Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Entrepreneurial Journey of Elon Musk

INNOVATION AND
ENTERPRENEURSHIP

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................2
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................2
Personal qualities of Elon Musk..................................................................................................2
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................4
Entrepreneurial Challenges faced by Space X.............................................................................4
TASK 3............................................................................................................................................5
Elon Musk’s entrepreneurial performance on Tesla....................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9
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INTRODUCTION
Innovation and Entrepreneurship can be defined as the ability of individuals to identify the
new opportunities that have not yet been explored and presented before the world (Tran and
et.al., 2020). In the present report, entrepreneurial characteristics of Elon Musk will be discussed
in detail where the approach that he has adopted and the challenges or obstacles that rose before
him in his different ventures will be discussed in detail. Further, the entire performance and
decisions taken by Elon Musk in one of his three major ventures the Tesla, Pay- pal and
Hyperloop will be discussed and evaluated.
MAIN BODY
TASK 1
Personal qualities of Elon Musk
Elon Musk can easily be identified as one of the most influential person in the technological
industry where the ongoing innovations, regular new and upgraded technological advancements
etc. can easily be categorised and identified as the entrepreneurial spirt and the strive for
innovation that Elon Musk has (Saint-Martin, 2019). Some of the key entrepreneurial traits that
can be discussed here are:
 Spirit of entrepreneurship: Elon Musk has clearly established that it is necessary for
every entrepreneur to develop a habit of regularly working and advancing rather than
stopping at a single venture. Elon musk’s leadership shows that there always can be
challenges and obstacles but an entrepreneur has to overcome this. Further, the risk
taking abilities of Musk are commendable where the entrepreneur has always taken
uncertainty and the probability of success or failure sportingly (Prasetyoaji, 2020). The
act of swiftly moving on to the next possible successful venture if one fails easily
indicates the spirit of always moving and excelling. Additionally, it is important for an
entrepreneur to always rely on some trusted individuals along with being an independent
thinker which ultimately motivates people to work with such an influential leader. Elon
has definitely created a very loyal and dedicated workforce and in return he has been able
to provide them assurance and credibility which is very much needed. Therefore, it can
be identified that the entrepreneurial spirit is an important aspect of the succeeding at any
venture and a new idea. Elon Musk has regularly ventured from one thing to another and
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hence been able to gain a lot of success but the important aspect is that there have been
multiple failures as well.
 Work Ethics: For every entrepreneur, it is important that they work dedicatedly towards
the achievement of the goals that have been set. The insane work hours and work
practices that Elon Musk has adopted towards the achievement of his goal and practices.
Elon Musk has developed a practice of working continuously in the day where only 30
minutes of lunch break are what he has allowed for himself (Abatecola and Cristofaro,
2019). This can also be justified from the fact that upon entering the space industry, it
was assumed that he will not be able to achieve anything of great potential and would
soon move out of the industry. However, this was proved wrong as the manner in which
SpaceX has been able to redefine the standards in the space industry and the clear targets
and aims with which he is working indicates that an entrepreneur needs to be dedicated
towards achievement of the goals. An entrepreneur needs to work 100 hours a week when
other are putting only 40 and this is what Musk has done to create the entrepreneurial
identity that he has been able to develop today.
 Aim High: For any entrepreneur it is necessary that they set those targets for themselves
that can help them in the achievement of the multiple goals that create another standard
or bar regarding innovation and uniqueness. In his entire course of operation, Elon Musk
has developed a number of objectives or goals that are targeted mainly toward the
removal of major obstacles or challenges that the normal mankind faces i.e. towards
removal of their misery (Azoulay and et.al., 2020). The aims that Musk developed were
often questioned by other and it was assumed that he would ultimately drown the money
of all the investors. However, the dedication with which he was operating and the
ultimate aims towards which he was working indicated that he was ready to take bigger
risks and challenges i.e. he did not set short term gain in his vision towards excellence
and rather had a broader or wider area of target. Further, the new ways that Musk adopted
to complete the work goals that he had set redefined the way in which things are done has
presented a series of unconventional methods that an entrepreneur can adopted in several
different objectives that they have targeted to achieve.
Apart from these three major entrepreneurial qualities, there are several other that Elon
Musk has adopted in his course of operation where the emphasis is on developing principles
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