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Yes. I saw a tweet the other day that essentially said that the very worst thing you could do to Elon Musk would be to lock him in a comfortable conference room

Yes. I saw a tweet the other day that essentially said that the very worst thing you could do to Elon Musk would be to lock him in a comfortable conference room with plenty of food and water and excellent WiFi signal...and his phone. I can think of a political figure for whom this would be true, too.

nickik 8y ago
The problem I have with statments like this is that is twitter is often awesome as well. Getting great updates about technologies in SpaceX, Tesla or Boring. He also answers questions of podcasters and journalists.
- vkou 8y ago
  He also goes on personal crusades against members of the press, or just some random people that have said something mean, but true about him. (Vern Unsworth) He is very open to fans who give him good press, but closes up, and dismisses boring questions from haters and non-believers and shorts. Now, there is certainly a bit of a track record with a recent American presidents for this sort of thing. I'm not sure you want to double-down on that.
  - dmix 8y ago
    What is the middle ground here? Are all public figures supposed to completely hold back all views and follow some unspoken social rules? It's one thing not to make dumb mistakes that hurt your company but the end result of this outrage/apology tour culture we're developing and forever expanding the scope of is going to create a completely risk averse, milquetoast, and boring culture where honesty from public figures is rare and withheld as it was in the Victorian era. I'm happy there are people like Musk who push back on this idea. He's still human, this is how he actually feels, and he has nothing left to prove to the world as a billionaire with multiple successful companies. Plus measuring a private citizens communication to the same degree as a presidents is a bad idea. And it's like a good reason why Elon wants to take his company private as well. I'm okay with having red lines but everyone seems so eager to make those red lines one step above corporate-speak filtered through a PR firm and a focus-group. At some point we need to push back on this and tell everyone to calm down, the world isn't ending because someone tweeted something you find (the key word here) mildly offensive.
    - vkou 8y ago
      > What is the middle ground here? Are all public figures supposed to completely hold back all views and follow some unspoken social rules? The middle ground is that you shouldn't be so full of yourself, that when you make a technically stupid suggestion, and get called on it by an expert, your immediate reaction is making personal attacks against that person. And then, instead of apologizing, doubling and tripling down on it. The middle ground is that when the owners of your company ask you questions about your financials, you don't dismiss them as boring questions, and then take five fluff ones from some dude that makes gushing YouTube videos about you. The middle ground is that you should generally behave honestly in public. The middle ground is that you shouldn't fire people from your company for testing positive for THC, and then going on the air, and smoking pot. These aren't some arcane, unwritten rules, that only slimy politicians and social contract lawyers understand. This is basic human decency. > Plus measuring a private citizens communication to the same degree as a presidents is a bad idea. And it's like a good reason why Elon wants to take his company private as well. If you're exhibiting a lot of selfish and narcissistic traits as a private person and CEO, you'll probably keep exhibiting them as a president. I don't think the amount of scrutiny you undergo in the latter job goes down.
    - Nursie 8y ago
      > What is the middle ground here? Are all public figures supposed to completely hold back all views and follow some unspoken social rules? If you're a major public figure, try to hold back on accusing someone who has just shown themselves to be pretty heroic by rescuing stuck children, a pedo.
      - dmix 8y ago
        Everyone makes mistakes. That's part of being human. The answer doesn't have to be total control and aversion to personality and honesty in media. Which is what people seem to be pushing as the end goal, where no one ever says anything dumb or bad ever.
    - tedunangst 8y ago
      > he has nothing left to prove to the world as a billionaire with multiple successful companies. Has anybody told musk this? He doesn't seem to act like it.

nickik 8y ago

The problem I have with statments like this is that is twitter is often awesome as well. Getting great updates about technologies in SpaceX, Tesla or Boring. He also answers questions of podcasters and journalists.

vkou 8y ago
He also goes on personal crusades against members of the press, or just some random people that have said something mean, but true about him. (Vern Unsworth) He is very open to fans who give him good press, but closes up, and dismisses boring questions from haters and non-believers and shorts. Now, there is certainly a bit of a track record with a recent American presidents for this sort of thing. I'm not sure you want to double-down on that.
- dmix 8y ago
  What is the middle ground here? Are all public figures supposed to completely hold back all views and follow some unspoken social rules? It's one thing not to make dumb mistakes that hurt your company but the end result of this outrage/apology tour culture we're developing and forever expanding the scope of is going to create a completely risk averse, milquetoast, and boring culture where honesty from public figures is rare and withheld as it was in the Victorian era. I'm happy there are people like Musk who push back on this idea. He's still human, this is how he actually feels, and he has nothing left to prove to the world as a billionaire with multiple successful companies. Plus measuring a private citizens communication to the same degree as a presidents is a bad idea. And it's like a good reason why Elon wants to take his company private as well. I'm okay with having red lines but everyone seems so eager to make those red lines one step above corporate-speak filtered through a PR firm and a focus-group. At some point we need to push back on this and tell everyone to calm down, the world isn't ending because someone tweeted something you find (the key word here) mildly offensive.
  - vkou 8y ago
    > What is the middle ground here? Are all public figures supposed to completely hold back all views and follow some unspoken social rules? The middle ground is that you shouldn't be so full of yourself, that when you make a technically stupid suggestion, and get called on it by an expert, your immediate reaction is making personal attacks against that person. And then, instead of apologizing, doubling and tripling down on it. The middle ground is that when the owners of your company ask you questions about your financials, you don't dismiss them as boring questions, and then take five fluff ones from some dude that makes gushing YouTube videos about you. The middle ground is that you should generally behave honestly in public. The middle ground is that you shouldn't fire people from your company for testing positive for THC, and then going on the air, and smoking pot. These aren't some arcane, unwritten rules, that only slimy politicians and social contract lawyers understand. This is basic human decency. > Plus measuring a private citizens communication to the same degree as a presidents is a bad idea. And it's like a good reason why Elon wants to take his company private as well. If you're exhibiting a lot of selfish and narcissistic traits as a private person and CEO, you'll probably keep exhibiting them as a president. I don't think the amount of scrutiny you undergo in the latter job goes down.
  - Nursie 8y ago
    > What is the middle ground here? Are all public figures supposed to completely hold back all views and follow some unspoken social rules? If you're a major public figure, try to hold back on accusing someone who has just shown themselves to be pretty heroic by rescuing stuck children, a pedo.
    - dmix 8y ago
      Everyone makes mistakes. That's part of being human. The answer doesn't have to be total control and aversion to personality and honesty in media. Which is what people seem to be pushing as the end goal, where no one ever says anything dumb or bad ever.
  - tedunangst 8y ago
    > he has nothing left to prove to the world as a billionaire with multiple successful companies. Has anybody told musk this? He doesn't seem to act like it.