Tesla cofounder says humanity is underperforming and could stand to ‘crank up the intensity’ like Elon Musk

JB Straubel founded Redwood Materials in 2017.

Tesla cofounder JB Straubel said he learned “a huge amount” from Elon Musk — and we could all benefit from the billionaire’s work ethic.

“He has an incredible tolerance for working incredibly hard and for putting in immense focus and hours into all these different projects,” Straubel, CEO of electric vehicle battery startup Redwood Materials, said in an episode of The Wall Street Journal’s Tech News Briefing podcast published Saturday.

Straubel said he learned “incredibly important lessons” at Tesla, including the value of aligning a team around a clear mission and instilling passion within a company — areas in which he said Musk excels.

However, he also said he didn’t want Musk to burn out.

“With my personal hat on, I do want to make sure he tries to balance that and doesn’t burn himself out and takes at least a moment out here and there so that he can stay at a peak productivity and peak value creation for himself and all the various companies,” he said.

Straubel said that, on average, “most leaders and business folks could probably work harder than they do without burning out,” and “humanity is probably underperforming a little bit versus its potential.”

“Maybe Elon is beyond the optimum at times, but I think it could be probably a positive example to really crank up the intensity for a lot of other folks,” he added.

Straubel said humans often work harder when they’re faced with stressful situations and part of the decline in performance might stem from people becoming more comfortable as society has developed. He shared concerns about the US in comparison to other nations.

“In my travels and working with groups in different countries, I can definitely see a difference in the level of intensity and work ethic and just the hunger to go and improve themselves and improve their families and improve their next generation’s law in life,” Straubel said.

When it comes to leadership style and performance, Straubel aligns more closely with Musk’s workflow. He favors “aggressive goals” and occasionally is overly optimistic about what can be achieved.

Straubel said he anticipates making hundreds of millions in revenue this year. The CEO disclosed Redwood Materials’ estimated revenue with The Wall Street Journal, saying his company will bring in about $200 million.

Straubel launched Redwood Materials in 2017 to create a “remanufacturing economy,” which refers to extracting raw materials from used batteries and returning them to production after processing them. The company, based in Northern Nevada, hopes this can prompt a shift away from mining minerals and bolster the EV industry’s sustainability.

Redwood Materials has extracted enough nickel and lithium from recycled batteries to “supply 20 gigawatt hours of lithium-ion batteries, or roughly equivalent to 250,000 electric vehicles,” the Journal reported.

The company aims to produce enough battery materials for 1 million EVs annually. Representatives for Redwood Materials did not respond to a request for comment from B–17

Tesla produces electric vehicles in the United States, but Americans have been slow to adopt them.

Straubel’s efforts come at a time when EVs are struggling in the United States despite Tesla’s presence and popularity in overseas markets.

EVs have gained traction in countries like China, where advisory firm Automobility says about 27% of new vehicle sales in 2022 were electric.

Americans have been slower to warm up to EVs. A June study by McKinsey & Company found that 46% of surveyed EV owners in the United States said they would likely return to gas-powered vehicles. Globally, some reasons consumers leaned away from EVS included charging options, high costs, and more.

Although President Joe Biden provided a $7,500 EV tax credit, Donald Trump’s incoming administration is considering revoking it.

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