VivaTech – The Dome – He is one of the stars of the Tech planet. He boosted the electric car industry with Tesla. He launched and brought back to Earth several rockets with SpaceX. He captured Twitter’s bluebird.
And he was in Paris last Friday, on the biggest stage of the 2023 edition of VivaTech. For an hour, in front of 4,000 people, who applauded him many times, the entrepreneur was “cooked” by the advertiser Maurice Levy. What did those who were there think?
“I left before the end,” said Younès Manjal. Co-founder of Verachain, a consulting firm specializing in blockchain, this web application developer came to VivaTech to understand “the movement around blockchain technology and what are [celles] that are created in this sector”. He realized the importance of the Fintech ecosystem.
Not a fan of Elon Musk, Younès Manjal wanted to “see what he was going to say, his charisma” and confront the image of the character in YouTube videos with reality. “I felt a little comedian Elon Musk. We have the impression that he had worked on his speech and that the questions were not the ones that were going to cause him the most problem. “For example, illustrates Younès Manjal, “the fact that he fired a lot of people on Twitter, the procedures used, and also his character, …” And “I was expecting a slightly more lively Elon Musk “.
“I did not come out with new information,” he continues. To make a pass paid for more than €600 more profitable, the consultant would have preferred to “stay inside the show rather than attend Musk’s conference, and continue to see startups on the ground”.
“An inspiring figure”
“It was less about information than about vibrations,” said Lysa Malka Sheinina. Very happy to be at VivaTech and, icing on the cake, to have been able to see the mega entrepreneur in the flesh.
The startup she founded in 2021, Skill-X AI, an AI-driven professional skills learning platform, is one of around 20 start-ups selected to represent Israeli tech at the show.
“For my generation, says the thirties, Elon Musk is a very inspiring figure. From his very technical project management skills and his approach to business, I learned a lot from him along my journey as an entrepreneur. »
Elon Musk is a personality apart, “whom I can trust, it seems to me,” says Lysa Malka Sheinina.
The businessman, however, “seemed sad” to him. And even if the hour of conversation was worth it, Lysa Malka Sheinina would have preferred more time to be spent on how Musk “did concretely to break through and achieve successes”.
Elon Musk at VivaTech, Paris, 16 06 2023, Ph. Moctar KANE
The angry subject
The question was “spicy”, as Younès Manjal points out. Probably the only time when Maurice Lévy allowed himself to tickle Elon Musk. The latter had just repeated that he was “in favor of the regulation of artificial intelligence”, as when everything presents a risk to the public.
“Regulation for AI! Is this what you would also like for Twitter? “, then ventured the facilitator. Brief moment of silence from Musk and rustling of the public who knows the militant position of the boss of the social network for an unlimited expression of the users.
A few minutes later, Christel Heydemann, the director of Orange, questioned him again about respect for European laws (good conduct to fight against misinformation) and the harassment of which young people are victims on Twitter and other networks. social. Musk then reiterated his opposition to censorship and that harassing posts could be downgraded.
But Elon Musk should not be summed up on Twitter, says Belem Tamayo. This investor at Devvio came from the United States to sift through the fertile ground of startups in France. “It is a country very advanced in the regulation of crypto-currencies, NFT, blockchain, Web 3, she says. It’s easier for companies to develop their business here than in the United States, at least for that aspect of things. »
Belem Tamayo wanted to hear Elon Musk’s point of view on Europe and technology, on its level compared to the United States. And even if “the question of the director of Orange was good”, Twitter is according to her a “bad topic for the public of VivaTech. It’s supposed to revolve around technology as a whole. »
The work of a generation
In the opinion of Marko Koski, investor at the Finnish accelerator Energyspin, the subject on the social network was important. He even thinks that “the interviewers should have been more aggressive about Twitter”.
Because “the path taken by Twitter under Elon Musk is not the right one (…) And the freedom of expression that Elon Musk is promoting at the moment is not the reality of expression!” Despite everything, Marko Koski appreciated the advice of perseverance given by the boss of Tesla and Space-X to the young entrepreneurs present in the pursuit of their dream.
Data-analyst and “geek”, as she defines herself, Barbara Vargas Zarate made the trip to Berlin, invited by Girls in Tech Germany, an association for the promotion of women in the digital sector, one of the themes of the show this year. She belongs to the new generation. Without being a fan of Musk’s character either, she shares “a lot of ideas with him about exploring the Universe even if it seems a little crazy”.
And what’s more, “he’s an important figure in the world. These words can change the stock market or people’s lives,” she believes. And she says she is “intrigued by his intelligence. In the conversation with Musk, what the young data analyst liked was his position on artificial intelligence: “For me, the regulation of AI is something very important. »
In addition to the place of “most important technology” that Elon Musk attributes to AI, Belem Tamayo notes his prediction on the future of humanity. “I appreciated when he said that the current generation is one of change. Whether it is good or bad, it will be our fault. It was new to me. I thought that would be the duty of the next generation. No, he said that will be our mission. And I agree with that. The Musk storm will have at least sown a seed in Paris.