Since one of the core themes of the ‘Information Strategy’ module is disruption, I thought it’s worthwhile to write an article about the king of disruption – Mr. Elon Musk.
You might think that naming Musk THE King of disruption is a bold assumption, but you will be convinced when you see the amount of industries he has shaken.
Financial industry
Back in 1999, Elon founded the company X.com. He envisioned the company as a digital banking and investment services site that offered everything from checking accounts to insurance, mortgage and bonds (Constanty, 2021). X.com was one of the very first online banking services. The company later became PayPal, one of the most successful FinTech businesses. Nowadays the FinTech industry has been growing exponentially, and it is projected to reach 324 billion by 2026 (Zinchenko, 2021). Thus, Elon Musk significantly contributed to the current state of online banking services.
Automotive industry
In 2003, Elon founded Tesla. The tesla cars weren’t the first electric vehicles nor the first capable of autonomous driving. However, they are the best in the market for both energy and production efficiency. Additionally, Tesla’s chips are regarded as being 6 years ahead of Toyota and VW, and at least 3 years ahead of the most advanced Nvidia Orin chip (Park, 2020). Tesla cars are not only a leader in the technology behind the car, but also in their positioning and branding strategy. The company was able to surpass Mercedes as a leading luxury car brand in the USA.
Aerospace industry
In 2002, Elon founded SpaceX, with an ambitious objective to make humanity multiplanetary. Again, his technology is not the first, but rather the most efficient. SpaceX’s Falcon rockets are reusable, unlike traditional rockets in the industry. As such, SpaceX is providing up to 5x decrease in costs of getting a spacecraft into the sky in comparison to established aerospace companies (CBinsights, 2021).
Telecommunications industry
Starlink is yet another company founded by Musk. It aims to provide satellite internet to the hardest-to-reach consumers, which the traditional telecommunication companies have failed to satisfy (CBinsights, 2021). Yet gain, Elon’s idea is offering better performance in terms of cost, speed and latency.
Are you convinced now that Elon Musk is indeed the king of disruption? If no – there are even more industries that will be impacted by this genius. If I dwell into everything, this blog post will be the length of a thesis. If you are interested, look up – ‘Hyperloop’ (transport disruptor), ‘The boring company’ (tunneling, infrastructure disruptor), Neuralink (healthcare disruptor) and Solarcity (energy disruptor).
Maybe he is an alien, maybe he is just a genius mastering the art of disruption.
References
CBinsights. (2021, April 24). From Energy To Transport To Healthcare, Here Are 8 Industries Being Disrupted By Elon Musk And His Companies. Retrieved from CBinsights: https://www.cbinsights.com/research/report/elon-musk-companies-disruption/
Constanty, B. (2021, Feb 25). The Elon Musk Effect: The Timeless Power Of Disruption And Brand Authority. Retrieved from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/02/25/the-elon-musk-effect-the-timeless-power-of-disruption-and-brand-authority/?sh=152eb2cd7ee5
Park, T. (2020, Oct 12). Why Tesla Will Dominate Autonomous Driving. Retrieved from Simplify: https://www.simplify.us/blog/why-tesla-will-dominate-autonomous-driving
Zinchenko, P. (2021). Why is FinTech Growing: 3 Trends that Will Shape the Industry in 2021 and Beyond. Retrieved September 16, 2021, from https://www.mindk.com/blog/why-is-fintech-growing/
Featured image source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/369870
