You know how genius rivals are different from petty rivals- An extraordinary genius would never belittle his rival though he competes fiercely. However, Elon Musk, who is presently the richest man in the world doesn’t really behave like a genius rival.
Jeff Bezos, the second richest man in the world and founder of e-commerce giant Amazon tweeted, “Listen and be open, but don’t let anybody tell you who you are. This was just one of the many stories telling us all the ways we were going to fail. Today, Amazon is one of the world’s most successful companies and has revolutionized two entirely different industries.”
Musk however reacted with a second-place medal emoji indicating how the world is not going to get a great business rivalry in this era. Almost every generation and era has witnessed healthy and beneficial competition but with Musk emerging as Bezos’ competitor, we aren’t really looking at a healthy competition.
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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 11, 2021
Ford v Ferrari- a tale of competition between glorious carmakers:
Ford remains a pioneer in the modern automobile market. Henry Ford, the founder of the US-based Ford Motor Company, introduced the assembly line system in the automobile industry and kickstarted the era of mass production in the cars industry. For many decades, Ford remained the car of the American middle-class and the automobile company also became immensely popular in other parts of the world.
On the other hand, the Italy-based luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari started its journey as a pure manufacturer of racing cars. In fact, Ferrari cars dominated the Le Mans, which was the most prestigious racing event at that time.
Ford Motor Company became worried about Ferrari’s growing reputation in the early 1960s when rich Americans became ready to spend lots of money on luxury and sports cars. This was putting a dent in Ford’s American market. So, Henry Ford II tried to solve the problem with an attempt to acquire Ferrari but Ferrari said no.
Ultimately, Ford needed to counter Ferrari’s reputation and this led to an epic battle for dominance. So, Ford decided to take on Ferrari at the Le Mans. Its first attempt to beat Ferrari by launching a new model called GT40 failed due to mechanical problems. Ford had to face two defeats to Ferrari in 1964 and 1965.
Ultimately, Ford made a grand comeback in 1966 when a next-generation Ford GT40 was launched. The new Ford model grabbed all three top positions at the Le Mans in 1966. In the process of the Ford-Ferrari rivalry, the sporting cars industry was able to advance to the next level.
How the Steve Jobs-Bill Gates showdown revolutionized the computer industry:
The late twentieth and early twenty-first century witnessed a glorious showdown between computer tycoons Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. The competition between the Apple founder and the Microsoft founder was certainly not as theatrical as the one between Ford and Ferrari. However, it lasted for several years and led to a radical transformation in technology.
In the race to emerge as the number one entrepreneur in the computer industry, Jobs and Gates complimented each other beautifully. In fact, the world gained immensely out of the battle for dominance between the two legendary businessmen. They kept producing better products and introducing sleeker, better technology to gain a bigger market share.
Most of the advanced computer appliances we use today are essentially a consequence of the showdown between Bill Gates and Steve Jobs.
Latest battle- Musk v Bezos:
The Musk v Bezos battle is the Ford v Ferrari battle of our era. The only difference however is that Ford has no wheels this time around.
Bezos started his career as a bookseller. He went up gradually by going online and getting local booksellers to join him. Ultimately, Bezos’ Amazon became the biggest e-commerce website in the world and revolutionized the way the world shops. Soon, Jeff Bezos invested in cloud servers, e-books and voice assistant Alexa. He, therefore, became the richest man in the world.
On the other hand, Musk is no genius. Let us tell you some simple facts- Musk is neither the founder of EV manufacturer Tesla nor did he find Confinity- the precursor of digital payments pioneer PayPal. Musk’s only venture is SpaceX, which has been at the centre of several accidents.
Musk however has a great PR. Hagiography and adulatory news reports about Musk’s ‘grand’ plans is what makes him popular.
Bezos may be alleged to have consolidated monopoly power, but at least his plans are genuine. On the other hand, Musk’s plans haven’t really materialized and there is simply way too much future hopes attached to his ventures. Epic battles like Ford v Ferrari and Jobs v Gates dominated the yesteryears in terms of competition between business tycoons. However, Musk v Bezos is hardly as iconic a battle.