4 ms·

Elon Musk is a very popular figure on sites like reddit that "like" technology and science but have very little understanding of it. Every week he says somethin

by nukeop 9y ago

Elon Musk is a very popular figure on sites like reddit that "like" technology and science but have very little understanding of it. Every week he says something that either shows what a "down to earth" guy he is, some doomsday prophecy, or announces some pipe dream technology that will never be worked on, and the masses start reposting his every word. He (or rather his PR team) is very good at creating that "image" and keeping himself popular on reddit, but he's terrible at the thing an enterpreneur is supposed to excel at - generating profits.

JKCalhoun 9y ago
r/futurology (blech!)
stinos 9y ago
an enterpreneur is supposed to excel at Honest question, but isn't the whole point (or one of the points) that he doesn't care too much about generating profits for shareholders etc (which I'd applaud - why does everything always have to be held up in the light of economy first?) but rather wants to create products no matter what (even if they are delivered way too late)? At least, that is the image which seems to be created. From heresay.
- nukeop 9y ago
  Doesn't help much that he also sucks at delivering results.
lewi 9y ago
> but he's terrible at the thing an enterpreneur is supposed to excel at - generating profits. I think that is a very narrow definition. Elon as of today is worth 20.7b (Forbes), between you, me and the internet I think he's doing pretty well as an entrepreneur. A better fit IMO would be 'value'. Profits are what you chase if you are a CEO after quarterly returns and job security. See Amazon [1]. [1]: https://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/031414/amazon-never-makes-money-no-one-cares-amzn-aapl-wag-azo.aspx https://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/031414/amazon-ne...
- nukeop 9y ago
  Is he really worth that, or is it just stock options he owns? Those can very quickly be reduced to near zero, as Elizabeth Holmes infamously demonstrated.
  - castis 9y ago
    I'm by no means saying Elon is untouchable, but theres a slight different between the useful technology that SpaceX and Tesla produce, and the not-so-useful technology that Theranos had.
  - skinnymuch 9y ago
    It’s a tad extreme to compare Theranos and Holmes with Musk and either company. SpaceX is possibly profitable with clear delivering results. There’s no comparison there. Even if one of his companies goes belly up, it won’t be a Theranos and Holmes like situation.
greglindahl 9y ago
Given the large number of startup people who read and write on Hacker News, I'm always surprised to see comments like this. You can create an extremely valuable company without running a profit, and many highly-profitable companies that exist today lost money when they were young.

by nukeop 9y ago

JKCalhoun 9y ago

r/futurology (blech!)

stinos 9y ago

an enterpreneur is supposed to excel at Honest question, but isn't the whole point (or one of the points) that he doesn't care too much about generating profits for shareholders etc (which I'd applaud - why does everything always have to be held up in the light of economy first?) but rather wants to create products no matter what (even if they are delivered way too late)? At least, that is the image which seems to be created. From heresay.

nukeop 9y ago
Doesn't help much that he also sucks at delivering results.

lewi 9y ago

> but he's terrible at the thing an enterpreneur is supposed to excel at - generating profits. I think that is a very narrow definition. Elon as of today is worth 20.7b (Forbes), between you, me and the internet I think he's doing pretty well as an entrepreneur. A better fit IMO would be 'value'. Profits are what you chase if you are a CEO after quarterly returns and job security. See Amazon [1]. [1]: https://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/031414/amazon-never-makes-money-no-one-cares-amzn-aapl-wag-azo.aspx https://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/031414/amazon-ne...

nukeop 9y ago
Is he really worth that, or is it just stock options he owns? Those can very quickly be reduced to near zero, as Elizabeth Holmes infamously demonstrated.
- castis 9y ago
  I'm by no means saying Elon is untouchable, but theres a slight different between the useful technology that SpaceX and Tesla produce, and the not-so-useful technology that Theranos had.
- skinnymuch 9y ago
  It’s a tad extreme to compare Theranos and Holmes with Musk and either company. SpaceX is possibly profitable with clear delivering results. There’s no comparison there. Even if one of his companies goes belly up, it won’t be a Theranos and Holmes like situation.

greglindahl 9y ago

Given the large number of startup people who read and write on Hacker News, I'm always surprised to see comments like this. You can create an extremely valuable company without running a profit, and many highly-profitable companies that exist today lost money when they were young.