Campus

Case Method

Case Library

Elon Musk 2018

#Leadership #Disruptive Innovation #Entrepreneurship


Abstract

During a time when the excitement surrounding the space industry has died out, humanity came to discover the unusual character that is Elon Musk, a South African born serial entrepreneur set on making humans a multi planetary species. Throughout the case, Elon Musk’s particular personality traits and visionary leadership style will be highlighted through the inception of his different companies. The case will go into the inner workings of what it takes to be a leader with a strong purpose set on making it his life’s mission to complete his vision. Readers will get to know more about the companies he started from his early years on earth to later on in his life while getting to hear from some of the people who worked closely with him. Musk’s entrepreneurial journey will be described while presenting some of the accomplishments he has fulfilled, the industries he has disrupted, while also going over the way he behaves in the face of adversity and less prosperous times. The latter mentioned themes will be explored while describing his journey of founding companies such as Zip2, X.com, Tesla Motors, SolarCity, Hyperloop, and the organization Open AI with a particular focus on SpaceX. Beyond showcasing Elon Musk’s leadership style, this case will encourage students to take a retrospective look at their own purpose and what tools they can use to fine tune their leadership style, and inspire them to go for their dreams no matter how unattainable they seem to be. Ultimately this case doesn't have the objective to necessarily encouraging them to adopt Musk’s practices but for them to become their own kind of leader.

Detailed information

Case ID 19-1064
Published 2019
Industry MISCELLANEOUS TRANSPORTATION EQUIPMENT
Analyzed Area General management
Pages 28
Language English
Teaching Note Attached