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

[krtek a houby]

View attachment 456226

This claim is doing the rounds, though I see no "print" corroboration. Would appear to be true

Twitter has always been at war with the AfD

 

[teqniq]

'Suicidal empathy' is apparently a term used by white supremacists to show that caring too much about others usually in a racial context can have unintended consequences.



Musk seems to be quite big on it:



i know nothing about Research gate (the link at the top of the post) save for the fact that they have published a .pdf on suicidal empathy, which does not fill me with optimism regarding their agenda.

E2a here is a bias check on them, according to it they seem to be science-based and not having any unpleasant agenda:

ResearchGate - Bias and Credibility

PRO-SCIENCE These sources consist of legitimate science or are evidence-based through the use of credible scientific sourcing. Legitimate science follows

mediabiasfactcheck.com

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

'Suicidal empathy' is apparently a term used by white supremacists to show that caring too much can have unintended consequences.

View attachment 456248

Musk seems to be quite big on it:

View attachment 456251

i know nothing about Research gate (the link at the top of the post) save for the fact that they have published a .pdf on suicidal empathy, which does not fill me with optimism regarding their agendas.

ResearchGate don't actually publish per se - researchers put stuff on there. I think you need to be a verified published researcher to some degree but aiui that's about it. It's definitely not any sort of assurance of quality (or sign of lack of - plenty of good stuff there.)

 

[Lord Camomile]

Yeah, far as I'm aware ResearchGate is fairly widely used by academics (and 'academics' ), for both good and ill. Most papers'll still need to be judged on a case-by-case basis.

 

[NoXion]

Isn't Panama a de-facto US ally/client state/whatever? I don't understand this sudden urge by Trump and administration to talk as if the Panamanians were planning to sell the canal to the Chinese or whatever paranoid fantasy has congealed in their heads. Combined with the pointless rhetorical shit-fight he's also been having with Canada and Mexico, Trump is really looking like an agent of chaos. Musk is egging it on of course, along with denying kids cancer research money.

The clown show is in full swing and the new administration hasn't even been properly inaugurated yet.

 

[krtek a houby]

Isn't Panama a de-facto US ally/client state/whatever? I don't understand this sudden urge by Trump and administration to talk as if the Panamanians were planning to sell the canal to the Chinese or whatever paranoid fantasy has congealed in their heads. Combined with the pointless rhetorical shit-fight he's also been having with Canada and Mexico, Trump is really looking like an agent of chaos. Musk is egging it on of course, along with denying kids cancer research money.

The clown show is in full swing and the new administration hasn't even been properly inaugurated yet.

Am hoping it's all bluster from himself, in order to show that the "boss is back" or some kind of similar vibes?

That said, it's difficult to know, as the guy tends to change his mind and switch about all the time.

Is this really what his voters want? Doubt it.

 

[JimW]

Isn't Panama a de-facto US ally/client state/whatever? I don't understand this sudden urge by Trump and administration to talk as if the Panamanians were planning to sell the canal to the Chinese or whatever paranoid fantasy has congealed in their heads. Combined with the pointless rhetorical shit-fight he's also been having with Canada and Mexico, Trump is really looking like an agent of chaos. Musk is egging it on of course, along with denying kids cancer research money.

The clown show is in full swing and the new administration hasn't even been properly inaugurated yet.

He's firing off on too many fronts already, even if he's serious he'd never manage to get more than one of these promised major upheavals done if that.

 

[NoXion]

Am hoping it's all bluster from himself, in order to show that the "boss is back" or some kind of similar vibes?

That said, it's difficult to know, as the guy tends to change his mind and switch about all the time.

Is this really what his voters want? Doubt it.

Apparently Trump brings hope to forgotten rust belt voters, even though he did jack-fucking-shit for them during the last four years he was President. He does hurt people though, so maybe the promise of Trump is less about fixing things and more about hurting "the right people".

 

[MickiQ]

Apparently Trump brings hope to forgotten rust belt voters, even though he did jack-fucking-shit for them during the last four years he was President. He does hurt people though, so maybe the promise of Trump is less about fixing things and more about hurting "the right people".

I think for a certain percentage of Trump voters, 'sticking it' to the people they don't like is at least as important as to what he might do for them.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Space X is a federal contractor.

Elon Musk is the owner of Space X.

Elon Musk is a federal contractor.

Federal Law U.S.C. 52 30119 prohibits federal contractors from making contributions to federal candidates or political parties during the period of their contract.

Musk donated $250m to Trump’s campaign.

Trump have vowed to deport foreign criminals, start with Musk!

 

[MickiQ]

I think Musk is trying to steal the Republican Party off Trump in much the same way as Trump managed to steal it off reality. Trump always used to threaten to primary any Republican congressman who didn't support him but never followed through since he was too busy grifting the money to line his own pocket and pay off pornstars.
Emperor of Mars has a truly obscene amount of money (It's with hailing distance of half a trillion dollars now) and is capable of funding his favoured candidates out of chump change against Republican congressmen he doesn't like and they know it.
Musk is living proof of two quotes. "Money is power" and "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" One single individual is now so wealthy that he is able to distort politics in the world's richest country to suit himself.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

I think Musk is trying to steal the Republican Party off Trump in much the same way as Trump managed to steal it off reality. Trump always used to threaten to primary any Republican congressman who didn't support him but never followed through since he was too busy grifting the money to line his own pocket and pay off pornstars.
Emperor of Mars has a truly obscene amount of money (It's with hailing distance of half a trillion dollars now) and is capable of funding his favoured candidates out of chump change against Republican congressmen he doesn't like and they know it.
Musk is living proof of two quotes. "Money is power" and "Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" One single individual is now so wealthy that he is able to distort politics in the world's richest country to suit himself.

Absolutely agree, but for the last sentence. His meddling in British and German politics (amongst others) shows that Musk is far from content with keeping to US borders.

 

[8ball]

'Suicidal empathy' is apparently a term used by white supremacists to show that caring too much about others usually in a racial context can have unintended consequences.

View attachment 456248

Musk seems to be quite big on it:

View attachment 456251

i know nothing about Research gate (the link at the top of the post) save for the fact that they have published a .pdf on suicidal empathy, which does not fill me with optimism regarding their agenda.

E2a here is a bias check on them, according to it they seem to be science-based and not having any unpleasant agenda:

ResearchGate - Bias and Credibility

PRO-SCIENCE These sources consist of legitimate science or are evidence-based through the use of credible scientific sourcing. Legitimate science follows

mediabiasfactcheck.com

Suicidal empathy may be an actual thing (I don't have the depth of knowledge to comment either way), but like hostile attribution bias, can still be one of those things that gets twisted into a right wing talking point.

And I'd still expect Musk to be using the term wrongly.

 

[Yossarian]

A jump in Tesla stock added around $16.5 billion to Musk's fortune today - I hope the three ghosts that visit him tonight decided to just scare him to death instead making some futile effort to get him to change his ways

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

A jump in Tesla stock added around $16.5 billion to Musk's fortune today - I hope the three ghosts that visit him tonight decided to just scare him to death instead making some futile effort to get him to change his ways

I really don’t get this. What kind of twat buys a Tesla? Sure they were the first decent electric motor that you can live with and the charging network is great, but Porsche, Audi, Mercedes all make EVs at the same price point as the Teslas, yet unlike the Tesla they are much more pleasant places to spend time in than a rusty Trabant….

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

.

 

[tim]

I really don’t get this. What kind of twat buys a Tesla? Sure they were the first decent electric motor that you can live with and the charging network is great, but Porsche, Audi, Mercedes all make EVs at the same price point as the Teslas, yet unlike the Tesla they are much more pleasant places to spend time in than a rusty Trabant….

And Porsche was a proper Nazi with proper Nazi mates not a rapist reality show host.

 

[8ball]

I really don’t get this. What kind of twat buys a Tesla? Sure they were the first decent electric motor that you can live with and the charging network is great, but Porsche, Audi, Mercedes all make EVs at the same price point as the Teslas, yet unlike the Tesla they are much more pleasant places to spend time in than a rusty Trabant….

I couldn't say. They look like nice cars when I've seen them driving about, and they seem practically silent compared to other electrics, but I don't put much of this down to Musk, and wouldn't make assumptions about anyone who had one.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

And Porsche was a proper Nazi with proper Nazi mates not a rapist reality show host.


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2025 marks 80 years since WW2 ended, even Godwin has moved on.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I couldn't say. They look like nice cars when I've seen them driving about, and they seem practically silent compared to other electrics, but I don't put much of this down to Musk, and wouldn't make assumptions about anyone who had one.

Speak to any owner. Owners of other marks seem to be happy with them or even in love with them, Tesla owners seem to tolerate them, at best.

 

[MickiQ]

I think Tesla big thing was they were first, they weren't the first electric car but they were the first mass produced electric car that had been designed from scratch as an electric car rather than a petrol model with a battery stuffed under the bonnet instead of the engine.
There is more competition now but being first to market is always worth something.

 

[JimW]

Surprising number of parents at daughter's school have them, they have a factory here, but the local makes are all catching up and pulling ahead and of course loads cheaper.

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Merry Christmas Urbs!

 

[tim]

I think Tesla big thing was they were first, they weren't the first electric car but they were the first mass produced electric car that had been designed from scratch as an electric car rather than a petrol model with a battery stuffed under the bonnet instead of the engine.
There is more competition now but being first to market is always worth something.

But not the first mass-produced electric vehicle designed from scratch