ilarynx

jimh2 said:

JP234 said:

Is anyone surprised that people who can work for a psychopathic a-hole are a-holes themselves? The boss a-hole has already crapped out and flushed anyone who isn't his brand of a-holery, and not just in Tesla. He should wind up just like his hero, Nikola Tesla, a con man/hustler with one good idea and a lifetime of bad decisions leaving him alone, friendless, staggering drunk on his own Kool-Aid.

Can you provide us a list of your accomplishments? I will say 100% certainty you have done little to nothing that is even noteworthy whereas Musk, whom you describe psychopathic a-hole, will remembered as one of the greatest leaders in history:

• Tesla: Against all odds he created a successful car company and brought EV's to the masses. No other car company has been able to come close to what he has done and they are established manufacturers with everything to make a car in place. They chose to get passed by a newcomer. I still do not have much hope for Ford or GM and Toyota has mostly sat the quest for EV's out. I am not sure how anyone will catch Teslain the near term as he is years ahead and not letting off of the gas.
• SpaceX: First privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to put a commercial satellite in orbit. First private company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft. First private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS). Has rockets that return to their takeoff spot. Prior to SpaceX Lockheed Martin and Boeing sat on fat, competition free contracts with NASA delivering the status quo, with no hope of every doing what Musk did.
• Starlink: Created a company delivering Internet to numerous area and countries that stood zero change of getting high speed service. The market leader prior to Starlink was Hughes Net which pales in comparison to Starlink even though it is early stage.
• PayPal: Cofounder.
• Add in battery production, work on solar and probably some stuff I cannot think of.

Note that this is more than one good idea. That is four game-changing companies he founded, co-founded or leads. As close to Steve Jobs as anyone has been in a long time. No question his behavior is questionable, but he has gotten results. If you have someone to compare him to please let us all know.

The mindless adulation by the Musk minions is mind-boggling. It borders on beatification. 

Tesla: As others have pointed out, Musk did not create Tesla. He is more frequently and more accurately referred to as an early investor or “angel investor” with Tesla. He essentially bought the rights to rewrite the company’s history. 

https://www.cnet.com/culture/tesla-motors-founders-now-there-are-five/

Elon should also find a designer who can make his cars less ugly. 

SpaceX: An impressive endeavor. One that was built on the shoulders of NASA and the others that were clumsily discounted. The long-time residents of Boca Chica, Texas, who are getting steamrollered by Musk’s SpaceX project there have a view of Musk that’s less obscured by rose-colored glasses. 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-spacex-rocket-boca-chica-texas-starbase-11620353687

Starlink: This is a true clustermusk of an operation. Poorly planned and poorly executed, they are ruining scientific projects on a daily basis and have caused an exponential increase in LEO hazards. 

https://astronomy.com/news/2022/03/starlink-satellite-streaks-how-big-a-problem-are-they

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ab8016

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/satellite-constellations-could-harm-the-environment-new-watchdog-report-says/

And the only way they can feign any hope of profitability this year, is to “exclude launch related costs.” 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/spacex-president-says-satellite-internet-business-expected-to-make-money-this-year-11675968242

I could afford a nice trip to the Maldives, IF I excluded airline ticket related costs. 

PayPal: Along with the other founders, some of whom espouse anti-democracy and authoritarian views. But, there are also those who proudly held up Mussolini as the one who could make the trains run on time. I guess some people have to take whatever praise they can get. 

Solar: Still not ready for prime time. 

https://www.theinformation.com/articles/facing-weak-demand-for-its-pricey-solar-roof-tesla-plans-changes 

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64236726

There are lots of examples of individuals being considered “geniuses” - until they weren’t. Elizabeth Holmes, Sam Bankman-Fried, Dennis Kozlowski, Billy McFarland, etc., etc. Yet their sycophants idolized them to the end. Some, afterwards. 

Beyond his “ingenious” destruction of Twitter (left off the list of “accomplishments” for some reason), there are all the other inanities that expose Musk as a truly shallow individual in just about every way. 

I’ve followed Musk for several years, admiring some of his accomplishments, and have even traveled to view an early SpaceX Falcon 9 launch - impressive. I’ve read at least 5 books on Steve Jobs and have followed his work since my first Mac 128 in 1985. ANY comparison of these two that extends much beyond “mammals” is laughably absurd.