I just heard this quote, "If you don't have all the answers, don't pretend you do."
Musk needs to heed this idea. He doesn't know everything and he should learn to stay out of areas where he will only get in the way. But he is making the mistake of believing his own press and now has an ego that keeps him from seeing that.
This is the case with the ventilators. He went in and got a few of the wrong machines and now there is a question of whether he will be able to get the number of machines he promised. I wouldn't be surprised if he got scammed by a supplier. But that only goes to show how he jumped into an area he does not know and should stay out.
Regarding the Governor not being careful enough: I have to give him a pass in this situation. He needs to act fast and can't always be there to make sure everything is 100% right. There will be mistakes, there is no doubt, but that's the cost of getting things done under the current situation.
I have no doubt that there will be many stories about how things should have been handled better after all of this is over but that should not get in the way of getting things done now.
I believe that he (like so many of us technical types) suffers from that affliction that we inherently believe we can do anything. We have an amazing imagination, we see the few starting steps and the end product and just gloss over the actual 95% in the middle.
BUT I imagine that for him it's worse because he's succeeded so often.
>> "So, millions of Californians heard the governor announce Musk’s heroic donation of “ventilators.” Yet not one unit has been delivered – and Musk likely never had the real ventilators our hospitals need."
And this is why it takes government a long time to make large procurements. If you try to buy it quick, you're subject to these sorts of risks or accusations of misspending the money.
Musk needs to heed this idea. He doesn't know everything and he should learn to stay out of areas where he will only get in the way. But he is making the mistake of believing his own press and now has an ego that keeps him from seeing that.
This is the case with the ventilators. He went in and got a few of the wrong machines and now there is a question of whether he will be able to get the number of machines he promised. I wouldn't be surprised if he got scammed by a supplier. But that only goes to show how he jumped into an area he does not know and should stay out.
Regarding the Governor not being careful enough: I have to give him a pass in this situation. He needs to act fast and can't always be there to make sure everything is 100% right. There will be mistakes, there is no doubt, but that's the cost of getting things done under the current situation.
I have no doubt that there will be many stories about how things should have been handled better after all of this is over but that should not get in the way of getting things done now.