PART 1 Expressions

1. The consumer paid up front and had to make an educated guess as to whether or not his or her house even got enough sunshine to make the ordeal worthwhile.

an educated guess: a guess that is likely to be correct because it is based on some knowledge

Investors must make an educated guess as to the company’s potential.

2. There were the automotive flubs like Fisker and Better Place, and Solyndra, the solar cell maker that conservatives loved to hold up as a cautionary tale of government spending and cronyism run amok.

cronyism: [ˈkrəʊnɪɪz(ə)m] the practice of unfairly giving the best jobs to your friends when you are in a position of power, used to show disapproval

crony: one of a group of people who spend a lot of time with each other, used to show disapproval

sb's cronies,  eg. the senator's political cronies

3. We had a blanket rule against investing in clean-tech companies for about a decade.

a blanket statement/ rule/ ban/ strategy etc: a statement, rule etc that affects everyone or includes all possible cases

the proposed blanket ban on tobacco advertising

4. Customers could also pull from the batteries instead of the grid during peak energy use periods, when utilities tend to tack on extra charges.

tack: (n.) 平头钉； (v.) 钉平头钉

A handwritten note was tacked to the wall.

tack sth on: to add sth new to sth that is already complete, especially in a way that looks wrong or spoils the original thing

a beautiful old house with a hideous modem extension tacked on at the back

tacks

5. It could capitalize on the glut in the solar cell market and avoid the large capital expenditures tied to building and running factories.

capitalize on sth: to use a situation or sth good that you have, in order to get an advantage for yourself  类似表达： play off sth

Ecuador has capitalized on its natural beauty to attract tourism.

glut: a supply of sth, especially a product or crop, that is more than needed. (O.) shortage

a glut of oil on the world market

6. Newly minted Model S owners regularly opt to begin living the Musk Lifestyle and outfit their homes with solar panels.

mint: (v.) 铸币；铸造；（n.）薄荷

a newly/ freshly minted word, phrase, idea etc: sth that has been invented or produced very recently

some newly minted theatrical stories

7. I decided to raise it in advance because you never know when there will be some bloody meltdown.

meltdown:

1. a very dangerous situation in which the material inside a nuclear reactor melts and burns through its container, allowing radioactivity to escape

2. a situation in which prices fall by a very large amount or an industry or economic situation becomes much weaker

The stock market crash might lead to financial meltdown.

8. So, I do feel joy now, but there’s still that nagging feeling that it might all go away. 

nagging:

1. always complaining, eg, a nagging wife

2. nagging feeling/ doubt/ suspicion etc: making you worry or feel pain slightly all the time

There was still a nagging doubt in the back of her mind.

Lee had a nagging pain in her back.

9. For most of their histories, SolarCity, Tesla, and SpaceX have been the clear underdogs in their respective markets and gone to war against deep-pocketed, entrenched competitors.

underdog: a person, team etc that is weaker than the others, is always expected to be unsuccessful, and that is often treated badly

Crowds often feel sympathy for the underdog.

deep-pocketed: having large amounts of money that can be used

10. Musk has spent years buttering up the Democrats.

butter sb up: informal, to say nice things to sb so that they will do what you want

Don't think you can butter me up that easily.

PART 2 Thoughts

What‘s fascinating is that Musk remains willing to lose it all. He doesn't want to build just one Gigafactory but several. And he needs these facilities to be built quickly and flawlessly, so that they’re cranking out massive quantities of batteries right as the Model 3 arrives.

最近搭顺风遇到的车主是一位创业者，他一路都在感概白手起家创业的艰辛和成功机会的渺茫，他说谁要像王思聪那样有那么多的本金，想不成功都难。他的话固然有道理，但其实仔细想想很多人并不是真的没有第一桶金而是无法去堵上全部的身价、不敢去冒倾家荡产的风险。地铁上常常会遇到一些创业者拿着手机从车厢这头走到这厢那头向乘客请求扫码关注。虽然理解他们的艰辛和不易，但内心却很反感这种做法。这种推广方式对于创业者来说是一种很安全的几乎没有财力成本的方法，但是对于消费者来说却是一种很没有诚意甚至感觉有点被骚扰的做法。创业者与其抱怨时候消费者不了解自己的产品，不如反思自己真的倾尽所有可能的资源尽量做到最好了吗，真的做到百分百的努力了吗。电视广告、微博广告、折扣优惠，甚至哪怕是一张正式的传单，也比这种拿着手机求微信扫码关注的方式要有诚意得多。用这种廉价的方式去打开市场，很可能会适得其反。之前的百度，现在的乐视等，即使是这些已经有一定规模的企业，也都曾因前期投入过大而徘徊在破产线上。比起资金的不足，对于创业者而言往往更大的桎梏在于无法离开自己的safe zone。

SolarCity