False economy What’s in it for me? Understand what makes the

From SolarCity to Tesla, Musk’s companies 
are unified.
Musk’s star power stems from three ventures 
simultaneously: SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. 
This is because they all ultimately help him 
pursue his real, and unifying, goal: the survival 
of the human species.
Musk had long wanted to go into solar, but prior 
to creating SpaceX, he hadn’t thought there was 
any money in it. So when his cousins, the Rive 
brothers, were brainstorming about a new 
venture, Musk suggested solar.
The brothers spent two years studying the solar-
power industry before hitting upon their idea. 
Though solar panels were slowly becoming 
more affordable, the cost and effort of 
installation was enough to drive many 
consumers away. So the Rive brothers decided 
to give customers what they really wanted: 
someone to take care of the whole process, from 
selection to purchasing to installation.
Musk helped his cousins come up with the 
structure and became the chairman and largest 
shareholder. Six years later, and SolarCity has 
become the largest installer of solar panels in 
the US, living up to its goal of making solar panel 
installation painless. It’s expanded from 
individual customers to businesses like Walmart 
and Intel and, in 2014, it was valued at close to 
$7 billion.
Musk’s businesses, while successful individually, 
also strategically complement each other. Tesla 
makes battery packs that SolarCity can sell to 
end customers, and SolarCity supplies Tesla’s 
charging stations with solar panels.
This is because, despite being passionate about 
cars and solar panels and batteries, they are all 
just side projects for Musk. His main goal 
remains to ensure that humans start living 
sustainably now so that humanity has a future. 
In this way, all his endeavors are united by one 
ambitious goal.

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