Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar acquisition of his cousins’ sustainable-energy company, solarcity, is totally logical—and hugely risky. Will Musk pull off another miracle?
Elon Musk stands in the middle of a residential street. It's shortly before sunset at a joint tesla- solarcity product launch, held last October at Universal Studios 'back lot in Los Angeles, and Musk, wearing a gray sweater and black jeans, is preched on a platform erected in the center of the manicured suburba that served as the set for desperate housewives. Musk begins his presentation with doom and gloom- rising co2 levels, the crisis of global warming- bust the audience of 200 or so is beaming.
They’re excited to see what fantastical invention he will unveil as a solution. As he stresses the need to transition the world to sustainable energy, an overzealous attendee yells out, “Save us, Elon!”
Musk’s big reveal: “The houses you see around you are all solar houses. Did you notice?” he says, gesturing toward the homes with a grin. They appear to have regular shingled rooftops, but Musk says they’ve actually been retrofitted with a new product called the Solar Roof, a potentially transformative system that’s nearly indistinguishable from a traditional rooftop—and one, he promises, that lasts longer and costs less, all while generating electricity. “Why would you buy anything else?” he says. The crowd cheers.
This story is from the July/August 2017 edition of Fast Company.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July/August 2017 edition of Fast Company.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies - PERPLEXITY
FOR LOCATING THE ANSWER TO THE PERENNIAL PROBLEMS OF WEB SEARCH
The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies - NATIONAL WOMEN'S SOCCER LEAGUE
FOR RESETTING THE VALUE OF WOMEN'S SPORTS
10 Trend
From the Most Innovative Companies | Plus 606 Honorees From Advertising to Video
The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies
"The 1920s, water went into a generator, and DC Power came out. Now electrons go into a generator, and intelligence comes out."
Orange Crush
Y Combinator was designed to be a supercondensed version of Silicon Valley. Now that it's at full potency, can it maintain its outsider pose while being the ultimate insiders' network?
Hollywood
AI is going to transform Hollywood But it won't be the horror story everyone's afraid of.
Fan With a Plan
Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin parlayed a ski shop in suburban Philly into a $31 billion sports apparel juggernaut. Now, he's adding trading cards, gambling, live events, and more.
The Helpful Hardware Man
Marques Brownlee has rewired the way people shop for gadgets-and how companies sell them. Inside the humble factory with the power to shape the $1 trillion consumer electronics industry.
WORK LIFE
Actor and SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher takes our career questionnaire.
RETAIL
An Honest Effort Amid flagging sales and rising competition, Honest Company CEO Carla Vernon is preparing to reinvent the brand.