# Elon Runs Six Multi Bill... ! [ rw-book-cover] (https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1608958005223247875/NmrMvm7d.jpg) URL: https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194017806532761 Author: @swaaanson on Twitter  ## AI-Generated Summary None ## Highlights > Elon runs six multi billion-dollar companies simultaneously (SpaceX, Tesla, X, xAI, Neuralink, and Boring Company) > Most founders can’t run one. > Walter Isaacson (who spent a year shadowing Elon and wrote his biography) explains ‘How Elon does it’ on a podcast > Thread 🧵 >  ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194017806532761)) > Elon doesn't juggle Tesla, X, SpaceX simultaneously, but rather in cycles of extreme focus. > Here's how he does it 👇 <video controls><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194044876554240/pu/pl/JDS3IRvPS4srz2DJ.m3u8?tag=12&v=ae5" type="application/x-mpegURL"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194044876554240/pu/vid/avc1/480x270/2LyPPenQ9jh3oQW7.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194044876554240/pu/vid/avc1/640x360/Vtvi72Iz6n7XT7tZ.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194044876554240/pu/vid/avc1/1280x720/dgKLWseFTe-qdxVs.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4">Your browser does not support the video tag.</video> ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194132310990856)) > 1. Elon runs his companies with a strict no BS policy. No BS meetings, teams, processes, rules, or projects. > Removes all excess so teams can focus on the only thing that matters - building a great product. >  ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194162933653917)) > 2. Elon hates large teams > Small team = Small meetings = More work done. > He believes small teams have the intensity and focus which big teams lack. > Andrej Karpathy, who worked directly under Elon, explains how he by default wants to fire low performers: <video controls><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194189269610496/pu/pl/GKrVOVs9dIGXEij7.m3u8?tag=12" type="application/x-mpegURL"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194189269610496/pu/vid/avc1/480x270/_qTZm3vV-7lmn36F.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194189269610496/pu/vid/avc1/640x360/PMxanqUBG9kXW5U5.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4">Your browser does not support the video tag.</video> ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194215022629016)) > 3. Chase speed > Elon frequently kicks off intense efforts he calls stunts, where he sets a impossible deadline and forces the team to achieve it > My favorite snippet from Walter's biography on Elon where he tells how Elon completed work worth 6 months in 6 days 👇 <video controls><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194243049025536/pu/pl/CNGrrrXOsiZ5t-py.m3u8?tag=12&v=6d1" type="application/x-mpegURL"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194243049025536/pu/vid/avc1/480x270/-Xr9WCubwmAbFCM9.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194243049025536/pu/vid/avc1/640x360/mEP6nx9t1oRRKGVb.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194243049025536/pu/vid/avc1/1280x720/BQdE1i-50L9jwuE4.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4">Your browser does not support the video tag.</video> ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194348300849434)) > But why does he do that? > Because he understands Parkinson's Law better than anyone in the world. > Parkinson's law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. > The tighter the deadline, the more work gets done in a shorter time >  ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194375836459474)) > 4. Accountability > Elon would write names of the engineers on the car/rocket components they were responsible to design. > This gives them a sense of pride, responsibility and ownership that’s very difficult to achieve any other way. <video controls><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194402323546112/pu/pl/rmysMPNrraf6VZge.m3u8?tag=12" type="application/x-mpegURL"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194402323546112/pu/vid/avc1/480x270/2cy0dnE4Byw6_EjY.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4"><source src="https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1838194402323546112/pu/vid/avc1/640x360/hIoXcW-uBiF8AfEm.mp4?tag=12" type="video/mp4">Your browser does not support the video tag.</video> ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194449891135772)) > Yes, he doesn't assemble the rockets himself but he has > 1. Assembled highly inspired people on the team > 2. Set the precedent that only the top performs will stay, rest will be fired > 3. Instilled the culture of intense accountability ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194472859189720)) > Effective delegation requires cultivating this type of culture. > Most founders struggle to even comprehend how Elon manages six billion-dollar companies. > This is because they don’t understand how to delegate at scale. They commit the cardinal sin of delegation. >  ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194500906426491)) > Elon understands that entrepreneurship is just effective delegation at scale. > All his teams and companies operate at Level 5. >  ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194530656620918)) > Most people cannot freely delegate because they feel their team will slack off. > To become a Tier 1 founder, you need to understand that delegation at scale is about culture and intensity. ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194553943396647)) > Not so coincidentally 😉, I started a company to help ambitious founders and execs with exactly this. > https://t.co/wSSsvT544a ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194576580104530)) > If you found this thread valuable: > 1. Follow me [swaaanson](https://twitter.com/swaaanson) for more threads on entrepreneurship and delegation. > 2. RT the first tweet ([View Tweet](https://twitter.com/swaaanson/status/1838194599225078017))