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He's talked rocket design specifics on many occasions and "built his own rocket" according to Vector Launch CEO Jim Cantrell [1]:

>He borrowed all of my college texts on rocket propulsion when we first started working together in 2001. We also hired as many of my colleagues in the rocket and spacecraft business that were willing to consult with him. ... I found out later that he was talking to a bunch of other people about rocket designs and collaborating on some spreadsheet level systems designs for launchers. Once our dealings with the Russians fell apart, he decided to build his own rocket and this was the genesis of SpaceX.

Additional info from Jim from a follow-up interview[2]:

>Cantrell ... loaned him some textbooks to study. The books were "Rocket Propulsion Elements," "Aerothermodynamics of Gas Turbine and Rocket Propulsion," "Fundamentals of Astrodynamics," and the "International Reference Guide to Space Launch Systems." He would quote passages verbatim from these books. He became very conversant in the material. ... Musk would absorb this information and then hold his own in conversations — and he didn't hold back.

Additionally, Ashlee Vance's biography [3] describes his day-to-day as "quite involved with rocket design" at SpaceX and goes into a lot of detail about spending time on the floor assisting SpaceX scientists with their designs.

Obviously any single person at a company the size of SpaceX doesn't individually design and build a rocket by themselves, but it's generally agreed upon that Elon is knowledgeable in rocket science and contributes many ideas to the designs.

[1] https://www.quora.com/How-did-Elon-Musk-learn-enough-about-r...

[2] https://www.businessinsider.com/how-elon-musk-learned-rocket...

[3] https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/...

⬐ peteradio

So I really am not going tp be convinced here. Just cause this guy's ego is so huge that he goes and pokes his nose in places he doesn't belong doesn't make him a contributer. I don't care what his fluffer Jim says.

You might enjoy "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future"[0]

[0] - https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/...

⬐ sizzzzlerz

A related book is "The Space Barons" by Christian Davenport. Along with Musk, it dives into the other private space companies put together by two other uber-wealthy massive egos, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson.

Great line: How do you make millions in rockets? Start with a billion.

I'm reading his autobiography right now. Fascinating life of both the man and his companies if you are interested: https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/...

⬐ naedish

That's a biography, not autobiography. And Musk ended up refuting some aspects of the book.

⬐ dewski

As someone who read the book, do you know which parts he refuted?

⬐ icelancer

Primarily the child care / miss the birth of a son quote, and the fact he called himself a Samurai.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/elon-musk-takes-to-twitter-...

So basically very little.

SpaceX (another of Elon Musk's companies) has achieved similar feats in the realm of space flight.

According to his biography <https://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/..., Musk is particularly good at identifying supply-chain components that can be economically produced in-house. The Gigafactory looks like the same general strategy, and if it pays off as well as the SpaceX case has, they have a good chance of achieving their production goals.

⬐ Aeolun

Most supply-chain components can be economically produced in-house. You just need the capital to build a 5B factory, which is a whole different kind of problem in my opinion.

⬐ caseysoftware

What happens when he starts combining companies?

Space X launches the rocket that takes solar-powered self-driving machinery to Mars which starts building solar-powered settlements. By the time we get there, we're not fighting for basic survival, we're just moving in...

Oh interesting. First time hearing about this book.

Amazon link for anyone interested: http://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/0...

I'm actually quite looking forward to the bio that Urban mentions: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062301233/

The Internet mob has only one rule: "Guilty until proven innocent".

I suspect that the turmoil has been caused by the upcoming book http://www.amazon.com/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-Fantastic-Future/dp/0... and its dubious marketing strategy: http://uk.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-email-tesla-employee...

As you can see from a recent thread, It's easy to fall into the clichè of drama and hubris https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9526362 Some users even imply he may be a sociopath.

We are not quite able to cope with the success of other people. We MUST find some kind of weakness, or tradeoff: this is why media love troubled geniuses. "Sure, Einstein was a great physicist, but did you know that [insert meaningless gossip]". It gives us the illusion of being morally superior, because of the false dichotomy between love/affection/community and money/mastery/fame.