WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:00.760 Anty with design. 2 00:00:01.280 --> 00:00:03.080 You know, as you think about the big problems in 3 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:06.400 the world that you were addressing, do you start with 4 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:09.080 a particular product in mind, like there could be this 5 00:00:09.160 --> 00:00:12.039 model s there could be this Falcon nine, and then 6 00:00:12.119 --> 00:00:13.800 think how do I get there? Or do you start 7 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:15.880 with saying there's something broken in the world, and I'm 8 00:00:15.919 --> 00:00:17.359 gonna fix it, and I'm going to commit to do it, 9 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:18.480 even if I don't know how I get there. 10 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:22.079 Sure, So let's see, is that on? 11 00:00:22.280 --> 00:00:25.839 Yeah, it seems to be good in a case of 12 00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:28.679 Tesla's SpaceX and Solar City and actually will. 13 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:31.079 So the PayPal and the before that. 14 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:34.119 It really stemmed from when I was in college and 15 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:36.759 just trying to think what would most affect the future 16 00:00:37.240 --> 00:00:40.840 in a in a very likely to be a positive way, 17 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:45.280 So that the three areas where I was quite sure 18 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:49.920 it would be positive were sustainable energy, Internet, and making 19 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:53.880 life multiplanetary. And then there were a couple other areas 20 00:00:53.880 --> 00:00:58.759 where maybe a question mark like AI and writing, genetics 21 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:03.880 and lesson, yeah, rewriting, rewriting next just. 22 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:08.760 Three and four might come, you. 23 00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:12.599 Know, potentially negative consequences, hopefully positive. 24 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:16.480 But so it could go wrong, like the top three 25 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:18.439 and a couple of contenders or were they all kind 26 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:21.400 of jumbling around. 27 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:22.920 Waiting for you know, if you look, if you look 28 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:26.280 at and say, what's what's really going to have an 29 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:29.000 important effect on the future of humanity? 30 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:30.719 As all those are the five. 31 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:34.280 Areas that that I could come up with standing in 32 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:35.840 the shower basically, you know. 33 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.200 So there's this moment of epiphany that that you held 34 00:01:39.239 --> 00:01:41.439 for a while because you didn't pursue those right away. 35 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:43.719 Right these were this sort of early vision that you 36 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:47.599 then got opportunities to execute on. Yeah, so when you 37 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:49.879 maybe if we pick an example like Tesla going towards 38 00:01:49.920 --> 00:01:53.200 the models or SpaceX going towards the Falcon nine, do 39 00:01:53.319 --> 00:01:57.400 you commit the team, yourself, your resources to that endeavor 40 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:00.280 you know, now a little farther along when you the 41 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:03.599 end point in mind, or just let's say the cost 42 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:06.120 of goods analysis for the rocket or the gosh EV 43 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:06.920 should be better. 44 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:07.959 Than internal combustion engines. 45 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:12.560 Just in general, I'll commit, I'll believe that should be done. 46 00:02:12.800 --> 00:02:13.439 Yeah, I didn't. 47 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:16.000 I mean I didn't really get into any of this 48 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:19.439 with the expectation of success. 49 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:25.039 Or at least Yeah, I started out with. 50 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:27.680 Thinking, okay, when I do something in the electric vehicle space, 51 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:29.960 and that's why I originally came to Standford was to 52 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:35.560 work on advanced energy storage technologies and particular aultric capastors. 53 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:39.319 So that was continuing on research that I'd done as 54 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:42.960 an intern in Silicon Valley and summer prior. So that's 55 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:45.479 why I originally came out in ninety five. And then 56 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:48.280 during that summer I wrote some Internet software and I thought, Okay, 57 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:52.960 I can either work on electric vehicle technology or or 58 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:58.280 I could sort of work on Internet stuff, try to 59 00:02:58.280 --> 00:02:59.520 try to do something with the Internet. I thought the 60 00:02:59.520 --> 00:03:02.719 Internet would something that would dramatically affect the future of humanity, 61 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:08.919 be like like acquiring a nervous system. And whereas previously 62 00:03:09.400 --> 00:03:12.879 communication would have to occur almost by osmosis from one 63 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:15.639 person to another slowly through telephone or mail or something 64 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:16.000 like that. 65 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:17.240 But now. 66 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:20.960 If you have a nervous system, any part of the 67 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:25.319 human collective note can know about any other part instantly, 68 00:03:26.840 --> 00:03:30.319 and you're previously you'd have to be at the Library 69 00:03:30.319 --> 00:03:32.759 of Congress, even to have the Library of Congress as 70 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:38.000 sort of information. But with everything digitized and access anywhere, 71 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:39.879 you could be in a jungle in South America and 72 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:42.919 if you had just an Internet link somehow you could, 73 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:45.400 you'd have access to all of humanity's information. So it 74 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:51.000 would actually effectively create a super organism and fundamentally change 75 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:52.840 the nature of humanity itself. 76 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:54.439 So I was kind of I just wanted to be 77 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:54.680 kind of. 78 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:57.280 Part of that is that the path AI that you 79 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:00.599 might see, it's it's actually not exactly AI. 80 00:04:00.919 --> 00:04:07.599 It's some sort of human machine collective intelligence, so different 81 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:09.680 different from AI, although AI may not turn out to 82 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:12.439 be exactly what hopefully not, it's not exactly what's, you know, 83 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:14.120 like describing a terminator or something. 84 00:04:14.599 --> 00:04:17.079 Now a quick pause for those that haven't been the 85 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:19.160 SpaceX the data center has got to be the coolest 86 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:19.839 thing they've ever seen. 87 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:22.040 It's you know, Skynet on the door, cyber nine. 88 00:04:21.879 --> 00:04:24.800 Systems branding, and a little bad asset of lights coming 89 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:25.920 from a winking server. 90 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:27.279 So you don't own it exactly. 91 00:04:27.399 --> 00:04:31.000 Our FAA and CFD cluster is called Cyberdigne Systems. 92 00:04:32.839 --> 00:04:36.199 We'll get back to influences, uh later on, but I'm 93 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:38.040 gonna try to see if I understand what you were 94 00:04:38.040 --> 00:04:40.800 saying about this. This You see the long arc of 95 00:04:41.079 --> 00:04:43.560 and what's important to humanity, not little problems but huge 96 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:44.560 problems that could be solved. 97 00:04:45.279 --> 00:04:46.000 A lot of us go. 98 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:47.800 Around and we see something frustrating, like traffic on the 99 00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:49.759 four or five, we just take it as well, crap, 100 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:50.480 government screwed. 101 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:52.279 You know what, we need to do it? Right? You 102 00:04:52.360 --> 00:04:54.639 have this incredible sort of. 103 00:04:54.639 --> 00:04:59.480 Scope of ambition, right, planetary scope, interplanetary scope. Right, a 104 00:04:59.480 --> 00:05:01.399 little more than changing the world, let's change in other 105 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:03.439 worlds too, right, And this is big stuff. 106 00:05:04.319 --> 00:05:05.439 Is that always in your mind? 107 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:08.240 Or that did you become more emboldened over time that 108 00:05:08.279 --> 00:05:09.920 this is available. 109 00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:10.399 We can do these things. 110 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:12.480 It definitely emboldened over time. 111 00:05:12.680 --> 00:05:16.199 I mean at the you know, when I started the 112 00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:20.639 first Internet companies up Too with my brother and another person, 113 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.920 a great Curry. The it wasn't really with the thought 114 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:31.879 of being wealthy. You know, I've got nothing against being wealthy, but. 115 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:31.040 We'll get better to that. 116 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:34.399 But it's just it was just from the standpoint of 117 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:38.199 wanting to be part of the Internet, and I figured 118 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:40.360 if we could make enough money to. 119 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:41.600 Just get by, I would be They'll be okay. 120 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:46.680 And when we started off, we literally only had like 121 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:48.839 one computer, and so it would be our web server 122 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:51.639 during the day and I'd code at night and We 123 00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:57.639 just got a small office in Palo Alta back when 124 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:03.079 rent was not insane, and it cost us like four 125 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:05.560 and fifty dollars a month. It was cheaper than an apartment. 126 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:08.000 So we actually just slept in the office and then 127 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:10.639 and then share at the YMCA on Page mell al Camino. 128 00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:14.480 So we'd walk her over there and shire and and. 129 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:14.800 That was. 130 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:19.199 Actually I think that was when we first I first 131 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:22.639 met you, by the way, and so I don't know 132 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:23.439 how many people. 133 00:06:23.519 --> 00:06:24.199 Probably not many. 134 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:28.480 People knows, but we actually pitched Steve in like January 135 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:33.240 ninety six on the ZIP two business plan, and actually 136 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:37.120 I thought she was actually one of the most up 137 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:40.120 to speed on on what actually was in our business plan. 138 00:06:40.199 --> 00:06:42.040 Most most of the people we met did not actually 139 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:44.879 read our business plan. In fact, a lot of people, 140 00:06:45.079 --> 00:06:46.560 a lot of bench capitals who met at the time 141 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:49.800 didn't even know what the internet was. They've never used 142 00:06:49.800 --> 00:06:54.639 They've never used I still do, yeah, right, yeah, something 143 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:56.680 like you know, sort of well known people in Sant Hill. 144 00:06:56.680 --> 00:06:59.639 It was like, wow, okay, but but at the time, 145 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.120 nobody made any money on the internet, so I guess 146 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:06.399 that's you know, then it wasn't really clear evidence that 147 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:06.839 that there. 148 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:12.600 Was was a business and yeah, those were fun times. 149 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:15.759 I remember Kimball and you coming in right, very young 150 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:19.319 looking guys. I think I was in my first four 151 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:20.000 months on the job too. 152 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:21.079 Yeah, yeaheah exactly. 153 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:26.879 So let's excuse for a sec I've I've also had 154 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:30.199 the great honor to work with Steve Jobs briefly but enough, 155 00:07:30.279 --> 00:07:32.560 and as a business school student to study him with 156 00:07:32.600 --> 00:07:34.319 as much scrutiny as I could during that period. 157 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.600 And there's some obvious parallels, and so let's start with 158 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:41.480 the most obvious, but just must be like the elephant 159 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:41.839 in the room. 160 00:07:41.879 --> 00:07:43.040 Is the secret to your. 161 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:45.040 Success to be the CEO of two companies at the 162 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:45.439 same time. 163 00:07:46.439 --> 00:07:50.279 Oh, I think it's just look at the correlation. Yeah, 164 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:51.439 struggling companies. 165 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:53.720 Everything's in the craft can in December two thousand and eight, 166 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:55.240 So let's take on a new CEO gig. 167 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:56.560 Yeah, and same for Steve. 168 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:59.000 Coming back to No, definitely, it was not my intention 169 00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:03.360 to BECO of two companies the after. 170 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:06.639 I mean, there's certain things that I kind of wanted to. 171 00:08:07.079 --> 00:08:08.800 I thought it were important to happen, and I thought 172 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:13.040 it was important that that there was that that electric 173 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:15.839 vehicle happened, that there was a success in the electric 174 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:21.560 vehicle arena because the the incumbent companies were convinced that 175 00:08:21.600 --> 00:08:24.839 it was not possible to create an electric car that 176 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.759 looked good, had range, a good range performance, and so forth, 177 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:31.120 and that even if you did make such a car, 178 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:34.919 it would not sell that Chris, people had this love 179 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:36.720 of gasoline, and. 180 00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:38.720 So we had to. 181 00:08:38.679 --> 00:08:42.480 Show that it was possible to create a compelling electric car, 182 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:45.120 long range, good looking, you know all those things. 183 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:47.039 That was a test the roads to and don't. 184 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:49.039 If you created if if you made such a thing, 185 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:54.080 people would buy it. And so so that that's that's 186 00:08:54.120 --> 00:08:56.480 what we would try to do with with with this. 187 00:08:56.840 --> 00:08:57.919 If I should say. 188 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.519 Like one mind sort of correction on the on introduction, 189 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:04.080 I'm not a co founder of solar City, but I'm 190 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:05.039 a co founder of Tesla. 191 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:07.639 That's okay, that's a good point. 192 00:09:07.679 --> 00:09:11.200 So and probably architectures, yeah, many of its key features. 193 00:09:11.480 --> 00:09:14.120 So very much like jobs, both a hand in some 194 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:16.080 of the detail as well as the long arc of 195 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:18.799 what's important for the company. 196 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:20.080 The quipto about being co. 197 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:22.440 CEOs is more than just a joke in that I 198 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:24.799 wonder if in ways that are hard to predict, and 199 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:27.440 you wouldn't set out for this amount of work. It 200 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:31.360 seems insane, but inevitably, both companies cannot expect more than 201 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:32.960 half your time at most. 202 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:35.639 It sort of naturally forces a. 203 00:09:35.919 --> 00:09:38.639 Delegation upon you and an expectation they have to rise 204 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:41.720 up for partial awareness at best, right, And I just 205 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:44.559 wonder if that helps drive prioritization and really focusing on 206 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:47.080 what's important a bit more than you otherwise might have to. 207 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:49.799 It probably does, Yeah, I think I probably do. 208 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.799 Yeah, I mean, because I have to triage the things 209 00:09:52.840 --> 00:09:56.320 that I do at each company and constantly think about 210 00:09:56.399 --> 00:09:58.519 what is the most useful thing that I could that 211 00:09:58.559 --> 00:09:59.000 I could do. 212 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:03.279 But even with that, it's it's still actually just take 213 00:10:03.320 --> 00:10:04.440 it an almost amount of time. 214 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:07.159 And for a while I was just doing constant one 215 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:12.919 hundred hour weeks and that's that's definitely wearing. And you know, 216 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:15.919 now I'm kind of in the eighty to ninety, which 217 00:10:15.960 --> 00:10:19.919 is well manageable, but you know that if you divide 218 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:22.320 that by too, it's only like, you know, maybe forty 219 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:25.519 five hours for a company, which is not not much 220 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:27.480 if you're there's a lot of things going on like 221 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:27.919 a slacker. 222 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:32.840 I mean, yeah, so you. 223 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:37.279 Know, it is interesting also how you have a love 224 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:38.440 for certain aspects of the product. 225 00:10:38.480 --> 00:10:39.639 So it's SpaceX you. 226 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:41.639 You know, the whole concept and the vision of going 227 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:44.600 to Mars back into features and stuff. It's it's a 228 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:47.840 wonderful thing to see. I think what obviously should strike 229 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:51.000 folks in the room as remarkable as the diversity of 230 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:54.240 industries that you've tackled, right from commercial banking to the 231 00:10:54.279 --> 00:10:57.559 military industrial complex to the automotive industry. These are heavily 232 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:01.879 regulated industries the generally investors flee from and startups routinely failing, 233 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:04.399 and they haven't seen much change for good reason over decades. 234 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.679 So there might not be an obvious pattern in which 235 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:11.120 industry you tend to thrive in. But I wonder if 236 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:14.039 there's a pattern perhaps in process, like do you approach 237 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:16.200 each of these perhaps the way a software architect might 238 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:18.679 to think of a different way to bring innovation, a 239 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:23.200 different way to reset, you know, for first principles, perhaps 240 00:11:23.200 --> 00:11:26.600 instead of iterating from the past a breakthrough. And is 241 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:29.720 there reason you end up in these otherwise really tough industries. 242 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:32.080 I mean, I don't know if that's ever occurred to 243 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:33.720 you that you don't even in Solo City going up 244 00:11:33.720 --> 00:11:36.559 against the regulated autilities. None of these are places that 245 00:11:36.559 --> 00:11:39.000 you would normally find entrepreneurs. 246 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:42.440 Yeah, like I said, it was not from the standpoint 247 00:11:42.480 --> 00:11:44.399 of like what's the best risk adjustin rate or return 248 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:48.200 or you know, where I think it thinks could be successful. 249 00:11:48.200 --> 00:11:50.039 It's just like I think these things need to happen, 250 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:54.720 to try to make them happen, And certainly when we 251 00:11:54.799 --> 00:12:00.000 started SpaceX or Tesla, I thought the probably of success 252 00:12:00.120 --> 00:12:03.360 was less than fifty percent, you know, probably a fair 253 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:04.480 bit less than fifty percent. 254 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:05.440 In the case of Solar. 255 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:09.480 City, I thought the probably to success was probably greater 256 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:11.919 than fifty percent, But it wasn't clear what the magnitude 257 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:12.679 of success would be. 258 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:14.320 You know, it could just be small. 259 00:12:15.559 --> 00:12:19.679 And yeah, but it was I just thought these were 260 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:22.600 things that needed to get done, and even if the 261 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:25.360 money's lost, okay, it's still worth trying. 262 00:12:26.120 --> 00:12:29.279 See conviction, But it didn't mean certainty. 263 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:32.679 Right, you knew that all vehicles would be electric in 264 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:33.360 your heart, but. 265 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:36.440 Ultimately also, I mean, I think the sort of fundamental 266 00:12:36.480 --> 00:12:42.480 good that Tesla can accomplish is acceleration of the inevitable, 267 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:46.080 which is electric transportation. But I thinks there's a lot 268 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:50.360 of value to accelerating, even though I think it's somewhat inevitable. 269 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:52.960 It's about this value to accelerating it to. 270 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:56.519 Minimize the that the environmental and economic damage. 271 00:12:56.240 --> 00:12:57.360 That would otherwise occur. 272 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:03.120 So you know, it's better if we transition sustainable transport 273 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:07.360 ten years or maybe twenty years sooner than might otherwise 274 00:13:07.399 --> 00:13:11.200 be the case. And I think the Tesla's effect has 275 00:13:11.240 --> 00:13:13.720 been much greater than the cars that made that It's 276 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:18.799 made internally because when we announced the Tesla Roadster, then 277 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:22.120 Bob Lutz, who was fish shamed GM at the time, 278 00:13:22.919 --> 00:13:25.200 saw our pressure release and said, if a small company 279 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.519 in California can do it, than circ and jam and 280 00:13:27.559 --> 00:13:29.159 he took it to his engineers who told him that 281 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:31.480 you could build an electric car and told them that 282 00:13:31.480 --> 00:13:33.759 they need to get going. That's what got the volt rolling, 283 00:13:34.440 --> 00:13:37.559 and that in turn got nisigned to do the Leaf 284 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:41.320 and so it's kind of got the got things going, 285 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:46.000 and ultimately it's like it's what we induce other companies 286 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:47.559 to do that will have a greater impact than the 287 00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:48.799 cars we make ourselves. 288 00:13:49.039 --> 00:13:50.799 And it's an interesting point. I'm going to come back 289 00:13:50.840 --> 00:13:51.200 to you later. 290 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:54.600 This idea that Tesla's founding mission is as Elon has 291 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:58.559 articulated from the very beginning through the most recent reports 292 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:01.159 to the public, is to cat is an industry shift 293 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:03.320 that test level be is some part of. But to 294 00:14:03.519 --> 00:14:05.960 help others in that shift as well, which is remarkable. 295 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:10.440 So we supply pow trains to Toyota and to Mercedes. 296 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:12.639 To help what could be viewed as your biggest competitors 297 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:16.919 one day, you know, absolutely in fact accelerate that. Before 298 00:14:16.919 --> 00:14:18.840 we get to that sort of purpose driven mission, I 299 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:20.679 do want to ask one or at least maybe make 300 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:23.000 sure the audience realizes how cool this car is, and 301 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:25.480 so the eland doesn't have to do this in case 302 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:27.200 you haven't been as much of a fan as the 303 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:31.320 two of us, it's a bit unprecedented the reviews it's received, 304 00:14:32.120 --> 00:14:34.600 consumer reports saying it's the best car they've ever tested, 305 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:37.519 road in tracks saying it's the most important car in 306 00:14:37.519 --> 00:14:41.600 America's history, the safety testing showing is the most safe 307 00:14:41.639 --> 00:14:47.039 car ever manufactured by far, including Vans and Issuvies. And 308 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:51.279 so it's pretty remarkable to peg performance, desirability, safety and 309 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:54.879 all these parameters. So is it luck or is there 310 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:57.879 something particularly unique about the EV design space that let 311 00:14:57.919 --> 00:14:59.600 it be possible to build the best car. 312 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:03.200 Well, I think, you know, let does play some role here, 313 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:05.679 but I think we I think electric pickles have a 314 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:09.679 fundamental architectural advantage if one designs an electric vehicle from 315 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:11.919 the ground up and takes advantage. 316 00:15:11.600 --> 00:15:12.840 Of of what's possible. 317 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:15.519 Like if you just were to convert a gasoline car, 318 00:15:15.559 --> 00:15:19.399 you would not you would not achieve these advantages. But 319 00:15:19.559 --> 00:15:23.279 if it's probably done, you can actually package the battery 320 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:26.320 pack in the full pan and achieve a low center 321 00:15:26.360 --> 00:15:31.559 of mass and have a very compact motor and a verter. 322 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.440 And gearbox, so that that the actually usable space. 323 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:38.519 In the car is significantly greater than a gasoline car 324 00:15:38.919 --> 00:15:41.799 of the same over external excelled dimensions. 325 00:15:42.960 --> 00:15:45.840 And then if you do a few. 326 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:48.799 Other things which one's necessarily specifically related to an electric car, 327 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:52.840 like using an aluminum body in chassis is helpful because 328 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:55.679 you can absorb more energy per unit mass. 329 00:15:55.759 --> 00:15:58.799 Essentially in a crash, it crupples. 330 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:02.919 Yeah, well so that yeah, but part of it's related 331 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:05.159 to electric vehicle architecture, and part of it is related 332 00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:07.759 to other technical decisions that were made in the design 333 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:10.200 of the model ass and. 334 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:14.519 So yeah, that's that's what leads to sort. 335 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:19.120 Of having a high safety is I mean, I don't 336 00:16:19.120 --> 00:16:20.759 want to sort of go into too much stakes because 337 00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:22.000 it might take up too much time. 338 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:25.399 But like, did you know some of those things at 339 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:28.120 the get go or did they unveil themselves as you 340 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:33.000 went along. I'm just curious how the vision materializes, for example, 341 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:35.320 like along either the product dimensions, like it will have 342 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:38.480 all these great features like like at the get go 343 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.600 that the ald gel And then secondly, I'm also curious when. 344 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:43.919 Did you first know that all vehicles would be electric? 345 00:16:44.240 --> 00:16:44.879 Like was that. 346 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:51.639 Probably twenty two years ago something like that. 347 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:52.679 Before he met Tesla. 348 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:56.919 Before, way before there was before there's a way for 349 00:16:57.039 --> 00:16:59.840 those Tesla. Oh yeah, well, like I said it, you 350 00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:03.000 know when I originally came out when I I mean 351 00:17:03.039 --> 00:17:07.519 when I was studying physics pen That's probably when I 352 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:09.400 thought it was the case. And maybe you know, sooner 353 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:12.680 than that, probably when I was in my sophomore year. 354 00:17:13.400 --> 00:17:14.920 Did you have certainty in your heart? 355 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:17.079 Yeah? Absolutely, it's super obvious. 356 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:19.680 Yes, yes, now yes now it is. 357 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:21.480 There are something that was super obvious then. 358 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:23.440 But that this is a bless in my mind because 359 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:25.960 even like three years ago, most people probably didn't agree 360 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:27.359 with this point of view. And if I could be 361 00:17:27.400 --> 00:17:29.640 confident of any prediction I could make, it's that within 362 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:32.160 ten years old, people will be of this point of view, 363 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:34.559 but we won't have made the transition yet, but we'll 364 00:17:34.599 --> 00:17:37.920 realize that it's a ridiculous debate to be having. You 365 00:17:38.000 --> 00:17:40.359 were a lone voice of sorts back then, probably amongst 366 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:42.960 your cohort and friends and you know social. 367 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:46.920 Yes, actually I used to talk to like dates about 368 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:47.680 electric cars. 369 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:55.160 How I go. It wasn't it wasn't helpful. It better. 370 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:58.640 Yeah, So, actually I ran into a girl I did 371 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:01.880 briefly in Canada, Christy Nicholson. She's now at like a 372 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:05.200 writer for Scientific American, and she mentioned, Yeah, when we 373 00:18:05.240 --> 00:18:07.160 were on a date, I asked her, do you ever 374 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:10.200 think about electric cars? And she said, no, I don't. 375 00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:18.200 So yeah, a while back, it's pretty I mean, almost 376 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:21.319 everything's electric that we have in our daily lives here. 377 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:23.680 It was from the physics of it, Yeah, the heat 378 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:27.480 loss of an eternal combustion engine just yeah, pretty amazing, 379 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:30.279 pretty amazing. So I'm gonna I want to share a 380 00:18:30.279 --> 00:18:32.640 little story that leads to a question along a different angle. 381 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:35.240 I don't think you've heard this before, so, but I 382 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:37.400 find it fascinating. I was at a lunch at a 383 00:18:37.400 --> 00:18:41.079 Google event, and out of the blue, with no expectation 384 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:42.839 this would be a topic, Larry Page turned to me, 385 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:45.240 knowing a little bit about our connection, said. 386 00:18:45.079 --> 00:18:47.960 You know, how much money do I have? 387 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:49.839 And you mentioned a number. I thought that was cute 388 00:18:50.279 --> 00:18:52.640 that he was trying to recall that. He goes, you know, 389 00:18:52.680 --> 00:18:54.400 if I were to get hit by a bus today, 390 00:18:55.319 --> 00:18:56.920 I should leave all of it to Elon Musk. 391 00:18:57.079 --> 00:18:58.160 Really, yeah, he said that. 392 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:03.920 Yeah, And and so I'm like paper pen. 393 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:08.920 Yes, so he likes, he likes singers, he likes. 394 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:10.640 He's like a good friend of mine. 395 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:13.559 So he was so context is important, you know. 396 00:19:13.720 --> 00:19:17.759 I mean I met Larry before he got venture funding. Yeah, 397 00:19:18.079 --> 00:19:18.599 so that's. 398 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:19.160 That's like. 399 00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:22.400 Yeah, yeah, wow. 400 00:19:22.640 --> 00:19:26.720 Well he's a remarkable guy, obviously also underachiever, and you know, 401 00:19:26.759 --> 00:19:29.079