Elon Wouldn’t Talk to Me

Shortly following the new millennium, or if you prefer, the year 2000, I spent a fair amount of time in Silicon Valley. I was seeking out companies that might enjoy taking a break from many hours in front of a computer and visiting Santa Cruz for a BBQ beach party.

I was employed as a sales manager for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It was a position I would never have dreamed of, yet it fell into my lap in a dream-like way.

First of all, I live in a neighborhood that is very near the Boardwalk. I had spent many a day staring over the water thinking about my next move -- where I might find work -- with the Boardwalk in the background and the wooded Santa Cruz Mountains farther in the distance. A position with the seaside amusement park was the furthest thing from my mind.

Following up on an ad in the local newspaper, I applied and interviewed for a sales position at the amusement park. My most recent employment had been a complete bust, as an ill-defined editorial director for a high-tech public relations firm in Silicon Valley. That lasted six months and our parting had not been pleasant.

I did not mention that job on my resume, which did, however, include a successful sales and project management career of 10-years in the holography industry, based in Santa Cruz with worldwide reach. As is the case with many technology companies, that business ran its course and dwindled to obscurity. Yet the sales figures and account names, including 3M, Proctor & Gamble and the U.S Postal Service, looked impressive.

Following my first interview at the Boardwalk, I received a call from the very nice woman in the HR department. "Thank you for your application," she said. "At this time I'm afraid we're going to have to pass on you."

"I'm so disappointed," I replied without hesitation. "I really want to work for the Boardwalk! I enjoyed meeting you and was looking forward to it."

"You know," she said. "I've never done this before but I've changed my mind. I will schedule you for another interview with our sales director." That next interview included a panel of directors. I gave them my strongest, most positive pitch and won them over. However, I wasn't finished yet. 

I still had to separately convince Kathie Keeley, Sales Director, that I wasn't a stuffed shirt, that I knew how to have, and project, fun. I think my resume was over-the-top corporate appearing, as well as my coat and tie. In a test of my quotient for fun, I rode the spanking new virtual roller coaster, hooting and hollering. Thus began a 16-year employment with a carefully managed company that clearly was not going to fail. My colleagues turned out to be some of the finest, down-to-earth and talented people I have had the pleasure to work with.

So Elon. 

Tesla at this time was only a name and a dream. Google the same. I visited both companies in their early years. I had heard the chatter, but they were too small for what I was after. I wanted big numbers for big beach parties. 

Dressed in an aloha shirt and shorts, I would drive around Silicon Valley looking for prospects that I couldn't find in any other way. I played Travis McGee sleuthing for clues in the streets and alleys of Sil-Valley. New companies with awkward names like Nauto and Nutanix were sprouting up over night as the once agricultural landscape turned soft industrial. Large parking lots filled with vehicles signaled the big fish I wanted to reel in. In sales, it's always about numbers. 

If I couldn't get in through the front lobby, which often was unattended and locked, I walked around back looking for an open door or random person to ask. Most of these plants were cube farms -- large, windowless indoor spaces filled with work cubicles (tiny offices). Perhaps a dog with name like Browser would be trotting around. Maybe a game room with foos ball and ping pong. I walked through practically unnoticed, blending in, looking for a contact, someone who organized outing and events for employees. I sincerely believed that these workers would enjoy a day of fun at the beach. 

Our package included a private area with BBQ lunch with sides and soft drinks -- beer and wine optional -- beach volleyball court and ball, plus all-day unlimited rides. Add-ons included a live band, games coordinator, face painting and more. I emceed all my events with a welcome address and thank you. I loved having the microphone. Back in the office, I created my own persona as Mr. Beach.

During this period, I was also writing freelance articles for South Bay Accent, a slick lifestyle magazine published in Santa Clara Valley since 1978. Many of these pieces were profiles of successful personalities in the valley, in tech, government and sports. The editor asked me to write a profile of Elon Musk, little known at the time, but showing up on the radar.

I knew his offices were on Deer Park Drive in Palo Alto, a posh industrial neighborhood where the Wall Street Journal and Hewlett Packard -- the original Silicon Valley company started by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in a backyard garage -- were now located. I had persuaded several groups from Hewlett Packard to come enjoy a beach party at the Boardwalk. One engineer told me that he had solved two problems while lounging on our beach deck. I used his words as a testimonial. I liked dropping in at the HP lobby where the same male receptionist would greet visitors, including me, with the grace of a cultured maitre'd. "May I fix you a latte or cappuccino ?"

This was early Silicon Valley. And HP was hailed the model high-tech company (see The Hewlett-Packard Way). Yet, the fluid nature of the Valley vaporized even HP. Beach parties ended under Carly Fiorina's reign as CEO.

I contacted Tesla headquarters introducing myself as a writer for South Bay Accent, the lifestyle magazine of Silicon Valley. I proposed an interview with Mr. Musk for a cover feature. At least a real person answered my call. Remember those days?

I researched Elon but information was sparse at that time. He was from South Africa where his mother had been a high-fashion model. She dominated the Musk files.

I called several more times without ever receiving a direct response. It was clear that Elon considered himself too important to give a moment of his time for a local magazine profile. Elon wouldn't talk to me. He had bigger plans. 

Google beach parties at the Boardwalk eventually went from 50 guests to 2,000 guests per division, as the tech giant slowly gobbled up the city of Mountain View. They loved getting away for a day at the beach. Tesla employees, even as the company grew in numbers taking over the old GM-cum-Toyota auto factory in Fremont, never had that opportunity. 

Note: In 2007 the privately-owned Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk celebrated its 100-year anniversary as the longest running seaside amusement park on the West Coast. We held a gala reception and smashing party in our historic Cocoanut Grove.