch of Falcon 1 meant a contract for approximately 600 million dollars with NASA, to provide supplies to its space station.
Success after success
From now on, despite some ups and downs, the company has been collecting successes during its growth:
In 2012 his Dragon spacecraft became the first from the private sector to visit the international space station.
In December 2015 the Falcon 9 rocket placed 11 communications satellites in orbit. Achieving the first successful orbital-class rocket landing.
In 2017, the world's first flight of an orbital-class rocket was achieved.
In 2018, the Falcon Heavy rocket was carrying large amounts of cargo to supply space missions.
In 2019 the second version of the Dragon spacecraft, Crew Dragon, successfully connected to the international space station.
In 2020 he marked a milestone by taking the first flight with astronauts into space privately. The success of this mission also depends on the safe landing of the astronauts, which we hope will be so.
SpaceX in the future
Through this company, Elon Musk predicts an interplanetary future that few believe possible.
Elon has communicated on several occasions that the intention is to reach Mars in order to guarantee the continuity of the human race.
He estimated that the first self-sufficient city populated on Mars should be consolidating by 2050.
You want to wake up in the morning and think that the future will be great. This is what being a space civilization. It is about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can't think of anything more exciting than going out and being among the stars. Elon Musk
The name of this company is a play on words, since the term "boring" refers to "boredom" but also to "drilling".
Therefore, it is translated into Spanish as:
"La compañía aburrida", but also
"La compañía que hace túneles".
It is a company founded by Elon Musk at the end of 2017, dedicated to the construction of tunnels for transportation, safe cargo shipping and public services that base their viability on how fast they can be excavated and how cheap they can be.
According to Musk, the main purpose is to eradicate trafficking. Well, it would not matter how much the city grows, you can always build more levels.
Tweet that gave rise to The Boring Company
Already known for his outbursts of creativity that not only remain in words, Elon Musk surprises the world by mentioning on his Twitter account:
How tired he is from LA traffic.
And a proposed solution that sounds more crazy, but then seems to take serious.
Tweet after tweet Elon tells us about the problem, the solution and the first stone.
Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging...
It shall be called "The Boring Company"
Exciting progress on the tunnel front. Plan to start digging in a month or so.
This is how The Boring Company was born.
A company that has designed a solution for traffic, and that
has everything it takes to be the fastest and safest transportation system of all time.
Why tunnels and not flying cars?
There is another possibility, flying cars.
However, Elon opted for tunnels for the following reasons:
Development within reach: It has all the logistics and investment necessary for its development in the short term. The same does not happen with conventional systems or the development of flying cars.
Unlimited capacity: There is no set limit for the number of layers that can be built.
Minimal impact on the surface: The project has been designed in such a way that construction and operation do not generate perceptible noise or vibrations on the surface. It's also out of sight.
Weather resistant: Snow, rain, high or low temperatures are not an impediment.
Flexibility: The architecture on which the project has been raised is totally flexible. It can withstand from pedestrians to the largest and heaviest vehicle.
Scalability: For all the above, it is much more optimal to expand the underground system than to do it on the surface.
If you had to extrapolate it to cars, and have more tunnels for cars, then traffic congestion would be completely alleviated. You wouldn't need flying cars in that case, and it would never stop working, even in bad weather. It would not freeze or fall on your head. Elon Musk
Why hasn't it been tried before?
The answer is very simple:
Due to the high drilling costs for the construction of the tunnels, which amount to approximately between 100 and 1000 million per mile excavated.
Elon and his team have achieved what was not thought possible: reduce the cost by approximately 10%.
The Boring Company currently costs around $ 10 million per mile completed.
Many factors influence such resource savings, from project execution time to innovative excavation and construction techniques such as those listed below:
Surface Launch: Unlike conventional excavation methods, Elon launches the excavator from the surface without digging to submerge it. Similarly, it emerges to the surface without the need to drill a TBM recovery well.
Continuous mining technique: It involves the prefabrication of segments that will be assembled inside the tunnel. Such prefabrication avoids the TBM having to stop every meter and a half to ensure progress.
Without rails: For the transport of segments, trucks with rubber tires will be used instead of trains that demand costs in rail construction.
Electrical machinery: It could not be otherwise. Elon has ensured that all equipment used in the development of his project is based on electrical power, even the excavators. Which translates into savings, and at the same time guarantees a clean tunnel without polluting gases.
Characteristics standardization: In order not to reinvent the wheel, they have proposed to define standard characteristics for their tunnels. For example, the diameter of them. This allows them to use technology, equipment and processes on an ongoing basis without significantly affecting the project.
The Boring Company is now a reality.
First of all, I hope you already have a clear idea of ​​the future of transportation that Musk intends to implement.
In case it is not clear to you, I leave you the following video.
If an image says more than a thousand words, imagine what the following video says:
The Boring Company already has several projects in its short time of life.
Next I will tell you some of the projects that are underway:
1. Test tunnel in California: Project that cost 10 million dollars and is currently completed. It is used to develop tests of the proposed systems.
2. Las Vegas Convention Center: A goal was to build a fast and convenient system for convention and trade show attendees across campus. There is currently an approved contract and the project is under construction.
3. Dodger Stadium: Proposes to design a clean and efficient system that transports baseball and concert fans from 3 different cities directly to Dodger Stadium. The project is currently undergoing environmental review.
The short times of between 14 and 24 months for the implementation of its transport systems and the reduced costs, make the underground transport system proposed by The Boring Company as the best alternative to the traffic of the big cities.
We are sure that soon we will be able to travel between cities in just minutes.
In 2017 Elon Musk bought Neuralink:
Company dedicated to developing technology capable of establishing a connection between our brains and computers.
There has been a lot of speculation about what Neuralink does.
His plans were a mystery to everyone.
This new company was in silence, for approximately 2 years, since its purchase.
Expected presentation
After having us died of curiosity, in July 2019, Elon Musk spoke about it.
Elon mentioned the following in a press conference:
It will not be suddenly, but Neuralink will present an artificial neural cord that can take control of people's brains. Elon Musk
Has Elon Musk fallen into dementia?
Although it may seem so, it is not.
Currently there are studies that have been aimed at perfecting this technology for years. Studies that Elon and his team are now joining.
We are sure that Neuralink will not be one more of the bunch, as Elon has used us in his various endeavors.
Imagine being able to control any device just by thinking about it!
Your computer, refrigerator, washing machine, even your cell phone and achieve it instantly. And above all, within the reach of anyone.
That is the reason for being of Neuralink.
Elon has already openly laid out his plans for the future, and how he will achieve what he promised.
I invite you to listen to his presentation:
1st Project: Thought-controlled prostheses
One of the first studies in which Neuralink is focusing all its efforts is on developing an interface of threads, which will be connected to the brain and that if everything goes well, would be the basis on which a technology would be developed to control any type of prosthesis just with thought.
Two main components are distinguished in such a study:
On the one hand, the so-called Threads, which will be in charge of transporting the electrodes that will collect the information on brain activity.
And on the other hand the so-called sewing machine, which aims to weave these threads to the brain.
The combination of these two components aims to eliminate the negative aspects that have so far been found in similar studies:
Avoid blood vessels so as not to cause serious problems in case of inflammatory responses.
Avoid being invasive, as you are working on laser procedures.
It involves connecting electrodes to the brain through laser technology (minimally invasive).
And that the wires that will carry these electrodes have a terminal that can be placed behind the ear, as if it were a hearing aid.
This terminal will have a wireless connection, capable of connecting to any device that has the Neuralink application installed, and through which it will be possible to have control of said device. Fantastic!
If you want to read more about said study, I invite you to review the document by click here.
Is Elon Musk the leader of the resistance: John Connor?
Elon's main objective with this company is to make brain-machine technology available to everyone, which becomes as common as having a cell phone is today.
Musk assures that it is convenient to develop artificial intelligence in an integrated way with the human being, in order to have total control.
The evolution of machines with artificial intelligence in an external way represents a danger for humans, since in a short time they can exceed all our abilities.
In the same vein as John Connor in Terminator, Elon Musk aims to avoid a future where machines rule us. This is done through Neuralink.
4. Projects that sound crazy
Tesla Roadster in space
Considered one of the most extravagant marketing strategies in recent times.
In February 2018, through SpaceX, one of the first Tesla Roadsters was transported into space.
What must have been one of many tests that had been carried out, to design a reusable rocket that could make a trip to space, ended up becoming an event that would mark history.
The Falcon Heavy rocket took off successfully, transporting a Tesla Roadster car and putting it into orbit. Said car belonged to Elon Musk's personal collection.
Thanks to the cameras that were assembled in the car prior to its takeoff, the event was streamed and seen by millions of people around the world.
Although a duration of 12 hours was planned, the batteries were exhausted 4 hours after launch, time that was undoubtedly more than enough for the curiosity of the spectators.
Among the many peculiarities of the event, the Tesla driver, a mannequin dressed as an astronaut nicknamed Starman, stands out.
Launching a car into space and spinning it around the sun, following a trajectory between Mars and Earth, in addition to broadcasting it live, was undoubtedly an event that went down in history: as an amazing advertising strategy, in addition to having contributed to increasing space debris.
If you want to make sure that no alien or extraterrestrial has been the protagonist during the transmission, I leave you the following link, where you can see everything that happened during those 4 hours.
Tesla Cyber Truck: An electric van
In short, the Tesla Cyber ​​Truck, as a sum of all its qualities, is considered a light and electric vehicle, with much more functionality than a truck and with better performance than a sports car.
It was officially presented in December 2019, and remembered for what happened in its presentation:
When performing the hardness test and throwing a steel sphere towards the glass, it ended up cracking.
Later, Musk would explain what happened, confirming that it was a defect that they had not foreseen, but that they would solve immediately.
He would end up confirming it through his Twitter, where he published the tests that were carried out prior to the presentation. Demonstrating the good resistance of your vehicle and ending up driving what has been a success in sales so far.
Franz throws steel ball at Cybertruck window right before launch. Guess we have some improvements to make before production haha. pic.twitter.com/eB0o4tlPoz
Tesla Semi: An electric truck
Is it really as good as they say?
According to what Elon tells us: the Tesla Semi is the safest and most comfortable truck of all time.
In addition, it is the most efficient on the market, because through its 4 independent engines it provides us with maximum power and acceleration with a minimum cost of energy per mile.
That's not all:
The Tesla Semi is considered the vehicle with the shortest payback time, since in just 2 years it is possible to obtain an equivalent return on your purchase.
This is possible thanks to its incredible autonomy, since electrical energy costs represent a saving of 50% compared to diesel.
The Tesla Semi was presented in November 2017, with a cost ranging from 150 thousand to 180 thousand dollars.
It was estimated that the first deliveries will be made at the end of 2020. However, the effect that the Coronavirus has caused in companies around the world, has delayed delivery, which is expected for the first half of 2021. < / p>
As a reward for the delays, work has been done to improve what was stated in your presentation:
Musk says that his electric truck will be able to reach 960 km of autonomy in its most expensive version, and 480 kilometers in its standard version.
This improvement has led the Tesla Semi to be one of the best proposals in its field, since 80% of the truck routes in the world do not exceed 400 km.
Tesla's shorts
While this year 2020 has been difficult for the business world due to the COVID-19 situation, Tesla shares were not affected, and despite the predictions, they have increased in value.
Already characterized by his irreverent ideas, in July this year, Elon Musk celebrated his rise in the stock market through his company Tesla, launching shorts for sale through his Twitter for a price of $ 69,420 , which tended to the point of being exhausted in just 5 minutes, eventually collapsing the website.
Limited edition short shorts now available at https://t.co/5EmNcTBvJv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 5, 2020
Something curious is the printed on the back of the shorts: "S.3.X.Y".
This refers to Tesla Model S, Model 3, Model X and Model Y vehicles.
Rumor has it that the Tesla shorts were a commercial way of showing his detractors that he was better than ever, as many predicted a decline in stocks and wanted to profit from it.
Maybe it's just rumors.
What we can affirm, without fear of being wrong, is the great ability of this man to take advantage of situations, since he has obtained many thousands of dollars as a result of those shorts.
Flamethrower, facing a possible zombie apocalypse
Elon Musk, in addition to being a visionary entrepreneur and inventor, is also a marketing specialist, since he has been able to take advantage of his image in order to finance his projects.
Through The Boring Company, Elon released caps with the company's brand for $ 20. This with the promise that when they reached 50 thousand caps sold, they would put out some flamethrowers.
Upon reaching 15,000 caps sold and having accumulated $ 300,000 in sales, Elon couldn't help showing off and ended up posting it on Twitter.
This further boosted sales and ended up exceeding the proposed goal of 50 thousand caps.
The time had come to fulfill his promise:
This is how at the end of 2017, The Boring Company puts flamethrowers up for sale for $ 500, which he claimed not only can liven up any party, it is also useful in the event of a zombie apocalypse.
When the zombie apocalypse happens, you'll be glad you bought a flamethrower. Works against hordes of the undead or your money back!
Finally, the 20 thousand flamethrowers that Elon had available were sold, raising more than 10 million dollars in just 4 days.
We are sure that this money will be very well invested among its many projects, which aim to take vehicular traffic to the next level.
Hyperloop: Long distances in a few minutes
Hyperloop is a transportation system based on a capsule design that will travel at more than 1200 kilometers per hour, through vacuum tubes.
To understand a little the context in which this technology is being developed, you must understand that Hyperloop is not an exclusive project of a single company, as it has been developed by several companies that seek to obtain the best result.
Elon Musk's Hyperloop idea was presented in August 2013, defining his project as:
A mix of a Concorde, a railgun, and a table hockey game Elon Musk
Elon raises interesting technical proposals in his presentation, where he shows us a technical sheet, in which he describes details about how it should work and designs of the capsules.
If you want to review the document, you can access it through the following link:
Technical proposal: Hyperloop Alpha
An open hardware project
Elon Musk is not the only one developing the project:
Realizing how much remains to be done to make the Hyperloop a reality, and how committed he is to his other projects, he made his ideas, datasheet, and designs available to anyone in the capacity. improve and implement it.
Just as the concept of open source exists, Elon Musk makes Hyperloop an Open Hardware project, which means that anyone can make changes and improvements, and of course share their knowledge.
Through this, it seeks to create an ecosystem of initiatives that aim towards the same goal, and whose diversity of proposals helps to achieve a better product.
There are many companies that have already committed to the cause, taking up the initiative of Elon:
Virgin Hyperloop One, merger of 2 European companies that has already developed full-scale tests and intends to have 3 Hyperloops operational by 2021.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT), Group of more than 800 professionals who have established more than 40 international alliances. They plan to have their first active Hyperloop by the end of 2020.
TranspodCanadian company that so far does not have specific infrastructures, only designs and technical proposals. However they plan to travel 550 kilometers in just over 40 minutes.
ZelerosLike Transpod, their ideas are still on paper, however they have been awarded various awards such as "best design concept" and "best propulsion / compression subsystem", known as the Spanish alternative.
We can see below a recording of the tests made by some visionaries who have already started their way.
Hyperloop pod run by team WARR pic.twitter.com/ntaMsoxkZE
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 28, 2017
Tesla goes beyond just being an electric car salesman:
They are working on making available an entire ecosystem of autonomous energy solutions, based on solar energy.
Solar Roof is a project that is already available, and that is responsible for collecting solar energy, storing it and making it available to you at any time.
All this is possible thanks to some tiles that make solar panels, and that work in an integrated way with a battery that stores energy.
To ensure that your home generates its own energy infinitely, Solar Roof stores the excess energy generated during the day and makes it available to you, for when you need it, completely eliminating dependence on a power grid conventional electric.
Solar Roof depends on 2 components:
Solar tiles
They are 40% cheaper than conventional solar tiles, thanks to their innovative installation system.
Its most notable features are:
Durability: The solar tiles proposed by Tesla are designed to have a useful life of no less than 30 years.
Design: The tiles have been designed in such a way that they complement the architectural style of your home. In addition to having the solar cells practically invisible.
Powerwall battery
It is a lithium battery with a large capacity for storing solar energy.
Does not require maintenance.
It can be managed from an application so that you can manage the energy from your smartphone.
Quiet and maintenance-free: These batteries work almost noiselessly, so they won't be a nuisance.
Permanent updates: Thanks to its system, your Powerwall battery will get better and better, since it will always be connected to a wireless network, waiting for new software updates.
5. What have we learned?
As you may have noticed, the pursuit of your ideals is not an easy path.
If you think it's about working a few years and then resting, let me tell you, you can be wrong.
At a certain level, the higher you are, your needs increase and you become aware of the limitations of the human being:
You realize that you can have it all, and that this is not enough, since you will not have enough years to achieve everything you have set out to do.
If there is something that the rich fear, it is time: a situation that they are trying to reverse through investment in different projects that seek to extend human life.
To understand how you can "have it all" and still not be satisfied, let's review one of the peculiarities of human beings: their unlimited needs.
Below you can see the classification of human needs according to Maslow.
Please try to place yourself on some step and then try to place Elon Musk:
5 Self-realisation needs Achieving goals, solving problems, creativity, global vision, problem solving, lack of prejudice.
4º Recognition needs Self-esteem, recognition, prestige, respect and achievements.
3º Membership or membership needs Friendships, partner, family relationships, group membership.
2º Security needs Physical security, employment, resources, health.
1º Basic needs Breathing, food, sex, rest.
The higher you have positioned yourself, your ambition may increase.
In the case of Elon Musk:
You have covered all your needs, reaching the top of the pyramid,
and yet it never ceases to amaze us, working between 120 and 140 hours per week,
in a continuous search for improvement.
Don't be discouraged if you're still starting out:
Many of the greatest success references began with just the desire to do things, persistence and intelligence.
I am convinced that perseverance is the secret to success!
Many give up on the way, either due to prejudice or failure, and very few manage to achieve their life goals.
Although an extraordinary IQ is not essential, it is the perfect complement to that overwhelming and unyielding attitude that you possess.
You don't have to be a genius, but moderate reasoning skills make things easier.
Warren Buffett attributes success to being associated with an IQ greater than 130. But you don't have to be a genius. Rationality and emotional stability are more important, since intelligence is synonymous with adaptability, sustaining itself over time, surviving, and not waiting for major crises to make a change. Interpretation of Warren Buffett's words
I am sure that:
We are much more capable than we think, and
in most cases we haven't even bothered to find out.
Would you like to measure your capabilities globally? Today it is something you can achieve from the comfort of your home.
If so, take the following test and get a very good approximation of your IQ.
Remember that your results may vary, depending on your emotional state, and the context in which you take the test. So try to place yourself in a quiet place without interruptions.
🚀 The future is now!
Take test Assess your IQ in no time! International IQ Test.
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