Elon Musk’s empire of risk
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Elon Musk may be forced by a court to go through with his purchase of Twitter, raising questions about how his approach to risk-taking in business might play out on the platform.
Why it matters: Musk’s high tolerance for risk at his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX, has reshaped industries and intersected with a vast number of employees and consumers.
Driving the news: Newly public texts between Musk and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey give us a glimpse into Musk’s potential vision for Twitter.
Risk on the roads
What’s happening: Local news stories about Tesla crashes bubbled up as the carmaker rolled out its self-driving features.
“Most other companies that are developing self-driving technology are testing their cars on public roads too, but they’re doing it with trained safety drivers behind the wheel, ready to take over in case there’s a problem,” Axios transportation reporter Joann Muller notes.
Where it stands: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) released data this summer identifying 392 reported accidents as of May 2022 involving cars operating with assisted driving features.
In 2021, the agency opened an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot system and expanded that investigation nearly a year later.
Risk on the factory floor
The culture of risk at Tesla reportedly seeps into the factories, too.
Tesla’s autoworkers are not unionized. Unions in auto plants are historically an important lever for workers to use to guarantee safety. It’s been widely reported that Tesla has quashed several unionization efforts in their plants.
Risk in space
SpaceX builds risk into the way it builds its rockets, testing them and learning from failed tests and explosions to make better rockets.
Why it matters: NASA is relying on SpaceX to get people to the Moon. That means “it’s tacitly endorsing its risk-taking behavior in the industry,” Axios Space reporter Miriam Kramer says.
What to watch
The stakes are high when it comes to who will own and run Twitter. As long as the platform functions as a global public square, engineering it comes close to engineering society. Risks gone wrong there could have consequences for everyone who touches Twitter — which includes governments, activists, journalists, and millions of everyday people.
Go deeper: Listen to the new season of How It Happened: Elon Musk vs. Twitter.