Yes, it's true that one or more of Google's "moon shot" projects might become massive successes. But it's also true that they might not.
Elon Musk, like Apple, focuses on products that actually ship and sell. Tesla sells great cars with great efficiency. SpaceX flies great rockets, for pay, with great efficiency. Musk came up with the Hyperloop, but (unlike Google) he's not spending any time or money on it.
They're aiming high. That's all I'm saying. It's hard to argue against that.
It's easy to forget that Tesla and SpaceX weren't always the great cars and great rockets with great efficiency they are today. Just 3-4 years ago they were both on the brink of collapse.
In one of my undergraduate business classes in 2009, one of my professors literally used Elon Musk and Tesla/SpaceX as a case study in poor management.
Like SpaceX and Tesla, Google X's moonshots deserve time to evolve.
I disagree. Massively.
After Elon Musk, and possibly partly inspired by him, Page has driven Google to be, by far, the most ambitious tech titan in the game right now.
Looking past G+ and its nonsense (which is an ugly thing, granted.): - Loon is in motion, and in conjunction with recent drone acquisitions, will likely bring internet to currently unconnected billions. - Self-driving cars are actually happening. - The smart contact lens for glucose monitoring will change the lives of diabetics. - Investments and acquisitions in AI and Robotics speak to a MASSIVE ambition in that sphere. - The recent announcements in their consumer lines with TV, Nest, Auto, and wearables are extremely competitive.
And these are just the things we know about.
Compare all this to Apple (which I love, but a Beats acquisition, a bigger iPhone, and a watch coming? Woop-de-doo.), and Facebook (how's Slingshot doing?), it's not even the same game anymore.
To say that Google is an ugly place, or that they're "beholden to the advertising agency", is naive to the bigger picture.