[poconopundit]

Look at the proven capability of this man and the publicity engine he's created for himself.  He's the Donald Trump of new media AND new business frontiers.

Yes, normally there would be very long odds of succeeding.  But consider what he's done with Tesla.  A few years ago you'd have to rate his chances very low of becoming the hands-down leader in electric cars, saying:

The automotive business is a closed club.  To grow Tesla he needs to take revenue away from highly skilled and highly successful companies like Toyota, Volvo, Daimler Benz and Ford.  And Tesla would have to create its own distribution channel of dealers. Then there's the problem of insufficient charging stations.

But somehow, he's succeeded against all odds.  Paypal, Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter(?)  Lightning can indeed strike twice.  Remember: Musk can launch low earth orbit communications satellites that can drop Twitter traffic down to earth to any data center in the country.  With that, he can leapfrog any tech firm that wants to block him.

Musk is a genius in several spheres.  And he's the opposite of the secretive and ruthless Jeff Bezos of Amazon who has nearly zero personality by comparison -- and who was badly beaten investing in a hyped electric car prototyping firm, Rivian, who will soon be on the dust bin of history.

[zeestephen]

Re: "To grow Tesla he needs to take revenue away from highly skilled and highly successful companies like Toyota, Volvo, Daimler Benz and Ford."

Tesla was founded in 2003.

Tesla was the only serious company in the electric vehicle market for its first TEN years in business.