Is Elon Musk the greatest visionary or the greatest snake oil salesman of our age?

[PTK]

This is where it gets complicated. The world needed SpaceX. Having satellite launches be pretty much only in the realm of national governments was a bad thing, long term. It's not like they organised themselves to avoid space junk, it was a fucking Wild West anyhow so reducing launch costs and opening it to more business could only be a good thing. And I have to give His Muskiness the credit to put his money where his (incredibly large) mouth is. That said, beyond the initial investment, I think SpaceX is mainly successful despite Musk. They do, quite famously, have a fulltime member of staff dedicated to handling their most senior investor and stopping him from meddling too much. The guy is loco, no doubt, but there are some instances where you need a loco investor to kick start things and SpaceX is a good example.

Tesla is a bit greyer, as Musk didn't start that himself but he did make it possible from them to actually get to market. The world needed to see an electric carmaker succeed to get off their arses and do something. It looks like, in the long term, Tesla might get buried by the Big Boys but they'll have done their job. Electrification is probably 10 years ahead of where it would have been without them. Again, they needed a crazy investor and there he was.

But the fact is this guy was throwing darts, blindfolded, at a dartboard full of his childhood obsessions. These are his pet projects. You've seen his other pet projects (including his unfortunate children) and you know the guy is unstable. If not edging on Evil Badguy intent on world domination. I'd personally have nothing to do with him, but I have to acknowledge showing up with funding where it was needed for some truly disrupting technologies. That's how history works, in the main. There are a few things that slowly evolve, but most of them move in big bangs (evolution included!) and there has to be something to drive it. Just be happy it's a loony South African and not another World War that did it.

As for his other projects... You can only be lucky so often.

So my epitaph would be: "Elon Musk. Tosser. Spent his inheritance mostly usefully."

The Starlink satellites are ruining astronomy, so it would actually be a good idea if there was some state control of satellite launches.

 

[2hats]

The Starlink satellites are ruining astronomy, so it would actually be a good idea if there was some state control of satellite launches.

Not just radio and optical observations (and even more so in both portions of the electromagnetic spectrum with the latest DTC variants), nor just the potential for orbital debris, but also there is concern for upper atmosphere ozone depletion at spacecraft EOL disposal.

Last week a number of researchers issued a call for a pause and review of megaconstellation launches, to better consider environmental impacts.

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

Not just radio and optical observations (and even more so in both portions of the electromagnetic spectrum with the latest DTC variants), nor just the potential for orbital debris, but also there is concern for upper atmosphere ozone depletion at spacecraft EOL disposal.

Last week a number of researchers issued a call for a pause and review of megaconstellation launches, to better consider environmental impacts.

Well if you can convince people they are coming back down to earth with fake cgi, it’s not like anyone is going to go and check are they.

 

[hitmouse]

Just in case anyone missed the font he's chosen for his new 'dark gothic MAGA' hat.

I'm not even sure you can call the choices dog whistle at this point - there's no subtlety.

Do you think of that as a nazi thing? It just made me think of:

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

It’s Wolfenstein bro

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

Gothic is pre Brexit font.

 

[Rob Ray]

It's not quite blackletter but it's in the ballpark, I wouldn't be entirely shocked if it was a deliberate dog whistle

 

[Artaxerxes]

Do you think of that as a nazi thing? It just made me think of:
View attachment 448751

 

[teqniq]

View attachment 448758
View attachment 448757

What Gothic font is that on the hat? 'Look at Meeeee!'

 

[Santino]

Make Americs Crest Ausin.

Makes you think, doesn't it?

 

[Chz]

The Starlink satellites are ruining astronomy, so it would actually be a good idea if there was some state control of satellite launches.

I don't disagree, but there wasn't any control of it prior to Spacex. You just needed 10x the money, making it the domain of only the most excessive corporations. Now even medium sized concerns get look in. Plenty of countries that couldn't previously afford any sort of satellite capability now have it within reach.

 

[gosub]

 

[BigMoaner]

Note too the reference to election stealing in that vid. He’s wacked

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Again, my mind couldn't help but wander to Father Ted again...

 

[BigMoaner]

i sort of hope that he no longer creates outrage from left wingers on X, largely because they have all left. i doubt it though. The thing is with 14 year old political extremists is that they need the feed of outrage, and i suspect that the last thing he would want is that it's just him and other damaged and deranged far rights shouting to no one. a tactic is just to let him get on with it. he's so addicted taht he'd probably get bored and then start triggering all the right wingers just for fun, anything to fill centre stage.

 

[PTK]

On Radio 4 the other day, it was claimed that Musk attended anti-apartheid protests in South Africa in the 1980s. This article states that the original claim was that he attended anti-apartheid concerts, but that there was no such thing as an anti-apartheid concert in apartheid South Africa.
So, it seems that the BBC has swallowed some major Musk bullshit. The article states that Musk has been spreading racist rumours that a "genocide" of the White people of South Africa is being planned.

What Elon Musk Gets Wrong about South Africa — The Dial

The tech mogul's statements about his country of origin reveal that he never really knew the place.

www.thedial.world

 

[tommers]

He's like my mum, he believes everything he reads on the fucking Internet.

 

[two sheds]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/30/elon-musk-ordered-to-attend-1-million-voter-lottery-suit-hearing-in-philadelphia.html

• Elon Musk must attend an emergency court hearing in Philadelphia on Thursday to address a bid by the city’s top prosecutor to stop the Tesla CEO and his political action committee from continuing to award $1 million prizes to registered voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania.
• Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner revealed his lawsuit against Musk and the America PAC “triggered an avalanche of [social media] posts from Musk’s followers,” many of whom “made antisemitic attacks on Krasner.”
• Krasner’s lawsuit accuses Musk and the PAC of operating an illegal lottery and trying to influence voters in the presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

 

[editor]

'Prophecy'? FFS.

 

[Rob Ray]

Actively counterproductive to send paid people out door-knocking and treat them like shit, I'd have thought.

Workers Say They Were Tricked and Threatened as Part of Elon Musk’s Get-Out-the-Vote Effort

America PAC door knockers were flown to Michigan, driven in the back of a U-Haul, and told they’d have to pay hotel bills unless they met unrealistic quotas. One was surprised they were working to elect Donald Trump.

www.wired.com

 

[hitmouse]

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/30/elon-musk-ordered-to-attend-1-million-voter-lottery-suit-hearing-in-philadelphia.html

Little bit more info on this:

Philly DA Requests More Security After He Filed Lawsuit Against Elon Musk’s Voter Giveaways

District Attorney Larry Krasner said that since suing Elon Musk, the tech billionaire’s amplification of antisemitic messages has prompted calls for people to show up at his house in masks.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

Musk promoted messages in the days immediately following the lawsuit that amplified known antisemitic tropes.
One post shared by the tech billionaire and ardent supporter for Trump declared: “Shapiro PA Governor / Krasner Philly DA / soros money machinations / what’s the Jewish population of Pennsylvania? Weird how they end up in every position of consequence every single time.” [sic]
“Even worse, one account responded to posts about the lawsuit at least 19 times by inviting political violence, posting Krasner family’s home address, including numerous posts also stating, ‘Krasner loves visitors. Mask up and leave all cellphones at home.’ The directives to ‘mask up’ and to ‘leave all cellphones at home’ are to prevent identification of illegal actors by video, by eyewitnesses, and by cell phone geolocation. These posts, which unquestionably are criminal, see 18 Pa. C.S. § 2719, and remain posted on Musk’s X website today,” the motion states.

 

[Yossarian]

One of the funniest things about a Harris victory will be seeing Musk go through the stages of grief, though I don't know if he'll ever get to 'acceptance'

 

[two sheds]

I read a piece by him which started off saying that we need to get to Mars because Earth is going to be fucked.

So we do nothing to slow Earth getting fucked and instead a few very rich people are going to be stuck out in a space station as the alternative

 

[pbsmooth]

All he cares about is his govt $$$.

 

[tommers]

'Prophecy'? FFS.

View attachment 449106

69.420?

Cringe.

 

[Rob Ray]

All he cares about is his govt $$$.

It's what mildly surprised me about him going all-in on Trump when it's not a sure thing. Big gamble to fuck off a group with a good chance of holding your purse strings once the dust has settled. Brain rot > pragmatism at this point I guess.

 

[pbsmooth]

It's what mildly surprised me about him going all-in on Trump when it's not a sure thing. Big gamble to fuck off a group with a good chance of holding your purse strings once the dust has settled. Brain rot > pragmatism at this point I guess.

maybe I’m underestimating how MAGA he really is.

 

[Santino]

It's what mildly surprised me about him going all-in on Trump when it's not a sure thing. Big gamble to fuck off a group with a good chance of holding your purse strings once the dust has settled. Brain rot > pragmatism at this point I guess.

If they win, the Democrats will be falling over themselves to pander to people who would have supported a military coup against them.

 

[weltweit]

As far as I can make out Musk is doing quite well out of Biden's democrats, he seems to think he can do better out of a Trump regime but I think Trump has played on Musk's ego.

 

[Rob Ray]

He has done well out of them, but that was before he went nuclear option. If Trump loses I'd expect, quite likely, a broad policy to "encourage competition" and possibly even for anti-trust considerations to pop up. Which tbf I'd expect anyway because it's getting to the point where he's repeatedly gainsaid the military on Starlink and they have a neoliberal ideology to encourage, but it'd be more enthusiastic.