Elon Musk doesn’t run Solar City – he is “only” the company’s chairman – but he’s not only a big part of its success, it could be argued he’s responsible for its existence, since he suggested to his cousin Lyndon Rive (who does run the company after starting it up with help from his brother, Peter. He (Elon) predicted that the more interesting part of the solar industry wouldn’t be in manufacturing, but rather, the “downstream” installation/financing side of things. Said he,
“making standard efficiency solar panels is about as hard as making drywall. It’s really easy. In fact, I’d say drywall’s probably harder.”
You can read more about Musk’s influence over at Seeking Alpha, but be warned, they make you jump through a bunch of hoops to subscribe and it’s generally (though not in this case) a horrible place to get accurate information.
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