Few would argue that Elon Musk has not propelled extraordinary product development progress at Tesla. His attention should be on that all-important job of developing a flawless product. This user-centered design philosophy has informed the company’s innovation track, which focuses on experiences users will love. Musk’s approach is focused around a dramatic commitment to checking out real products vs. prototypes. No one said it better than Jon McNeil, the former president of Tesla.
During Tesla’s early years, Musk had a radical approach to product meetings, one that rejected the PowerPoint slide presentation model of product development. As McNeil explained, one of the first and most important rules was no slides in these conversations. Instead, it shifted the conversation to actual prototypes, helping senior leadership to get hands-on with what was being created. Her commitment to a hands-on approach helped build an atmosphere of innovation and accountability within her team.
Perhaps the biggest influence on Tesla’s product design philosophy, minimalism. The company put a tremendous amount of effort into minimizing the steps to reach desired functionalities. Your users can literally do anything with a single tap of their finger on the screen! This dedication to simplicity became a guiding principle in developing a natural user experience.
Musk’s experience working with Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, molded his approach to product development. During his early career, Musk asked for guidance and mentorship from Jobs at many of the same Silicon Valley events. At first, Jobs had a good deal of contempt for Musk. Collectively, their events went on to inform Musk’s heavy-handed style of product reveals.
“Elon, you’re now in the hardware business, but the hardware business is a lot like the software business. If you want to be successful in business, you have to get one thing right, and that is, you have to have a perfect product. And if the product is beautiful, it will sell itself.” – Steve Jobs
Under Musk’s leadership, a draconian weekly kill march review process was instituted. Senior leaders are now determining progress in parallel with product leaders. The objective was clear: achieve “surprise and delight” for users. McNeil emphasized this goal, stating,
“The thing we were looking for first of all was surprise and delight. Like, are we doing something that is going to just make somebody go wow or laugh or have fun?”
This 100% user-centered approach is what generated cool features such as the “fart button” and “Emissions Testing Mode.” These whimsical features are just a few examples of Tesla’s commitment to designing delightful user experiences.
That frequent review process fostered creativity and a culture of excellence among the team. McNeil described the pressure that employees felt to deliver the best possible work to Musk on a weekly basis.
“You can imagine the culture that gets communicated when people are bringing their A game to the CEO every week,” McNeil explained. “Because you’re not going to bring your B game to the CEO — especially that CEO, because he’s going to fire you.”
This high-stakes environment has resonated beyond Tesla. General Motors CEO Mary Barra introduced a weekly product review process. Make no mistake, Mark Reuss, the company’s president, is fully on board. Collectively, they helm a company with 275,000 employees and stunning $200 billion in revenue.
McNeil’s departure from Tesla in early 2018 marked the end of an era but not the end of Musk’s influence on product development practices. His earlier experience at PayPal greatly influenced his approach as he transitioned into the automotive industry with Tesla.
Tim De Chant, a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch, points out these practices as signs of a bigger shift. They illustrate the extraordinary ways that companies adapt and create amidst tremendous challenge.