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training them in our graduate schools,” Elon said. “One
of the toughest things I’ve found is to recruit top-notch
manufacturing talent. That’s where I’ve had to go overseas.
For a few decades, it just wasn’t where the smartest kids
in the class in America went. We had far too many smart
people in the US go into finance and law.”^316
Being the best doesn’t just mean that you were the best
in school. What you need is real experience. Elon recalled
how he interviewed fresh graduates without any experi-
ence. “So you get all the arrogance and attitude without
any of the capability, or the willingness to admit mistakes,
adapt and learn,” Elon said. “They need to go spend a few
years at a Fortune 500 company, where everybody is like
them, they have no status whatsoever and they’re treated
like dirt. They get seasoned and humbled. Then you can
work with them.”^167