4 ms·

As a fan (not shareholder, unfortunately) of Tesla, this is great news. When I think of Elon Musk I sometimes think of the movie version of Patton. Hopefully th

As a fan (not shareholder, unfortunately) of Tesla, this is great news. When I think of Elon Musk I sometimes think of the movie version of Patton. Hopefully this gets him to settle down on a bit of the drama, and focus on making Tesla succeed and getting SpaceX to Mars...

0x8BADF00D 8y ago
If he has time to make tweets like that, his priorities are incorrectly ordered. It happens to the best of us, though.
mbesto 8y ago
Honest question - what's the rationale of being a fan of a CEO? I can understand being a fan of an actor, a sports professional, but a CEO? I sincerely don't get it.
- elcomet 8y ago
  I can understand much more being a fan of Elon than a fan of a sports professional. One could say Elon is changing the world, or at least trying to, and is trying to accomplish dreams (going to Mars for example).
- mikeg8 8y ago
  I am a pretty big fan of Elon, I’ll explain how I think about it. To me, it’s not about being a CEO, it is about rooting for a visionary. I want Elon, and his missions via various business ventures, to succeed. The success of an actor, athlete, etc will have zero inpact on me personally. Some of the things Elon and team are trying to accomplish, could materially change my life, as well as many others. It feels much more real, more connected to me. Yes, maybe his methods/antics are silly at times, but he’s human, and trying really difficult things that may improve the world (subjectively). Why wouldn’t you want to be a fan of the things he is doing?
  - mbesto 8y ago
    Fair enough. > Some of the things Elon and team are trying to accomplish, could materially change my life Like what specifically? > Why wouldn’t you want to be a fan of the things he is doing? I guess I could be a fan of what he is doing, but not how he is doing it. A few reasons: - Concentration of wealth to him personally at the expense of my tax dollars (just look at how much of Tesla has been subsidized by the government) - Tesla is questionably a sustainable company. I think Musk is a visionary from a product/market perspective, but his operating capabilities are questionable. - You don't need cheerleaders for a more sustainable environment, you need paying customers of environmentally friendly products/services and operators who are fiscally responsible to deliver those goods. I would be cheering like you if he spent more time figuring out how to make his supply chain sustainable and less time touting himself on twitter and attacking his perceived enemies. - He's demonstrated that he believes he is above the law (SEC) and above respectful discourse ("pedo" comments). Certainly not the type of leader I want my future kids to follow. I grew up watching Michael Jordan and was a huge fan of what MJ did for the game of basketball. As I grew older, I learned he has a huge gambling problem (that got him into a lot of trouble), he regularly bullied players (teammates and friendly opponents) and is generally not a likable person. In other words, the end doesn't justify the means for me.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - mikeg8 8y ago
      > Like what specifically? Owning an electric vehicle. I'm currently starting a house remodel, if I could afford the solar roof, I would get one. I still may get the power wall as an energy backup. The price points of these are all high, but the assumption is that as the tech and supply improve, the price drops. > Concentration of wealth to him personally at the expense of my tax dollars Agree Elon has accumulated a lot of wealth but he also invests a lot of his wealth into businesses and takes risks with his money. Capitalism rewards people with more wealth if they are good at what they do, I don't mind that. I also don't think he hoards it in the same way as other billionaires. RE Subsidies - other energy companies also receive large subsidies. I may not agree with subsidizing these companies but I prefer to subsidize clean energy ventures vs coal. > Tesla is questionably a sustainable company. We should all find out in the next year or two, will be fun to watch. > I think Musk is a visionary from a product/market perspective, but his operating capabilities are questionable. If first part is true, does second part matter? Not to me. > You don't need cheerleaders for a more sustainable environment, you need paying customers of environmentally friendly products/services and operators who are fiscally responsible to deliver those goods. I would be cheering like you if he spent more time figuring out how to make his supply chain sustainable and less time touting himself on twitter and attacking his perceived enemies. Totally agree with you on this part. > I grew up watching Michael Jordan and was a huge fan of what MJ did for the game of basketball. As I grew older, I learned he has a huge gambling problem (that got him into a lot of trouble), he regularly bullied players (teammates and friendly opponents) and is generally not a likable person. Good points. I think Elon should give his teams more credit and I've read stories he can be an asshole- I'm not a supporter of the Steve Jobs bullying mindset and believe you can succeed while being nice. Maybe this is one of his biggest areas for improvement. But I've also seen a lot of interviews where Elon seems sensitive, kind of misunderstood and like he really cares about doing a good job and doing the right thing. He's definitely not perfect and I think people expect him to be which has got to be tough.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  Because Elon is not just a CEO - he doesn't sit there, manage some corps and rake in cash. He's a man on a mission, for whom companies are means to an end (human presence on Mars). You can be a fan of someone who's trying to achieve a particular dream, if you share that dream.
  - Fnoord 8y ago
    Tesla has a mission, sure, but Elon has various missions and values. I share some of those, but not all. He seems to be a huge Microsoft proponent; I'm not. However I believe the time to drastically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels is due. I'm neutral about Mars because I believe we should focus on more dire problems such as our environment. My point being: you do not have to agree with all of his values.
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      No one says you have to. I consider myself a Musk fan, and I share most, but not all, of his values (at least of those I know of). I do in particular share his vision about space and energy.
- Al-Khwarizmi 8y ago
  What's so strange about it? He's a person that, through talent, luck and effort, has become really good at what he does, just like good actors and sports professionals. And what he does has much more impact on the world that what an actor or sports professional does.
- darkerside 8y ago
  How does being a fan of an actor or sprouts professional make sense? It's not rational at all. I think you just give it a pass because it can be ascribed to fall under the category of "aesthetics", in which we've generally agreed as a society not to question someone's right to an opinion.

0x8BADF00D 8y ago

If he has time to make tweets like that, his priorities are incorrectly ordered. It happens to the best of us, though.

mbesto 8y ago

Honest question - what's the rationale of being a fan of a CEO? I can understand being a fan of an actor, a sports professional, but a CEO? I sincerely don't get it.

elcomet 8y ago
I can understand much more being a fan of Elon than a fan of a sports professional. One could say Elon is changing the world, or at least trying to, and is trying to accomplish dreams (going to Mars for example).
mikeg8 8y ago
I am a pretty big fan of Elon, I’ll explain how I think about it. To me, it’s not about being a CEO, it is about rooting for a visionary. I want Elon, and his missions via various business ventures, to succeed. The success of an actor, athlete, etc will have zero inpact on me personally. Some of the things Elon and team are trying to accomplish, could materially change my life, as well as many others. It feels much more real, more connected to me. Yes, maybe his methods/antics are silly at times, but he’s human, and trying really difficult things that may improve the world (subjectively). Why wouldn’t you want to be a fan of the things he is doing?
- mbesto 8y ago
  Fair enough. > Some of the things Elon and team are trying to accomplish, could materially change my life Like what specifically? > Why wouldn’t you want to be a fan of the things he is doing? I guess I could be a fan of what he is doing, but not how he is doing it. A few reasons: - Concentration of wealth to him personally at the expense of my tax dollars (just look at how much of Tesla has been subsidized by the government) - Tesla is questionably a sustainable company. I think Musk is a visionary from a product/market perspective, but his operating capabilities are questionable. - You don't need cheerleaders for a more sustainable environment, you need paying customers of environmentally friendly products/services and operators who are fiscally responsible to deliver those goods. I would be cheering like you if he spent more time figuring out how to make his supply chain sustainable and less time touting himself on twitter and attacking his perceived enemies. - He's demonstrated that he believes he is above the law (SEC) and above respectful discourse ("pedo" comments). Certainly not the type of leader I want my future kids to follow. I grew up watching Michael Jordan and was a huge fan of what MJ did for the game of basketball. As I grew older, I learned he has a huge gambling problem (that got him into a lot of trouble), he regularly bullied players (teammates and friendly opponents) and is generally not a likable person. In other words, the end doesn't justify the means for me.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - mikeg8 8y ago
    > Like what specifically? Owning an electric vehicle. I'm currently starting a house remodel, if I could afford the solar roof, I would get one. I still may get the power wall as an energy backup. The price points of these are all high, but the assumption is that as the tech and supply improve, the price drops. > Concentration of wealth to him personally at the expense of my tax dollars Agree Elon has accumulated a lot of wealth but he also invests a lot of his wealth into businesses and takes risks with his money. Capitalism rewards people with more wealth if they are good at what they do, I don't mind that. I also don't think he hoards it in the same way as other billionaires. RE Subsidies - other energy companies also receive large subsidies. I may not agree with subsidizing these companies but I prefer to subsidize clean energy ventures vs coal. > Tesla is questionably a sustainable company. We should all find out in the next year or two, will be fun to watch. > I think Musk is a visionary from a product/market perspective, but his operating capabilities are questionable. If first part is true, does second part matter? Not to me. > You don't need cheerleaders for a more sustainable environment, you need paying customers of environmentally friendly products/services and operators who are fiscally responsible to deliver those goods. I would be cheering like you if he spent more time figuring out how to make his supply chain sustainable and less time touting himself on twitter and attacking his perceived enemies. Totally agree with you on this part. > I grew up watching Michael Jordan and was a huge fan of what MJ did for the game of basketball. As I grew older, I learned he has a huge gambling problem (that got him into a lot of trouble), he regularly bullied players (teammates and friendly opponents) and is generally not a likable person. Good points. I think Elon should give his teams more credit and I've read stories he can be an asshole- I'm not a supporter of the Steve Jobs bullying mindset and believe you can succeed while being nice. Maybe this is one of his biggest areas for improvement. But I've also seen a lot of interviews where Elon seems sensitive, kind of misunderstood and like he really cares about doing a good job and doing the right thing. He's definitely not perfect and I think people expect him to be which has got to be tough.
TeMPOraL 8y ago
Because Elon is not just a CEO - he doesn't sit there, manage some corps and rake in cash. He's a man on a mission, for whom companies are means to an end (human presence on Mars). You can be a fan of someone who's trying to achieve a particular dream, if you share that dream.
- Fnoord 8y ago
  Tesla has a mission, sure, but Elon has various missions and values. I share some of those, but not all. He seems to be a huge Microsoft proponent; I'm not. However I believe the time to drastically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels is due. I'm neutral about Mars because I believe we should focus on more dire problems such as our environment. My point being: you do not have to agree with all of his values.
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    No one says you have to. I consider myself a Musk fan, and I share most, but not all, of his values (at least of those I know of). I do in particular share his vision about space and energy.
Al-Khwarizmi 8y ago
What's so strange about it? He's a person that, through talent, luck and effort, has become really good at what he does, just like good actors and sports professionals. And what he does has much more impact on the world that what an actor or sports professional does.
darkerside 8y ago
How does being a fan of an actor or sprouts professional make sense? It's not rational at all. I think you just give it a pass because it can be ascribed to fall under the category of "aesthetics", in which we've generally agreed as a society not to question someone's right to an opinion.