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Elon Musk, the dreamer behind Tesla’s electric cars and SpaceX’s rockets, is already tinkering with his next big idea: an electric airplane that could takeoff and land vertically.
At The New York Times’ DealBook conference Tuesday, Musk said “there’s an interesting opportunity” to create a supersonic jet that could fly in such a way. But he cautioned that such a plane could be a long way off.
"It seems unlikely to come from Boeing or Airbus given that they seem to be focused on very incremental improvements to their planes as opposed to radical improvements,” he said. “But it could come from a startup. If I were to have another company in the future, which will not be anytime soon, I think that would be the thing to do: an electric aircraft.”
Sebastian Thrun, the founder of Google X, has made the case that, by 2045, some consumers will use flying cars and live like the “Jetsons." Musk doesn’t see it.
“I’m not sure it’s what people want,” he said. “If you have a huge number of (flying) cars, and you have mechanical failures, people will be wondering whether a car is going to land on your head, or house, or whatever.”
But commercial airliners that takeoff and land vertically would work well with electric power, Musk says. They could also be located closer to cities since they would not require large airports with extended runways.
The idea came to him after the Concorde was grounded in 2003, ending an era of supersonic travel. That saddened him, but got him thinking about alternatives. “It bothers me when it seems the future is getting worse,” he said.
He already has a design for the new supersonic plane.
In the 20-minute interview, the entrepreneur discussed a range of other topics, including the recent car fires in the Tesla S sedans -- and why starting a company is like eating glass.
No Tesla recalls planned
Musk denied rumors that his company planned to recall its Model S after a third vehicle caught fire last week, saying concerns about safety had been exaggerated by the media.
“There’s definitely not going to be a recall,” Musk said. “There's never been a serious injury or death in a Tesla.”
Tesla’s stock has fallen 22 percent in the past week as the automaker faces increasing scrutiny around the fires, the latest of which happened in Tennessee after a driver ran over debris on the highway. That ignited the car’s lithium-ion battery. Safety advocates have called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate, but it remains unclear if it will do so.
Musk: George Clooney has it wrong
Musk’s company got more negative publicity this week after actor George Clooney went on a mini-rant about Tesla in an interview posted Monday on Esquire.com:
I was one of the first cats with a Tesla. I think I was, like, No. 5 on the list. But I'm telling you, I've been on the side of the road a while in that thing, and I said to them, ‘Look, guys, why am I always stuck on the side of the [f-ing] road? Make it work, one way or another.'
Clooney owned a Roadster, a model that debuted in 2008 but that Tesla has since discontinued. Musk said Clooney’s comment was unfair. “I’m not sure why it was reported,” he said. “It was like saying, ‘My iPhone 1 in 2001 had a bug.”
Entrepreneurship: 'Like eating glass and staring into the abyss'
Near the end of the interview, Sorkin asked Musk to weigh in on a frequently asked question: Do all entrepreneurs just have one good idea in them? Or is it possible to come up with many?
Musk said dreaming up multiple ideas is possible. What isn't as easy is starting a company. "A friend of mine has a saying, 'Creating a company is like eating glass and staring into the abyss.' You have to do lots of things you don't like."
Most start-ups also fail, and that can preclude entrepreneurs from trying again. "Even though a company death is not real, it's not like somebody physically dying, your brain doesn't quite understand it," he said. "People probably don't want to go through that more than once."
The next Microsoft CEO?
Musk laughed when asked if he wanted to become the next Microsoft CEO. (He's not interested.) But can the company be fixed? "There's a lot of talented people still at Microsoft," he said. "The right person could probably steer the ship in a good direction."
Photos: Getty Images
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At The New York Times’ DealBook conference Tuesday, Musk said “there’s an interesting opportunity” to create a supersonic jet that could fly in such a way. But he cautioned that such a plane could be a long way off.
"It seems unlikely to come from Boeing or Airbus given that they seem to be focused on very incremental improvements to their planes as opposed to radical improvements,” he said. “But it could come from a startup. If I were to have another company in the future, which will not be anytime soon, I think that would be the thing to do: an electric aircraft.”
Sebastian Thrun, the founder of Google X, has made the case that, by 2045, some consumers will use flying cars and live like the “Jetsons." Musk doesn’t see it.
“I’m not sure it’s what people want,” he said. “If you have a huge number of (flying) cars, and you have mechanical failures, people will be wondering whether a car is going to land on your head, or house, or whatever.”
But commercial airliners that takeoff and land vertically would work well with electric power, Musk says. They could also be located closer to cities since they would not require large airports with extended runways.
The idea came to him after the Concorde was grounded in 2003, ending an era of supersonic travel. That saddened him, but got him thinking about alternatives. “It bothers me when it seems the future is getting worse,” he said.
He already has a design for the new supersonic plane.
In the 20-minute interview, the entrepreneur discussed a range of other topics, including the recent car fires in the Tesla S sedans -- and why starting a company is like eating glass.
No Tesla recalls planned
Musk denied rumors that his company planned to recall its Model S after a third vehicle caught fire last week, saying concerns about safety had been exaggerated by the media.
“There’s definitely not going to be a recall,” Musk said. “There's never been a serious injury or death in a Tesla.”
Tesla’s stock has fallen 22 percent in the past week as the automaker faces increasing scrutiny around the fires, the latest of which happened in Tennessee after a driver ran over debris on the highway. That ignited the car’s lithium-ion battery. Safety advocates have called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to investigate, but it remains unclear if it will do so.
Musk: George Clooney has it wrong
Musk’s company got more negative publicity this week after actor George Clooney went on a mini-rant about Tesla in an interview posted Monday on Esquire.com:
I was one of the first cats with a Tesla. I think I was, like, No. 5 on the list. But I'm telling you, I've been on the side of the road a while in that thing, and I said to them, ‘Look, guys, why am I always stuck on the side of the [f-ing] road? Make it work, one way or another.'
Clooney owned a Roadster, a model that debuted in 2008 but that Tesla has since discontinued. Musk said Clooney’s comment was unfair. “I’m not sure why it was reported,” he said. “It was like saying, ‘My iPhone 1 in 2001 had a bug.”
Entrepreneurship: 'Like eating glass and staring into the abyss'
Near the end of the interview, Sorkin asked Musk to weigh in on a frequently asked question: Do all entrepreneurs just have one good idea in them? Or is it possible to come up with many?
Musk said dreaming up multiple ideas is possible. What isn't as easy is starting a company. "A friend of mine has a saying, 'Creating a company is like eating glass and staring into the abyss.' You have to do lots of things you don't like."
Most start-ups also fail, and that can preclude entrepreneurs from trying again. "Even though a company death is not real, it's not like somebody physically dying, your brain doesn't quite understand it," he said. "People probably don't want to go through that more than once."
The next Microsoft CEO?
Musk laughed when asked if he wanted to become the next Microsoft CEO. (He's not interested.) But can the company be fixed? "There's a lot of talented people still at Microsoft," he said. "The right person could probably steer the ship in a good direction."
Photos: Getty Images
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