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Could Elon Musk Be the Next Steve Jobs, and Tesla Motors the Next Apple?

 

It’s the performance that won us over. The crazy speed builds silently and then pulls back the edges of your face. It had all of us endangering our licenses.

—— 2013 Automobile of the Year (Automobile Magazine)

 

林明金导读：特斯拉（Tesla）电动汽车受到了众多明星大腕和投资者的追捧，而其生产商、被媒体称作汽车业“苹果”的特斯拉公司，带着硅谷的基因，以入侵者的姿态颠覆了传统汽车制造业，时尚的外形，媲美豪华跑车的性能，带给人们全新的驾驶理念。而该电动车创始人艾龙·穆思科（Elon Musk），也被外界誉为汽车界的“乔布斯”。

You’ve probably heard of Tesla, the company behind the first commercially successful all electric car, the Roadster. They have two other models in the pipeline: Model S, and Model X. You’ve probably used Paypal at some point of time in the last few years. If you read news, you may have heard of SpaceX, which was awarded a $1.6 billion NASA contract for 12 flights to the International Space Station.

But you may not know the man behind all these companies: Elon Musk. Elon Musk has been an entrepreneur since an early age. At 12 he sold his first commercial software for about $500, a space game called Blastar. At 28, he sold Zip2 to AltaVsita for US$307 million in cash and US$34 million in stock options. The same year eBay bought PayPal. Musk was PayPal’s largest shareholder with an 11.7% stake.

By now you get the idea. Elon Musk is a serial entrepreneur（接二连三创立新公司的企业家）, who has proved time and again that he is good at both dreaming a vision, and executing against it. He is someone who is as involved in the finest details, as he is putting together the big strategy. But this is not why I think he is the next Steve Jobs. It is because he shares some other characteristics that make these two men unique. Both men were/are passionate about what they chose to do in life. Neither did it because of the money. They did it because they believe in bringing change to an industry that had stopped innovating.

Steve Jobs was behind the first commercially successful personal computer (Apple II). Later, he disrupted portable music players with the iPod, smartphones with the iPhone, and tablets with the iPad. With each of these innovations he went against a strong incumbent and won. Apple II weakened IBM’s monopoly. iPod not only relagated Sony (walkman) to the sidelines but developed an entirely new business model for the music industry. iPhone annihilated Windows Mobile, Nokia, Motorola, and RIM. iPad is the first true tablet and it taught Microsoft and partners how a tablet is made. And let’s not forget Pixar, the company produced box-office（受欢迎的）hits like A Bug’s Life, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Cars.

Similarly, Elon Musk has disrupted online publishing with Zip 2, payments processing with PayPal, Space exploration with SpaceX, and the automotive industry with Tesla Motors. Tesla Motors has already done in a few years what incumbents (BMW, Daimler Benz, Toyota, Honda, GM, Ford) haven’t been able to do in decades. And like Steve Jobs he believes in end to end control. Tesla Motors is developing everything for the car on it’s own - technology, parts, and even the apps for the 17” dashboard（仪表盘）. Like Steve Jobs he believes in delivering the best possible customer experience. Like Steve Jobs, he is not afraid of fighting strong but complacent incumbents. Like Steve Jobs he believes in making the world a better place by using technology as the key enabler（促成者、推动者）.

Being successful is not about becoming rich. Being successful is about bringing change for the better. It is about strongly believing in the course you’ve charted for yourself, and then relentlessly executing to achieve your goal. It is about falling down, learning, adjusting the path, but staying focused on the end goal. Will Tesla Motor have a smooth ride? Probably not. But do Elon Musk and Tesla Motors have it in them to stay the course, resolve any problems that come along the way, and deliver on the vision they have established? Absolutely.

 

热词解析Hot Words

NASA ['næsə] abbr. 美国国家航空和宇宙航行局NASA is the American government organization concerned with spacecraft and space travel. NASA is an abbreviation for 'National Aeronautics and Space Administration'.  

passionate [ˈpæʃənət] adj.  热情的；狂热的 A passionate person has very strong feelings about something or a strong belief in something.  

disrupt [dɪs'rʌpt] vt.  使中断;扰乱 If someone or something disrupts an event, system, or process, they cause difficulties that prevent it from continuing or operating in a normal way.

incumbent [ɪn'kʌmbənt] n. 在职者;现任者 An incumbent is someone who holds an official post at a particular time.

relegate ['relɪgeɪt] v. 使降级；使降职If you relegate someone or something to a less important position, you give them this position.

annihilate [ə'naɪəleɪt]vt. 毁灭；彻底击败，大胜 If you annihilate someone in a contest or argument, you totally defeat them.

complacent [kəmˈpleɪsnt] adj. 自鸣得意的；满不在乎的 A complacent person is very pleased with themselves or feels that they do not need to do anything about a situation, even though the situation may be uncertain or dangerous.

 

文化透视Cultural Notes

Tesla 美国的著名纯电动车制造商。这家厂商曾采用路特斯Elise的底盘制造出Tesla Roadster，并且一经问世就成为全球最快的量产电动跑车，其0-100km/h加速仅需3.7秒，并且具有超过300km的惊人续航里程，远超其它纯电动车。Tesla designs and manufactures electric vehicles including the Roadster, Model S, and Model X. Tesla's goal is to produce increasingly affordable electric cars to mainstream buyers.

 

PayPal 就是我们通常说的“PayPal贝宝国际”，是目前全球最大的网上支付公司。PayPal是eBay旗下的一家公司，致力于让个人或企业通过电子邮件，安全、简单、便捷地实现在线付款和收款。PayPal is a global leader in online payment, available in 190 countries and regions, and over 20 currencies. PayPal is the most-loved online payment solution for cross-border business for Chinese users.

 

SpaceX  太空探索技术公司是一家由PayPal早期投资人Elon Musk建立的美国太空运输公司。它开发了可部分重复使用猎鹰1号和猎鹰9号运载火箭。SpaceX同时开发Dragon系列的航天器以通过猎鹰9号发射到轨道。SpaceX主要设计、测试和制造内部的部件，如Merlin、Kestrel和Draco火箭发动机。SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology.

 

RIM 加拿大RIM公司是黑莓手机的制造商。成立于1984年，曾为通用汽车做联网的红外LED显示板。2013年1月，RIM与BlackBerry（黑莓）品牌合并。BlackBerry Limited, formerly known as Research In Motion Limited (RIM), is a Canadian telecommunication and wireless equipment company best known as the developer of the BlackBerry brand of smartphones and tablets.

 

Pixar Animation Sudios 皮克斯动画工厂，1986年史蒂夫·乔布斯收购了乔治·卢卡斯的电脑动画部，成立了皮克斯动画工作室。皮克斯的技术一直领先于业界，其自行开发的 RenderMan 在许多电影中出尽了风头。2006年，皮克斯被迪士尼收购，成为子公司的一员。皮克斯已经获得七次奥斯卡最佳动画长片的荣誉。Located in Emeryville, California, Pixar Animation Studios has created acclaimed animated feature and short films for over 25 years. Pixar is also home to the RenderMan line of software products.

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