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SpaceX
美国太空探索技术公司
Even before PayPal was sold, Musk was on to his next business venture. Ever since he was a child he had been fascinated by space exploration. He had been an avid science fiction reader - now he had the money to turn fiction into reality. He was convinced that the earth was destined to collapse as a life sustaining planet. The sooner we started working on the technology required for interplanetary travel and for sustaining life beyond Earth, the better.
在贝宝被收购之前，马斯克就已经展开了他的下一个商业计划。他小时候就迷上了太空探索。他以前非常爱读科幻小说，现在他有了钱，就可以把小说变成现实。他坚信地球作为一个维持生命的星球，注定是要崩溃的。我们越早开始研究星际旅行以及在地球以外的地方生存所需的技术就越好。
In discussions with a friend one day, Musk complained that, despite the vast improvements in the technology industry, the space industry has lagged sorrowfully behind. Since man had set foot on the moon way back in 1969 it appeared to him that no meaningful progress had been made. He was determined to change that and his third company, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, was to be his platform to do it. A major goal of SpaceX is to create a space vehicle that can take people, equipment and other necessary resources to Mars and to build a transportation infrastructure that will allow humans to become a multi-planetary species.
某天，马斯克在和一个朋友讨论时抱怨说，尽管科技工业有了巨大的进步，但航天工业却严重落后。他认为，自1969年人类踏上月球以来还没有取得任何有意义的进展。他决心改变这一现状，他的第3家公司——太空探索技术公司将成为他实现这一目标的平台。该公司的一个主要目标是制造一种能把人、设备和其他必要资源带到火星的太空飞行器，并建造一个交通基础设施，使人类成为一个多行星物种。
When Musk let the world in on his vision, he was immediately subjected to ridicule. Industry experts dismissed him as a rich, bored playboy, claiming that his physics degree and previous business ventures hardly made him qualified to conceptualize, develop and build rockets. However, they were underestimating Musk, who was not only a quick study, but who also brought on board the best engineers from top aerospace companies such as Boeing, TWA and NASA.
马斯克公布这一设想时，马上就遭到了嘲讽。业内专家认为他是一个富有的花花公子，还表示他的物理学位和以前的商业计划很难使他有资格构想、研发和制造火箭。然而，他们低估了马斯克，他不仅是一个快速的研究者，而且他还从波音公司、环球航空公司和美国宇航局等顶级航空公司引进了最优秀的工程师。
Musk was disappointed that NASA seemed disinterested in space exploration. He wanted to pique the public's interest in order to encourage NASA to increase their allocated funds on a project to land a device on Mars and then build a bubble bioverse. He also wanted to introduce a cheaper and safer alternative to Space shuttle travel. He was struck by the fact that the Russians were able to produce rockets that were cheaper and safer than anything the Americans could come out with. He traveled to Russia in an attempt to purchase a 'refurbished ICBM', but the deal became too complicated.
美国宇航局似乎对太空探索漠不关心，这一点令马斯克感到失望。他想引起公众的兴趣，以鼓励美国宇航局增加拨款，用于一个在火星上安装一个装置，然后建造一个泡沫生物宇宙。他还想推出一种比航天飞机更便宜、更安全的选择。令他震惊的是，俄国人能够生产出比美国人生产的更便宜、安全系数更高的火箭。他前往俄罗斯试图购买“翻新洲际弹道导弹”，但交易过于复杂。
Musk next set his sights on creating and successfully launching a reusable rocket, which he called Falcon 1, that could fly off to space, return to Earth and then be launched back to space again. The first scheduled launch for Falcon 1 was in 2005, yet three years later, after multiple failed attempts, Falcon 1 was still to have its first successful flight. Finally, on its fourth attempt, Falcon 1, successfully launched.
马斯克的下一个目标是研发并成功发射一种可重复使用的火箭，起名为猎鹰1号，它可以飞到太空、返回地球，然后再次发射回太空。“猎鹰1号”计划于2005年首次发射升空。3年后，经历了多次失败的“猎鹰1号”首次成功飞行。最后，在第4次尝试中，猎鹰1号成功发射。
On the back of this success, SpaceX was able to secure a $1.6 billion contract from NASA involving 12 future flights on their rocket, Falcon 9, to the International Space Station. Musk has estimated that SpaceX's efforts can minimize the U.S. government's expenses by around $1 billion per year...
基于这一成功的实践，美国宇航局与SpaceX公司签署了一份价值16亿美元的合同，其中包括未来12次乘坐猎鹰9号火箭飞往国际空间站的飞行。马斯克估计，SpaceX的努力可以使美国政府每年的开支减少约10亿美元……
Future Cars
未来汽车
Musk has always been fascinated by cars and specifically by the dream of creating a breed of electric cars that totally transform the driving experience. While he was still a sophomore at university, he had become aware of the world's depleting resources. What was needed was an alternative source of fuel, one that would not produce the carbon emissions that were damaging the environment. It was from these ideas that Musk decided to pursue electric cars.
马斯克一直对汽车着迷，他有一个梦想，那就是打造一种完全改变驾驶体验的电动汽车。当他还是大学二年级学生的时候，他就已经意识到世界上的资源正在枯竭。我们需要的是一种替代燃料来源，它不会产生破坏环境的碳排放物。基于这些想法，马斯克决定研发电动汽车。
A year after launching SpaceX, Musk was introduced to Al Ciccone and Tom Gage of AC Propulsion, the company behind an all electric car known as the Tzero. Musk was interested in mass producing the Tzero, but Ciccone and Gage showed no interest. They did, however, introduce Musk to a group of men who were dedicated to finding a more environmentally friendly vehicle.
在创立SpaceX一年后，马斯克被介绍给了美国电动汽车动力系统公司的艾尔·西科尼和汤姆·盖奇，该公司研发了电动汽车Tzero。马斯克对批量生产Tzero十分感兴趣，但西科尼和盖奇并非如此。但他们把马斯克介绍给了一群致力于寻找更环保汽车的人。
In July 2003, Musk teamed with three of them, Ian Wright, Marc Tarpening and Martin Eberhard to form the Tesla Corporation, in recognition of the father of AC induction motors, Nikola Tesla. From the very beginning, Tesla faced an uphill battle. The concept of an electric car was years away from capturing the public attention. And, just as was the case with SpaceX, the question was loudly asked how a visionary with no experience in the car industry could successfully establish a new company and a new product and stand against the industry giants. What's more, they were attempting to do something that those industry giants had been unable to do. In fact, Robert Lutz, CEO of General Motors, stated that lithium ion technology for cars was at least 10 years into the future.
2003年7月，马斯克与其中3人：伊恩·怀特、马克·塔彭宁和马丁·艾伯哈德合作成立了特斯拉公司，以纪念交流感应电动机之父尼古拉·特斯拉。从一开始，特斯拉就面临着一场艰难的战斗。电动汽车的概念远未引起公众的注意。而且，它与SpaceX的情况一样，许多人会问，一个有远见但没有汽车行业经验的人如何能够成功地建立一个新公司和一个新产品，还要与行业巨头抗衡。更重要的是，他们尝试做的是那些行业巨头都无法做到的事情。事实上，通用汽车首席执行官罗伯特·鲁兹表示，离汽车使用锂离子技术至少还有10年的时间。
As a result of the lack of industry enthusiasm, very few investors wanted anything to do with Tesla. In fact, Musk had to fund the majority of the operations of the company himself. The goal of having the first roadstar rolling off the assembly line by 2007 never materialized, as costs continued to mount.
由于缺乏行业热情，很少有人投资特斯拉。事实上，马斯克必须亲自为公司的大部分业务提供资金。随着成本的不断攀升，到了2007年，第一款roadstar的生产目标也并未实现。
Just as with X.com years earlier, tensions arose among the management. Musk, who was Chairman of the Board, had no faith in Martin Eberhard, the president of the company. Before long Eberhard had been ousted and Musk put himself in full control. He was now the CEO of two start ups. Even for a dynamo like Musk, this was too much. Still, he had to make both companies work.
就像几年前X.com一样，管理层中间也出现了紧张关系。担任董事会主席的马斯克对公司总裁马丁·艾伯哈德并不信任。不久后艾伯哈德就被赶下台，由马斯克完全控制公司。他当时是2家初创企业的首席执行官。就连马斯克这样精力充沛的人也撑不住了。不过，他还是要让2家公司都运转起来。
His master plan for Tesla was to build a luxury electric sports car, along with a line of more affordable cars, and an electric powered car with zero emissions. In 2008, the first Roadstar was shipped out. This $110,000 electric sports car could run for 200 miles on a single charge and was capable of going from 0-60 miles per hours in less than 4 seconds. The more family affordable electric car was called the Tesla Model S. Its release began in June of 2012. Sales took off, and there are currently 500 rolling off the production lines every week.
他对特斯拉的总体规划是打造一款豪华电动跑车，以及一系列更实惠的汽车和一款零排放的电动汽车。2008年，第一辆Roadstar面世。这辆售价11万美元的电动跑车充电一次就可以跑200英里，只需不到4秒就可以将时速在0到60英里自由切换。家庭更能负担得起的电动汽车名叫TeslaModelS，于2012年6月开始发售。销售开始增长，目前每周可以生产500台。
As well as being the CEO of Tesla, Musk is also the chairman of the board of directors of another environmental company, SolarCity. While not the founder of the company, he is very involved in achieving the company's mission to deliver complete solar energy systems to the end users without the cost of any up-front fees. It also promised reduced utility bills for all of its customers. By offering free installation and zero down payment to homeowners, Musk has made it easier for consumers to afford solar energy and has revolutionized the way the solar industry is run. SolarCity had enjoyed tremendous growth and success, with clients that include eBay, WalMart and the U.S. Military, making it the number one solar power service provider in the United States.
除了担任特斯拉的首席执行官，马斯克还是另一家环保公司——太阳能公司的董事会主席。虽然他不是该公司的创始人，但他致力于实现公司的目标，那就是向终端用户提供完整的太阳能系统，而无需支付任何前期费用。它还承诺降低所有客户的水电费。通过向房主提供免费安装和零首付，马斯克让消费者更容易购买太阳能，并彻底改变了太阳能行业的运营方式。SolarCity获得了巨大的发展和成功，易趣、沃尔玛和美国军方都是该公司的客户，因此，该公司成为美国第一大太阳能服务供应商。
