Elon Musk says every company should maximize the 'curve of customer happiness'

Elon Musk says every company should maximize the 'curve of customer happiness' — here's what that means (TSLA)

* Elon Musk has some business advice for other companies: "Maximize the area under the curve of customer happiness." * The Tesla CEO said that is the goal of his company, and other businesses should aim to do the same thing. * The hill-shaped curve shows that with more options, like Tesla's option to "subscribe" to its self-driving capabilities, customers have more ways to be satisfied. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Tesla's goal is to "maximize the area under the curve of customer happiness," CEO Elon Musk said in an earnings call on Wednesday. He advised that it's "the kind of thing that all companies should try to do." Musk said Tesla will offer its self-driving capabilities as a subscription service — in addition to the traditional, permanent option — for customers who didn't purchase it outright when they bought or leased their vehicles. By giving customers additional choices, Musk said he is expanding its curve of customer happiness. This curve is a hill-shaped line, with its peak being the height of customer happiness. Leading up to the peak are customers wishing for more choices, and leading down from the peak are customers overwhelmed with too many options. As customers have different needs and wants, the philosophy behind the curve is that by maximizing the area under that curve, there is more room for customers to find satisfaction with a company or product. "It's what results in long-term value creation," Musk said. "Our goal is always really to do the best thing for the customers." Join the conversation about this story »
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SpaceX has a 'go' from NASA to return 2 astronauts to Earth on Sunday as Hurricane Isaias threatens several Florida splashdown locations

* NASA on Saturday gave SpaceX a "go" to undock the company's first crewed space mission, called Demo-2, and land it on Sunday evening. * Hurricane Isaias complicated original plans to return two astronauts to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship in the Atlantic Ocean. * Elon Musk's aerospace company may now try to splash down NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley in the Gulf of Mexico. * Two out of seven total landing sites near Florida must have good weather conditions, and NASA has until about 5 p.m. ET on Saturday to call off the undocking. * Should the weather worsen, NASA and SpaceX can try again a day later or some other date over the next two months. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have a "go" to return to Earth this weekend and wrap up an historic space mission for both NASA and SpaceX. Behnken and Hurley launched to orbit aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon vehic...

What an independent contractor actually is and how it's classified under California's Assembly Bill 5, the gig worker law Uber, Lyft, and others are fighting with a November ballot measure

* California's Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) went into effect in January, adopting a narrow definition of independent contractor that forces Uber and other gig economy businesses to choose between reclassifying workers as employees or risking significant liability for misclassification. * The law serves as a reminder to California businesses to be careful when classifying workers as contractors. * Classifying independent contractors falls into two main categories: the "right to control" test (often called the "IRS test") and the tougher "ABC test" recently adopted in AB5. * Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have recently poured $30 million into Proposition 22 — a ballot measure intended to exempt major ridesharing and food delivery companies from AB5. If California residents vote the measure into effect in November, Uber and Lyft can continue classifying drivers as contractors. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. In September 2019, Californ...

PayPal parts with top advertising executive after shifting its marketing strategy during the pandemic

* PayPal's chief creative officer Steve Simpson, its top advertising executive, left the company after about a year. * The move came after PayPal shifted its marketing strategy during the coronavirus pandemic, placing less emphasis on the brand and more on catering to small businesses, said a source with direct knowledge of the marketing operation. * Simpson's departure followed that of CMO and former Apple executive Allison Johnson in May. Both "decided to leave PayPal" as the company streamlines its global marketing functions, according to a PayPal spokeswoman. * Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. PayPal's highest-ranking ad executive Steve Simpson left earlier this month after just over a year as part of a restructuring of its global marketing business. Simpson, who was chief creative officer, was hired to make high-minded ad campaigns to help PayPal stand out from competitors like Square, Stripe, and Apple Pay. But this strategy chan...

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