LEADERSHIP & CHANGE

ASSIGNMENT

By
Gurjeet Singh (S183F0014)
Submitted To:-
Dr. Kalindi Maheshwari
 ELON MUSK & HIS JOURNEY OF SPACEX

Back in 2001 if you were to ask someone that is it possible to go in space with
any government’s aid or intervention they most probably would have laughed
at you.

Although technology has evolved at the rate of light speed, space travelling
was largely left behind. A major issue in space travelling was that it was
expensive and space explorations were run by the governments.

In 2002 SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk CEO of Tesla Motors & a great
visionary who co-founded companies such as Zip2, PayPal (Earlier known as
X.com).

The major goal of Elon Musk was to create technology which can help in
reducing the cost of space transportation and space exploration to the 1/10th
of the current cost. Another long term goal of Elon Musk is to enable
colonisation of Mars.

The vision that was adopted by Elon Musk was to design and develop relatively
inexpensive, reusable rockets similar to commercial airlines.
Initially, he thought of getting help from the Russian space agency for old
rocket designs but he failed.
After failing, he sorted to learn by himself by reading books on space
technology and space exploration.
Even after having this vision he did not get any funding as not all people
believed in private space travelling, as a result, Musk had to fund all of the
projects from his own pocket.
Because of the limited funds, Musk started to find low-cost ways to produce
engine and parts of the rockets. For that matter, about 80% of the parts were
made in-house which cuts the margins of suppliers, etc. (Some parts were 3D-
printed for the Dragon V2 Engine)

Gurjeet Singh S183F0014 MBA 1ST Year

SpaceX’s Accomplishments

• In 2008 – SpaceX became first privately funded company to launched

liquid propelled rocket (Falcon 9) which reached orbit.
• In 2010 –It was the first privately funded company which launched,
orbited and recovered a spacecraft.
• In 2012 – It became private company to send a spacecraft to The
International Space Station.
• In 2013 –It delivered a satellite, marking its first delivery beyond earth’s
orbit.
• In 2015 –SpaceX successfully retrieved 1st stage booster back to the
ground.

Leadership Traits of Elon Musk

When Elon started SpaceX, he came from the software engineering and
management role in PayPal. With no experience or knowledge in the field of
rocket science. He turned his way towards reading books and learn rocket
science.
Initially, he relied on the text-books for the bulk of his rocketry knowledge.
Later when he hired rocket scientists and other competent individuals he
started to learn a great deal from them.

Conclusion
At last, I wanted to conclude that although we tent to take granted the
changes around us, those changes affect our lives more than we all can
imagine.
And those changes don't just take place themselves, usually, there is someone
who dedicates his/her whole life to make that change which shapes our reality
directly or indirectly.
Elon Musk didn't just change the reality of just cheaper space exploration, he
also changed the reality of practical electric cars through Tesla Motors,
introduced PayPal which changed the landscape of online payments.

Gurjeet Singh S183F0014 MBA 1ST Year

References

https://qz.com/153969/spacex-just-made-rocket-launches-affordable-heres-how-it-could-make-
them-downright-cheap/

https://www.space.com/31511-spacex-rocket-landing-great-shape-photos.html

https://www.quora.com/how-did-elon-musk-learn-enough-about-rockets-to-create-and-run-spacex

https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/29/space-x-mars-bfr-elon-musk/

https://pagely.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-elon-musk/

Gurjeet Singh S183F0014 MBA 1ST Year