The Michigan Shop Building Parts For SpaceX's Starship | Chad Peterson
Episode notes
Prototype manufacturing executive Chad Peterson reveals how his parts ended up on SpaceX's Starship, why Tesla builds in under a year what GM says takes two, the 31 hour workday that keeps production lines moving, and why America's bridges weren't built for an ALL electric future.
Chad Peterson is the Vice President of Sales at Sequoia Tool, a family owned prototype manufacturer that has spent 35 years building parts for automotive, aerospace, defense, and data center programs. He started on the shop floor as a machinist at 3-Dimensional Services Group, where his father was a managing partner, and worked his way up to General Manager over 14 years. He's also the founder of Accelerated Manufacturing Solutions, a manufacturing and engineering consulting firm.
He explains:
🡒 Why Tesla and SpaceX hit timelines in under a year that GM says take a couple of years
🡒 How walking into a room of furious executives became the fastest way to earn a customer for life
🡒 Why skipping college put him years ahead of his peers, and why the trades are the smartest bet
🡒 Why the quiet guy in the room always wins, and the mistake every young salesperson makes
🡒 Why gas engines aren't going anywhere, and the infrastructure problem the EV push never planned for
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:54 Building cars years before you see them
02:50 Parts on Starship and the Elon timeline
04:33 Growing up in the shop and the 31 hour day
08:19 Raising the next generation
13:30 Skipping college and betting on the trades
18:34 Becoming the cleanup man
21:24 Breaking into sales at 24
26:01 Why EVs won't replace gas anytime soon
30:08 Building a business on the side and the comeback story
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