7 ms·

This article started out good but got pretty lazy toward the end. "This idea is stupid" is not a good description. Also I think Elon is generally looking at pr

This article started out good but got pretty lazy toward the end. "This idea is stupid" is not a good description. Also I think Elon is generally looking at problems we have (traffic congestion, expensive space travel, fossil fuel cars) and trying different things to fix them with his considerable funding. Why is this a problem? It's much easier to criticize others ideas on a blog then it is to generate and execute ideas yourself.

stcredzero 8y ago
This article started out good but got pretty lazy toward the end. It started getting lazy a lot sooner than the end. The "debunking" by pointing out that there are some destinations that are more than 30 minutes away? That's not the actual position they were presenting. There is a lot of the world's population which lives in a strategically drawn circle of that travel radius. They know full well that going halfway around will take a bit longer. Also, the issue of flying around bombs is already mitigated by SpaceX's current practices with reusable Falcon boosters. (Namely that on approach, the trajectory is designed such that everything has to go right for the booster to do other than land in the ocean. Also, by the time the ship gets to the end of a flight, it will be mostly empty, so the explosion risk will be much less than 20kt.) The fact that none of that is talked about indicates to me that this is a hit piece.
- ams6110 8y ago
  How can travel by rocket even be considered in today's world? Are Falcon launches carbon neutral?
  - maccam94 8y ago
    No, but it might be comparable or better than airplanes. https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/07/musks-suborbital-flights-likely-lower-carbon-not-actually-cheap-pleasant/ https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/07/musks-suborbital-flight... And for the moment, flights are nowhere near numerous enough to have any effect on CO2 levels.
wpietri 8y ago
For each thing, there's a big question whether he's really trying to fix it or is just showboating. The useless submarine for the Thai cave rescue is a pretty clear example of the latter. SpaceX seems to be doing well, but Tesla's still an open question; they've had big production problems, they've lost execs left and right, they've had just one profitable quarter, and their cars get decidedly mixed reviews. [1] Also, I think Musk's extensive self-promotion means that public criticism is entirely within bounds. Especially given Musk's dedication to criticizing his critics, like the Thai cave diver he called a pedophile. Or his obsession with people shorting Telsa. [1] E.g., https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2018-tesla-model-3-test-review https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2018-tesla-model-3-test...
- dforrestwilson 8y ago
  ^ This. For someone who claims to be dedicated to saving the world he (1) is receiving one hell of an executive package and (2) spending a significant amount of time being a rude asshole to critics.
  - annerajb 8y ago
    His pay package does not come into effect until Tesla network triples in a few years. Supposedly he doesn't claim the salary checks / have a salary at Tesla and his regular stuff seems to be mostly margin out to pay for stuff assume his income comes from SpaceX .
  - Robotbeat 8y ago
    Those things can be simultaneously true.
- bischofs 8y ago
  Probably some showboating going on, but who cares? Let the guy do his thing; it doesn't hurt me at all and the industries he's in probably need some stirring up. As for Tesla whether they succeed or fail it's great for the automotive industry - getting the old oem giants off their wallets and looking over their shoulder is great for the consumers.
- 8y ago

stcredzero 8y ago

This article started out good but got pretty lazy toward the end. It started getting lazy a lot sooner than the end. The "debunking" by pointing out that there are some destinations that are more than 30 minutes away? That's not the actual position they were presenting. There is a lot of the world's population which lives in a strategically drawn circle of that travel radius. They know full well that going halfway around will take a bit longer. Also, the issue of flying around bombs is already mitigated by SpaceX's current practices with reusable Falcon boosters. (Namely that on approach, the trajectory is designed such that everything has to go right for the booster to do other than land in the ocean. Also, by the time the ship gets to the end of a flight, it will be mostly empty, so the explosion risk will be much less than 20kt.) The fact that none of that is talked about indicates to me that this is a hit piece.

ams6110 8y ago
How can travel by rocket even be considered in today's world? Are Falcon launches carbon neutral?
- maccam94 8y ago
  No, but it might be comparable or better than airplanes. https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/07/musks-suborbital-flights-likely-lower-carbon-not-actually-cheap-pleasant/ https://cleantechnica.com/2017/10/07/musks-suborbital-flight... And for the moment, flights are nowhere near numerous enough to have any effect on CO2 levels.

wpietri 8y ago

For each thing, there's a big question whether he's really trying to fix it or is just showboating. The useless submarine for the Thai cave rescue is a pretty clear example of the latter. SpaceX seems to be doing well, but Tesla's still an open question; they've had big production problems, they've lost execs left and right, they've had just one profitable quarter, and their cars get decidedly mixed reviews. [1] Also, I think Musk's extensive self-promotion means that public criticism is entirely within bounds. Especially given Musk's dedication to criticizing his critics, like the Thai cave diver he called a pedophile. Or his obsession with people shorting Telsa. [1] E.g., https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2018-tesla-model-3-test-review https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2018-tesla-model-3-test...

dforrestwilson 8y ago
^ This. For someone who claims to be dedicated to saving the world he (1) is receiving one hell of an executive package and (2) spending a significant amount of time being a rude asshole to critics.
- annerajb 8y ago
  His pay package does not come into effect until Tesla network triples in a few years. Supposedly he doesn't claim the salary checks / have a salary at Tesla and his regular stuff seems to be mostly margin out to pay for stuff assume his income comes from SpaceX .
- Robotbeat 8y ago
  Those things can be simultaneously true.
bischofs 8y ago
Probably some showboating going on, but who cares? Let the guy do his thing; it doesn't hurt me at all and the industries he's in probably need some stirring up. As for Tesla whether they succeed or fail it's great for the automotive industry - getting the old oem giants off their wallets and looking over their shoulder is great for the consumers.
8y ago