The Ringelmann Effect: How Elon Musk Kept His Company Running With Just 20% of His Workforce

Elon Musk, the visionary entrepreneur behind companies like Tesla and SpaceX, has been known for his ability to optimize resources and maintain the productivity of his team. One of the theories he has successfully applied is the Ringelmann Effect, which explains how a smaller number of workers can achieve significant results.

According to the Ringelmann Effect, as the size of a work group increases, the individual productivity of each member tends to decrease. Musk understood this dynamic and decided to maintain a small but highly efficient team in his companies.

In his biography written by Walter Isaacson, Musk reveals how he implemented optimization strategies in his companies, effectively delegating responsibilities and encouraging the autonomy of his employees. This allowed Tesla and SpaceX to operate in an agile and competitive manner, despite having a fraction of the workforce of other companies in the same sector.

Thanks to these practices, Musk managed to maintain constant innovation and growth in his companies, demonstrating that the quality of a team's work can be more important than the number of employees.