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It is possible to both do good and generate positive PR. If he was getting in the way or come uninvited would be one thing, but other than that nothing wrong w

It is possible to both do good and generate positive PR. If he was getting in the way or come uninvited would be one thing, but other than that nothing wrong with an extra option. Rich and well known people can’t win really. They get criticised for helping and also criticised for not bailing out bad government policy.

wiz21c 8y ago
>>> Rich and well known people can’t win really. They can, they just need to no interact outside their bubble, make sure they pay their taxes in a fair way (because, you know, the Panama is 100% legal), and do not show up when their not asked to. Musk is great at building cool toys, but I'm not sure he's great at making humanity better. (hint: we don't need more battery, we don't need to go to Mars, we don't need more cars on the roads, and some people sure don't need a submarine). Now if Elon wants to go in the cave and bring oxygen bottle to those who need it, or explain the kids to never give up, well, that'd be nice.
- atombender 8y ago
  We absolutely do need batteries, though. Energy storage on a large scale -- e.g. Tesla's projects in Australia and Puerto Rico -- is going to be hugely important for an all-renewable electric future. Their cars aren't that important.
  - toomuchtodo 8y ago
    The cars are hugely important. The demand for those is what is driving down the per unit cost of batteries. Without the cars, utility scale storage wouldn’t be financially feasible.
satysin 8y ago
My thoughts as well. Celebrity businessmen like Musk can't really win because no matter what they do there are people who dislike them, rightly or wrongly, because of other things they have done. Personally I don't think Elon was doing this as a PR stunt. I believe he saw it was a very difficult problem with life and death time constraints and he has a bunch of the world's best engineers that build things for extreme environments.
- rezeroed 8y ago
  Being a billionaire isn't winning? Just because he gets criticised doesn't mean he can't or isn't winning.
untog 8y ago
> Rich and well known people can’t win really Counter-argument: they are already winning, and will continue to win until the day they die. I think the obscenely rich can cope with a small ding to the ego every now and then.
- sawmurai 8y ago
  Don’t treat people differently based on their financial situation
  - stnmtn 8y ago
    But think of the mega-ultra-rich billionaire's feelings!
    - jagermo 8y ago
      "Billionaires are people, too. We are leaders in technology, in industry, in finance. Look at history. Do you know who else vilified a tiny minority of financiers and progressive thinkers called the Jews?" ~ Gavin Belson
s2g 8y ago
It's also possible to just use a dangerous and potentially tragic situation for PR, as a distraction from your business issues and increasing criticism for unhinged behaviour on twitter.

wiz21c 8y ago

>>> Rich and well known people can’t win really. They can, they just need to no interact outside their bubble, make sure they pay their taxes in a fair way (because, you know, the Panama is 100% legal), and do not show up when their not asked to. Musk is great at building cool toys, but I'm not sure he's great at making humanity better. (hint: we don't need more battery, we don't need to go to Mars, we don't need more cars on the roads, and some people sure don't need a submarine). Now if Elon wants to go in the cave and bring oxygen bottle to those who need it, or explain the kids to never give up, well, that'd be nice.

atombender 8y ago
We absolutely do need batteries, though. Energy storage on a large scale -- e.g. Tesla's projects in Australia and Puerto Rico -- is going to be hugely important for an all-renewable electric future. Their cars aren't that important.
- toomuchtodo 8y ago
  The cars are hugely important. The demand for those is what is driving down the per unit cost of batteries. Without the cars, utility scale storage wouldn’t be financially feasible.

satysin 8y ago

My thoughts as well. Celebrity businessmen like Musk can't really win because no matter what they do there are people who dislike them, rightly or wrongly, because of other things they have done. Personally I don't think Elon was doing this as a PR stunt. I believe he saw it was a very difficult problem with life and death time constraints and he has a bunch of the world's best engineers that build things for extreme environments.

rezeroed 8y ago
Being a billionaire isn't winning? Just because he gets criticised doesn't mean he can't or isn't winning.

untog 8y ago

> Rich and well known people can’t win really Counter-argument: they are already winning, and will continue to win until the day they die. I think the obscenely rich can cope with a small ding to the ego every now and then.

sawmurai 8y ago
Don’t treat people differently based on their financial situation
- stnmtn 8y ago
  But think of the mega-ultra-rich billionaire's feelings!
  - jagermo 8y ago
    "Billionaires are people, too. We are leaders in technology, in industry, in finance. Look at history. Do you know who else vilified a tiny minority of financiers and progressive thinkers called the Jews?" ~ Gavin Belson

s2g 8y ago

It's also possible to just use a dangerous and potentially tragic situation for PR, as a distraction from your business issues and increasing criticism for unhinged behaviour on twitter.