I have no way of knowing if this is true, but supposedly Musk gets down and dirty at the front line, on the factory floor, every single week trying to solve problems:

https://techstartups.com/2024/12/20/marc-andreessen-on-elon-...

So the CEO as "big ship pilot" but not in the trenches fire fighting seems to be contradicted by at least one CEO if this is true.