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Learn leadership from Elon Musk
The antagonistic billionaire is the pinnacle of terrible leadership. Become a better leader by doing the opposite of Elon Musk.
On May 19, 1994, an iconic Seinfeld episode aired entitled “The Opposite.” In it, the show’s indisputably best character, George Costanza, has a revelation: every instinct he’s ever had has led him to failure. So, he decides to try something radical — he does the opposite. As the episode unfolds, this counterintuitive strategy works like magic: George gets the girl, lands his dream job, and moves into his dream apartment.
Fast forward to 2008. Elon Musk, already a board member of Tesla, ascends to the CEO role, cementing his place in history as the leader of a company that would revolutionize the auto industry. Over the years, his list of leadership titles has grown to include CEO of SpaceX, Neuralink, and X (formerly Twitter), Chairman of SolarCity (now absorbed into Tesla), head of The Boring Company, and even self-appointed problem-solver-in-chief for the world’s biggest challenges through “The Department of Government Efficiency.”
Musk is a busy man. And there’s no denying Musk is three things: a remarkable business success, a prolific executive, and — let’s be honest — a terrible leader.
For all the glowing headlines about Musk’s vision and wealth, there’s an equally loud chorus of stories that paint a different picture. Accusations of racism, discrimination, sexual harassment, public humiliation, toxic workplaces, and, most recently, a nazi salute have made headlines time and again. It’s no wonder his companies experience a persistent brain drain. While some brush these off as misunderstandings or quirks attributed to his self-diagnosed Asperger’s, the sheer frequency of problematic incidents suggests a much deeper issue.
Millions of people idolize Musk as a blueprint for success, though objectively his outward displays of success mask a different truth: he’d be nobody without a wealth of talented employees behind him—employees he continues to let down and abuse. So here’s a better idea: instead of mimicking Musk, let’s pull a George Costanza. Let’s do “The Opposite.” By examining Musk’s leadership failures, we can extract a guide for how to lead well —…
