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A more charitable reading would be that Musk is uniquely aspirational - not for money or power, but for real technological progress. He really, honestly believes taking a chance on a technological leap forward is worth large investments even if success is not guaranteed or even highly probable. This is refreshingly different than most other businesses, which either tend to sclerotic, bloated enterprises trying to squeeze every last bit of profit out of absurdly well-tread technological paths, or absolute grifters who don't even intend to try to accomplish the goals they set, but do plan to enrich themselves along the way. This is why I think he is so valuable - he has both the vision to see openings for large progress, and the ambition to make an honest try.
People tend to lump Musk into the "grifter" category because his vision and ambition is usually larger than what turns out to be possible, but they ignore that what does turn out to be possible is usually still well beyond what everyone else thought was possible. This happens because he actually does take the time to learn the fundamentals, and because he understands important concepts that we have tended to downplay in the West, such as the importance and the benefits of engineering for manufacturability and vertical integration. In way too many businesses, especially public companies, nearly every single person in management all the way up to the board of directors is far more concerned with ass-covering and deflecting failure than they are with taking on challenges and engineering solutions.
That is why, to a mild degree, I am a Musk supporter. The future belongs to those who show up, and the rewards belong to those who take chances and solve problems. Humanity will stagnate if everything is left in the hands of committees and study groups, people who are not "too confident", and if failing to achieve total victory is deemed more shameful than never trying. Musk is, for whatever faults, a Man in the Arena. He's not a prophet, but he has a unique set of skills that has put him in a position to be a singular force for technological and material progress.
I'd also point out that he has the capital, not as a knock in the false 'inherited from his dad's emerald mine' vein, but in that I bet I could find plenty of nerds with the same phenotype (obsession with engineering/science, poor social skills, visions of grandeur) but without the cash. Hell, just wander around the labs at MIT and screen out anyone who looks well put-together and has any kind of connection to VCs/business in their CVs and I bet you'd be able to find a couple Musks.
Maybe the drive/aggression and obsession with details are a bit harder to replicate...
True, and I think that's because some his unique set of skills include ruthless business sense something that nerds are generally lousy at and/or lack experience with.
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