We do know what happened when Jobs returned. He turned a company that was 90 days from bankruptcy into the biggest company in the world.

With the same staff.

That's the difference the right leader makes.

Let's look at what Musk has done:

1. completely revolutionized the space industry, from the ground up

2. deployed starlink, which saved lives in N Carolina and revolutionized satellite communication

3. revolutionized the moribund electric car industry

4. with Neuralink, has revolutionized the lives of quadraplegics. He's extending that to hopefully provide sight to the blind

It's hard to think of any other individual who has contributed so much to the betterment of humanity.

> immature children

LOL

> We do know what happened when Jobs returned.

But, without a time machine, we don't know what 1980s-era Jobs keeping his CEO role would've looked like.

> With the same staff.

And more than a decade of additional experience under his belt. (And nearly running NeXT and Pixar into the ground!)

This is... not controversial; Jobs himself said so. https://www.newsweek.com/wilderness-years-68157

> "The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything," he said at a famous Stanford commencement speech in 2005. "It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."

Right, we don't know "what if". But we do know what did happen, it is abundantly clear the effect Jobs had as a leader, and the effect Musk has had on his companies.

We also know what has happened to Apple since Tim Cook took over. Cook is a competent manager, but he's no Steve Jobs.

> But we do know what did happen

Again, that's "nearly bankrupted two more companies over the next decade". Adversity is frequently good for learning.

> We also know what has happened to Apple since Tim Cook took over.

Dominance?

Musk takes enormous risks with his companies, and that's a big reason why they are so successful.

I talked to a professional race car driver once. He said if you don't walk back to the pit holding the steering wheel once in a while, you are never going to be a winner.

> Dominance?

I did say Cook was competent. But where's the never-ending stream of major innovations under Jobs? That all came to a stop.

P.S. I own Tesla and SpaceX stock.

> Musk takes enormous risks with his companies, and that's a big reason why they are so successful.

But it's a big, you know, risk. There's a chance some of this blows up in his face, and as a huge space exploration fan, I dread that possibility. I love watching SpaceX launches; I don't love seeing him tether the company to a partisan political cause.

> But where's the never-ending stream of major innovations under Jobs? That all came to a stop.

Did it? Apple Silicon? Airpods? (I also tend to see Apple's supply chain work as quite innovative, and critical to Jobs's successes.)

> P.S. I own Tesla and SpaceX stock.

I own Tesla shares (and would love some SpaceX ones). I'd really rather not see them go up in flames.

Airpods? I have a pair, and they're quite nice, and I like them. But they aren't on the level of Job's innovations.