3 ms·

I never get why Elon Musk gets roasted for hyping up his products while EVERY OTHER car manufacturer does the exact same thing. Heck, Jaguar boasted endlessly

I never get why Elon Musk gets roasted for hyping up his products while EVERY OTHER car manufacturer does the exact same thing. Heck, Jaguar boasted endlessly about their i-Pace being a great Tesla competitor, while in practice it disappointed in range (https://insideevs.com/news/340027/jaguar-i-pace-range-test-yields-disappointing-results/ https://insideevs.com/news/340027/jaguar-i-pace-range-test-y...)

aeturnum 7y ago
I think there are real material differences between being overly optimistic about range estimates (something Tesla has also done iirc) and overly optimistic about the car driving itself. One leads to extra charging or missed meetings, the other to bodily injury and death. I certainly don't mind Elon talking up how Tesla is fighting giants and doing Good Things. I like "little" companies taking on big ones. I don't like selling things people that may kill them or others.
hn_throwaway_99 7y ago
I think that's a huge overstatement. "Funding secured", preselling full self driving that doesn't exist, taking reservations for a 35k car that doesn't exist, etc. etc. is a big step above what other manufacturers do. I agree with the GP comment, I really want Tesla to succeed but they (or, rather, Musk) take hype and overselling to a new level.
rchaud 7y ago
The difference is that Elon Musk's hype has the stench of the monorail salesman in that episode of The Simpsons. A slick pitchman painting grandiose visions of the future ripped straight out of '50s science fiction comics. Seeing as how his Reddit following talk about him like Tony Stark, I feel like Musk knows exactly who he's courting. The chasm between Musk's superhero image and his Twitter meltdowns and missed deadlines, is likely what makes people be skeptical/annoyed with his communication style.
- true_tuna 7y ago
  I was a member of his cult of personality till the debacle in Thailand and his utter inability to handle criticism for his absurd proposed course of action. Couple that with his weird lashing out at employees and insane persecution of whistleblowers and I’m done. Once you see it in that light he’s just another petty tyrant. I don’t imagine he’ll go very far with the current level of emotional maturity. It’s too bad because many of his initiatives are really beneficial.

aeturnum 7y ago

I think there are real material differences between being overly optimistic about range estimates (something Tesla has also done iirc) and overly optimistic about the car driving itself. One leads to extra charging or missed meetings, the other to bodily injury and death. I certainly don't mind Elon talking up how Tesla is fighting giants and doing Good Things. I like "little" companies taking on big ones. I don't like selling things people that may kill them or others.

hn_throwaway_99 7y ago

I think that's a huge overstatement. "Funding secured", preselling full self driving that doesn't exist, taking reservations for a 35k car that doesn't exist, etc. etc. is a big step above what other manufacturers do. I agree with the GP comment, I really want Tesla to succeed but they (or, rather, Musk) take hype and overselling to a new level.

rchaud 7y ago

The difference is that Elon Musk's hype has the stench of the monorail salesman in that episode of The Simpsons. A slick pitchman painting grandiose visions of the future ripped straight out of '50s science fiction comics. Seeing as how his Reddit following talk about him like Tony Stark, I feel like Musk knows exactly who he's courting. The chasm between Musk's superhero image and his Twitter meltdowns and missed deadlines, is likely what makes people be skeptical/annoyed with his communication style.

true_tuna 7y ago
I was a member of his cult of personality till the debacle in Thailand and his utter inability to handle criticism for his absurd proposed course of action. Couple that with his weird lashing out at employees and insane persecution of whistleblowers and I’m done. Once you see it in that light he’s just another petty tyrant. I don’t imagine he’ll go very far with the current level of emotional maturity. It’s too bad because many of his initiatives are really beneficial.