PART 1 Expressions

1. Things were so precarious, and I didn’t want to miss our opportunity to get this thing finished and show it to the world.

precarious: [prɪˈkeriəs]

1. likely to fall, or likely to cause sb to fall

a precarious mountain trial

2. a precarious situation or state is one which may very easily or quickly become worse

the company's precarious financial position

2. The public hemming and hawing around picking the factory site did little to inspire confidence in Tesla’s ability to knock out a second car and generated the same type of negative headlines that had surrounded the Roadster’s protracted delivery.

hem and haw / (British) hum and haw: 哼哼呃呃 to keep pausing before saying something, and avoid saying it directly; to take a long time to make a decision or before you say something

protracted: SYN lengthy, used to describe sth that continues for a long time, takes longer than usual, necessary or expected

protracted negotiations/ discussions/ debate etc

3. O’Connell went from office to office in Washington, D.C., looking for a job and had little luck until Lincoln Bloomfield, the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, heard him out.

hear sb out: to listen to all of what sb wants to tell you without interrupting them

Just hear me out, will you? 

4. The more O’Connell dug into the United States’ dependence on foreign oil, the more frustrated and despondent he became.

despondent: extremely unhappy and without hope

Gill had been out of work for a year and very getting very despondent.

He was becoming increasingly despondent about the way things were going.

despondency (n.)

5. Tesla had the Roadster, its electric powertrain, and no frills.

1. 荷叶边

2. attractive but unnecessary features  相似表达： frivolity 

without/ with no frills

It was just a comfortable flat with no frills.

We supply basic, no-frills tractors at low prices.

frills

6. For Musk, going public represented something of a Faustian bargain.

[ˈfaʊstiən]  Etymology： From the medieval legend of Faust, who made a contract with the devil, exchanging his soul for worldly gains.

1. An agreement in which a person abandons his or her spiritual values or moral principles in order to obtain wealth or other benefits.

2. A deal in which one focuses on present gain without considering the long term consequences.

7. Even if he remained the largest shareholder in Tesla, the company would be subjected to the capricious nature of the public markets.

[kəˈprɪʃəs] changing quickly and suddenly; change one's mind quickly suddenly

a capricious wind

She was as capricious as her mother had been.

8. The guys from Toyota and Daimler were blown away.

blow sb away:

1. to make sb feel very surprised, especially about sth they like or admire

It just blows me away, the way everyone's so friendly around here.

2. to defeat sb completely, especially in a game

Nancy blew away the rest of the skaters.

9. Musk’s eyes darted around for a few moments and then settled onto the sun visor.

dart: (n.) 飞镖； (v.) 1. to look at sb or sth very quickly; 2. to move quickly in a particular direction

Tom darted a terrified glance over his shoulder at his pursuers.

Jill darted forward and pulled him away from the fire.

10. A couple of assistants taking notes outside of the car jotted this down.

jot sth down: to write a short piece of information quickly

Let me jot down your number and I'll call you tomorrow.

Tesla Model S

PART 2 Thoughts

It's almost a binary experience for him. Either you're trying to make something spectacular with no compromises or you're not. And if you're not, Musk considers you a failure. This position can look unreasonable or foolish to outsiders, but the philosophy works for Musk and constantly pushes him and those around him to their limits.

对比我自己而言，我很多时候确实会预先给自己留下犯错或打折扣的空间。比如制定了期末复习计划，但还是会中间允许自己看一会儿电视或玩一会儿游戏。又比如参加这次读书活动，起初打算每天坚持写Summary的，但有时因为太忙有时因为太累了就允许自己中间留白几天。以前高中班主任（数学老师）常说，每天学习打9折，五天后累计不是9折，而是5.9折（5个0.9相乘）。虽然我至今也没弄清这个逻辑所在，但可以肯定的一点是，每天对自己妥协一点，日积月累之后，一定会被那些完美执行计划的人甩开一大截。