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  • July 15, 2022
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

Does Elon Musk Have a Strategy?

By: Andy Wu and Goran Calic
  • Format:Electronic
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Abstract

Does Elon Musk have a strategy? Or is he just out there winging it? Looking at Musk’s many companies, common themes stand out across three areas: what fits into his vision for problems to solve, how he designs an organization as a solution to those problems, and why he can so effectively mobilize resources towards those solutions. Musk seeks problems that require navigating scale and overcoming complexity. Organizationally, he favors vertical integration and closed systems. To finance his projects, he’s able to marshal tremendous resources because he has large personal stakes in his companies and is able to stir public and investor emotions, even if the logic of how a given business will succeed may not be clear.

Keywords

Technology; Strategy; Vision; Resources; Organization; Platform; Closed Systems; Leadership; Complexity; Organizational Design; Vertical Integration; Problems and Challenges; Success; Auto Industry; Aerospace Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Energy Industry

Citation

Wu, Andy, and Goran Calic. "Does Elon Musk Have a Strategy?" Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (July 15, 2022).
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About The Author

Andy Wu

Strategy
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