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Just like him I've got to a position where I can live very comfortably, but I would never ever give up my comfortable life and all my money for creating/buying

Just like him I've got to a position where I can live very comfortably, but I would never ever give up my comfortable life and all my money for creating/buying startups that will most likely fail (of course I'm still investing). I have all admiration for him that can't be taken away by any kind of fan base.

Bilal_io 5y ago
Sorry I was not clear, it was not the fan base that turned me away from him. It was the way he treated his workers during the start of the pandemic, forcing them to work. Along with other workplace controversies. That's just my opinion, but I don't admire someone that prioritizes profit over human life.
- donatj 5y ago
  - sho_hn 5y ago
    I believe OP is referring to Musk re-opening production against Alameda County's standing work-stop rules at the time. This isn't necessarily the same as forcing people to work, but I have no idea if Tesla employees willing to return vs. those deciding to follow county rules saw any advantages or disadvantages at work as a result. Certainly forcing people to defy government rules to keep their jobs would be highly problematic to me as well, for example.
- xiphias2 5y ago
  You’re right, but actually the workers know what they are getting into in return for their options packages, it’s clear on Glassdoor. When I was looking for jobs in 2016, my slogan for myself was invest in Tesla, work at Google, not the other way around. The only problem is that the stock price was growing more than the revenue, so I’m not sure how fast it can keep up growing, and what the current employees are expecting.
Kaze404 5y ago
What comfortable life do you think he's giving up? Owning only 10 houses instead of 45?
- holmesworcester 5y ago
  The comfortable life of not working full time. Even if you say that someone like him simply enjoys work, it seems clear that he's often working an uncomfortable amount, in order to achieve his two stated objectives, which at least in his perspective are altruistic (and are objectively not the best ways for him to get richer.)
  - beaconstudios 5y ago
    I'm not sure you can argue that the richest man in the world got rich by accident while pursuing purely altruistic goals. He clearly knows what he's doing. I say this while having an appreciation for the existence of Tesla and SpaceX, but let's not pretend he supresses unionisation at his factories because he cares too much.
    - rizzaxc 5y ago
      not by accident, but getting rich clearly wasn't his goal when he dumped all his money into the start ups. why aren't we glad the richest man in the world got there by using his resources for futuristic ideas instead of something like oil and gas
      - beaconstudios 5y ago
        I actually am glad of that - I think Elon is one of the less-bad billionaires. His views are stupid and most of his ideas are too, and billionaires shouldn't exist at all, but I am glad that he made his money building companies that are doing important things. Well, SpaceX and Tesla are - the Boring Company and Neuralink seem like boondoggles, to say nothing of Hyperloop.
        5y ago
beepbooptheory 5y ago
Is this a common belief? That he is taking "risks" others don't have the courage to? This is a new one to me and interesting cultural development for sure. Edit: Just kind of seems in contradiction to the previous stories of him where it focused on his intelligence/de facto technocratic authority to save the world. It wasn't so much his courage, but his moral rectitude combined with capital resources -- "he is going to save the world! Take us to mars!"
- bombcar 5y ago
  His two main companies have apparently taken risks that established companies in those areas were not willing to do. Could Boeing built a self-landing reusable rocket? Almost certainly. Would they have been willing to, considering it almost certainly involves failing in explosive ways multiple times? That may be a risk they aren't willing to take.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - cma 5y ago
    > Could Boeing built a self-landing reusable rocket? Almost certainly. McDonnell Douglas is part of Boeing and (before they were part of Boeing) did the DC-X prototype. One failure ended the program, but it was transfered from McDonnell to NASA at that point I think and funding was shifted towards the reusable VentureStar. But it did demonstrate reuse and went through a partial failure of a hydrogen explosion and recovery: https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X_launches https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_DC-...
    - cma 5y ago
      s/at that point/before that point
    - bombcar 5y ago
      Yeah, basically exactly what I would expect - they're perfectly capable technology-wise, but they're not capable bureaucratically. Which, if Musk has value, is where it comes in.
VectorLock 5y ago
He could waste a lot of money on failed startups and never have any appreciable impact on his day to day life and standard of living other than his own satisfaction of seeing $BigMoneyNumber.

Bilal_io 5y ago

Sorry I was not clear, it was not the fan base that turned me away from him. It was the way he treated his workers during the start of the pandemic, forcing them to work. Along with other workplace controversies. That's just my opinion, but I don't admire someone that prioritizes profit over human life.

donatj 5y ago
- sho_hn 5y ago
  I believe OP is referring to Musk re-opening production against Alameda County's standing work-stop rules at the time. This isn't necessarily the same as forcing people to work, but I have no idea if Tesla employees willing to return vs. those deciding to follow county rules saw any advantages or disadvantages at work as a result. Certainly forcing people to defy government rules to keep their jobs would be highly problematic to me as well, for example.
xiphias2 5y ago
You’re right, but actually the workers know what they are getting into in return for their options packages, it’s clear on Glassdoor. When I was looking for jobs in 2016, my slogan for myself was invest in Tesla, work at Google, not the other way around. The only problem is that the stock price was growing more than the revenue, so I’m not sure how fast it can keep up growing, and what the current employees are expecting.

Kaze404 5y ago

What comfortable life do you think he's giving up? Owning only 10 houses instead of 45?

holmesworcester 5y ago
The comfortable life of not working full time. Even if you say that someone like him simply enjoys work, it seems clear that he's often working an uncomfortable amount, in order to achieve his two stated objectives, which at least in his perspective are altruistic (and are objectively not the best ways for him to get richer.)
- beaconstudios 5y ago
  I'm not sure you can argue that the richest man in the world got rich by accident while pursuing purely altruistic goals. He clearly knows what he's doing. I say this while having an appreciation for the existence of Tesla and SpaceX, but let's not pretend he supresses unionisation at his factories because he cares too much.
  - rizzaxc 5y ago
    not by accident, but getting rich clearly wasn't his goal when he dumped all his money into the start ups. why aren't we glad the richest man in the world got there by using his resources for futuristic ideas instead of something like oil and gas
    - beaconstudios 5y ago
      I actually am glad of that - I think Elon is one of the less-bad billionaires. His views are stupid and most of his ideas are too, and billionaires shouldn't exist at all, but I am glad that he made his money building companies that are doing important things. Well, SpaceX and Tesla are - the Boring Company and Neuralink seem like boondoggles, to say nothing of Hyperloop.
      - 5y ago

beepbooptheory 5y ago

Is this a common belief? That he is taking "risks" others don't have the courage to? This is a new one to me and interesting cultural development for sure. Edit: Just kind of seems in contradiction to the previous stories of him where it focused on his intelligence/de facto technocratic authority to save the world. It wasn't so much his courage, but his moral rectitude combined with capital resources -- "he is going to save the world! Take us to mars!"

bombcar 5y ago
His two main companies have apparently taken risks that established companies in those areas were not willing to do. Could Boeing built a self-landing reusable rocket? Almost certainly. Would they have been willing to, considering it almost certainly involves failing in explosive ways multiple times? That may be a risk they aren't willing to take.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- cma 5y ago
  > Could Boeing built a self-landing reusable rocket? Almost certainly. McDonnell Douglas is part of Boeing and (before they were part of Boeing) did the DC-X prototype. One failure ended the program, but it was transfered from McDonnell to NASA at that point I think and funding was shifted towards the reusable VentureStar. But it did demonstrate reuse and went through a partial failure of a hydrogen explosion and recovery: https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_DC-X_launches https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_McDonnell_Douglas_DC-...
  - cma 5y ago
    s/at that point/before that point
  - bombcar 5y ago
    Yeah, basically exactly what I would expect - they're perfectly capable technology-wise, but they're not capable bureaucratically. Which, if Musk has value, is where it comes in.

VectorLock 5y ago

He could waste a lot of money on failed startups and never have any appreciable impact on his day to day life and standard of living other than his own satisfaction of seeing $BigMoneyNumber.