That was quite misleading on Elon's side. Engines were manufactured in 1970's (I believe in 1973-1974) after quite an extensive RND program - actualy, remake of similar engines, NK-15, which weren't nearly as good. NK-33 engines were tested as perhaps no others of theirs caliber - with tests like throwing metal chips (nuts?) into pumps, or running uninterrupted for ~4 hours (!) . Technical capabilities are also quite formidable - ok, Merlin-D has better thrust-to-weight, but worse Isp, and that's with the hindsight of ~40 years. Throttleable... relatively modest pressure by today's standards... And they were stored in Volga region, which is firmly Europe.

So, Musk's comment - intentionally or not - painted OSC's decision in less-than-objective color. Well, Elon is known for exagerrating... and sometimes quite grossly. We'll know the scale.

Limits of materials were pushed indeed. Some safety margins for materials were claimed as under 1.0 - i.e., 0.97 - that is, materials were pushed further than their limits. The idea was that since the engine is used once, we can use it in the manner that greatly reduces the life of the engine - and nobody would care, since a stage will be done with in a few short minutes. A lot of things were done quite unconventionally - remember SR-71, for example, or oxygen-rich pre-burners which were considered rather impossible.

NK-33 remains unsurpassed even today by many criteria. Now it includes even the ability to work after 40 years of shelf line - which probably left the trace on engines reliability.

SpaceX did this test with the Merlin engines too. http://www.airspacemag.com/space/is-spacex-changing-the-rock...

The chamber pressure (and therefore Isp) are both dialed back for the sake of reusability. They're stated multiple times that they're not running those engines anywhere near their physical limits.

Gas generator cycle in general doesn't allow reaching effective Isp as high as closed loop cycle. On the other hand, smaller pressure reduces stress and generally considered safer. NK-15 were single use engines, but NK-33 and most other modern engines are all reusable.

The "have you seen their car?" comment was from an interview with Bloomberg regarding BYD, not BMW.

He laughed when asked about BMW during the Q2 2013 conference call, but it was a chuckle followed by serious comments. It was only when the questioner began nervously laughing that he laughed for a significant time.

Compilation video containing both events (unfortunately with music, but I don't care enough to track down the individual sources): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gt6CAswSOY

So, the big criticism here is that… he's too forthright about competitor's products? I'm actually quite ok with that.

The way I see it Elon is rising up to those around him not the other way around.

Sometimes -- and I'd argue often -- leadership consists more of both 1) getting out of the way of and 2) enabling those who Want To Get Shit Done.

I find the fanboiism somewhat tedious (I don't find the top comment of this thread all that insightful), but I do admire Musk for seeming to hit a number of remarkable goals. That said, I find Tesla and Solar City more impressive/promising than SpaceX (technical challenges and accomplishments notwithstanding) or the Hyperloop (ultimately an idea that's been rightfully junked in the past).

Given the history of US industry of doing just the opposite -- stalling and preventing needed innovation -- if I had to pick a single attribute of his that I find most encouraging it's his leadership in that regard.

Without SpaceX it's likely the business would have muddled along without putting any effort into reducing costs for decades.

There will be a time of reckoning for Elon, but this is not it.

By and large the BMW i3/i8 has received wide praise amongst motoring reviewers and has seen strong sales.

The sales of BMW's EV's are strong because of the brand, not because they are excellent electric cars.

Don't get me wrong, it is awesome that more players are entering the market. But for a little while longer, Elon can keep sniggering in his corner.