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Musk holds a key piece of America’s future in space in SpaceX. I wonder if it’s only a matter of time before he starts dangling that to get what he wants in ca

Musk holds a key piece of America’s future in space in SpaceX. I wonder if it’s only a matter of time before he starts dangling that to get what he wants in cases like this. I still am generally favorable toward Elon, but I think we’re seeing him transform into a villain

ta8645 4y ago
I don't know about a villain, but he definitely isn't a saviour. Was hoping he'd follow through in reforming Twitter. But it turns out, even with all his resources, he's actually pretty weak in comparison to the forces set against him.
- sroussey 4y ago
  Elon is the force against himself. No conspiracy required.
  - ta8645 4y ago
    To pretend he doesn't have powerful enemies is just silly. It's not some kooky conspiracy theory. The only question is if you think his enemies are justified or not.
    - svachalek 4y ago
      How did powerful enemies force him to make a public bid to buy Twitter, and then force him to back out of it? I'd like to hear the non kooky conspiracy explanation for that.
      - ta8645 4y ago
        Who said anything about him being forced to do such a thing? People make bad decisions all the time, including Musk. But given human nature and frailty, people under a great deal of pressure and opposition like musk is, are likely to make worse decisions than they otherwise would.
        spaced-out 4y ago
        The only people I see "opposing" Musk are randos on Twitter he gets into arguments with. I wouldn't exactly call that a "great deal of pressure".
    - maxbond 4y ago
      Who are these enemies, and why do they oppose him? I frankly don't see any "enemies." Are the SEC his "enemies?" I don't think so, he goes out of his way to bend securities law. If you go poking a bear and it takes a swipe at you - you're simply a fool, and the bear is not your enemy.
      - snovv_crash 4y ago
        Read any recent ArsTechnica post on him that isn't part of the rocket section, and consider based purely on the use of emotive language if maybe someone has an axe to grind.
        maxbond 4y ago
        Being critical of someone does not make you their enemy. That is a super disturbing thing to suggest. The fact that you had to eliminate part of the site to make the claim remotely plausible is something you should reflect on. I will readily admit I think Musk is a bad CEO and a worse person who goes around saying he's saving humanity, but only willing to do it if it's sexy and cool and on his terms. Meanwhile real technologies that could really help the world go unfunded. Let's also not forget that he's suggested indentured servitude as a business model for Neuralink - we should all be able to agree that is a red flag. Would you suggest that I am his enemy now? Would he be justified hiring private investigators to harass me? Should he direct his Twitter followers to brigade me? Is this the world you want to live in? Is this what free speech advocacy looks like?
        snovv_crash 4y ago
        This isn't about enemies or anything else. It's about what used to be a technical news site using emotive language to describe people. News should be impartial, but I see a significant amount of opinion-building. Musk has always been Steve Jobs -ish. He focused on rockets and electric cars instead of shiny things that go in your desk or pocket or wrist though, and against all odds succeeded where many others have failed. Yes he's an asshole, and I'd hate to work for him, but he's also pushed humanity forward by corralling a bunch of people to all pull in the same direction. My issue is more with Ars, where all the reporting used to be like the rocket section, but since the acquisition by Condé Nast the rest of it has turned into tech tabloid. I want newsworthy information, not what some guy did in his personal time.
- dehrmann 4y ago
  Imagine a five-year-old with billions of dollars. He'd build electric cars (aren't they s3xy?), tunnels, trains, rockets, and flamethrowers, all while having playground spats.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
almost_usual 4y ago
I see a similar trajectory as OJ Simpson..
roca 4y ago
The "cave diver paedophile" incident made it abundantly clear to everyone willing to see that whatever else he may be, Musk is a malicious clown. It was always only a matter of time before that had greater consequences.
- RF_Savage 4y ago
  Exactly this. The mask slipped for a moment.
- loceng 4y ago
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  - roca 4y ago
    Taking your version of events at face value: Musk hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on someone who merely criticized his rescue plan, received some lies from said investigator, and uncritically repeated them to his massive social media following, thus smearing the person concerned ... and this makes Musk a tireless advocate for the truth and social media sanity. Musk cultists are the worst. PS, if Musk can so easily be deceived into spreading false information --- even when he, so incredibly rich and smart, hired the source of the information --- why would you trust anything he says? EDIT: "Musk cultists are the worst" was out of line. I apologise.
    - loceng 4y ago
      - roca 4y ago
        So Musk was "too busy" to tell someone "do a background check on this guy" (who was a convicted felon, so not difficult), but not too busy to repeat his claims in emails to Buzzfeed etc. I'm not perfect, but at least I haven't tried to ruin someone by spreading lies about them to millions of Twitter followers.
ALittleLight 4y ago
I see in Elon a trait I also have, which is to pick up random things, get interested in them for a while, and start to do things, and then realize you're not interested in it at all and drop it. I'm thinking of tunnels, neuralink, AI, taking Tesla private, child saving cave submarine, things like that. I can easily imagine he thought one day that he wanted to get into social media, went full steam ahead, and then realized he wasn't all that interested. It's bad, clearly, when this has negative externalities. A better Elon would stop himself from hurting people with these adventures - but, I also think it's possible that without this trait, whatever you call it, Elon wouldn't have made the progress in the areas he has. On net I think he's still done a tremendous amount.
- pwillia7 4y ago
  Sounds like ADHD hyperfixation
- sroussey 4y ago
  I think it’s called the shiny ball syndrome, common to many startup founders.
- mjfl 4y ago
  does it really have that many negative externalities? Net negative? electric cars and rockets are pretty cool.
- wolverine876 4y ago
  Stop making excuses for the behavior; there is nothing necessary about it.
Swenrekcah 4y ago
The day he starts threatening US homeland security with SpaceX might be the day he finally understands his place.
scoopertrooper 4y ago
> I wonder if it’s only a matter of time before he starts dangling that to get what he wants in cases like this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Production_Act_of_1950 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Production_Act_of_1950
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
mlindner 4y ago
Can we stop making up conspiracy theories please? There is zero indication that he would do such a thing as he has no history of doing so. Elon spares no breath praising NASA any time he is asked about NASA.
wolverine876 4y ago
> Musk holds a key piece of America’s future in space in SpaceX. Let's stop glorifying the personality - when has that ever worked out well? The US will get along fine without Musk (maybe better without this cult of personality).

ta8645 4y ago

I don't know about a villain, but he definitely isn't a saviour. Was hoping he'd follow through in reforming Twitter. But it turns out, even with all his resources, he's actually pretty weak in comparison to the forces set against him.

sroussey 4y ago
Elon is the force against himself. No conspiracy required.
- ta8645 4y ago
  To pretend he doesn't have powerful enemies is just silly. It's not some kooky conspiracy theory. The only question is if you think his enemies are justified or not.
  - svachalek 4y ago
    How did powerful enemies force him to make a public bid to buy Twitter, and then force him to back out of it? I'd like to hear the non kooky conspiracy explanation for that.
    - ta8645 4y ago
      Who said anything about him being forced to do such a thing? People make bad decisions all the time, including Musk. But given human nature and frailty, people under a great deal of pressure and opposition like musk is, are likely to make worse decisions than they otherwise would.
      - spaced-out 4y ago
        The only people I see "opposing" Musk are randos on Twitter he gets into arguments with. I wouldn't exactly call that a "great deal of pressure".
  - maxbond 4y ago
    Who are these enemies, and why do they oppose him? I frankly don't see any "enemies." Are the SEC his "enemies?" I don't think so, he goes out of his way to bend securities law. If you go poking a bear and it takes a swipe at you - you're simply a fool, and the bear is not your enemy.
    - snovv_crash 4y ago
      Read any recent ArsTechnica post on him that isn't part of the rocket section, and consider based purely on the use of emotive language if maybe someone has an axe to grind.
      - maxbond 4y ago
        Being critical of someone does not make you their enemy. That is a super disturbing thing to suggest. The fact that you had to eliminate part of the site to make the claim remotely plausible is something you should reflect on. I will readily admit I think Musk is a bad CEO and a worse person who goes around saying he's saving humanity, but only willing to do it if it's sexy and cool and on his terms. Meanwhile real technologies that could really help the world go unfunded. Let's also not forget that he's suggested indentured servitude as a business model for Neuralink - we should all be able to agree that is a red flag. Would you suggest that I am his enemy now? Would he be justified hiring private investigators to harass me? Should he direct his Twitter followers to brigade me? Is this the world you want to live in? Is this what free speech advocacy looks like?
        snovv_crash 4y ago
        This isn't about enemies or anything else. It's about what used to be a technical news site using emotive language to describe people. News should be impartial, but I see a significant amount of opinion-building. Musk has always been Steve Jobs -ish. He focused on rockets and electric cars instead of shiny things that go in your desk or pocket or wrist though, and against all odds succeeded where many others have failed. Yes he's an asshole, and I'd hate to work for him, but he's also pushed humanity forward by corralling a bunch of people to all pull in the same direction. My issue is more with Ars, where all the reporting used to be like the rocket section, but since the acquisition by Condé Nast the rest of it has turned into tech tabloid. I want newsworthy information, not what some guy did in his personal time.
dehrmann 4y ago
Imagine a five-year-old with billions of dollars. He'd build electric cars (aren't they s3xy?), tunnels, trains, rockets, and flamethrowers, all while having playground spats.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

almost_usual 4y ago

I see a similar trajectory as OJ Simpson..

roca 4y ago

The "cave diver paedophile" incident made it abundantly clear to everyone willing to see that whatever else he may be, Musk is a malicious clown. It was always only a matter of time before that had greater consequences.

RF_Savage 4y ago
Exactly this. The mask slipped for a moment.
loceng 4y ago
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- roca 4y ago
  Taking your version of events at face value: Musk hired a private investigator to dig up dirt on someone who merely criticized his rescue plan, received some lies from said investigator, and uncritically repeated them to his massive social media following, thus smearing the person concerned ... and this makes Musk a tireless advocate for the truth and social media sanity. Musk cultists are the worst. PS, if Musk can so easily be deceived into spreading false information --- even when he, so incredibly rich and smart, hired the source of the information --- why would you trust anything he says? EDIT: "Musk cultists are the worst" was out of line. I apologise.
  - loceng 4y ago
    - roca 4y ago
      So Musk was "too busy" to tell someone "do a background check on this guy" (who was a convicted felon, so not difficult), but not too busy to repeat his claims in emails to Buzzfeed etc. I'm not perfect, but at least I haven't tried to ruin someone by spreading lies about them to millions of Twitter followers.

ALittleLight 4y ago

I see in Elon a trait I also have, which is to pick up random things, get interested in them for a while, and start to do things, and then realize you're not interested in it at all and drop it. I'm thinking of tunnels, neuralink, AI, taking Tesla private, child saving cave submarine, things like that. I can easily imagine he thought one day that he wanted to get into social media, went full steam ahead, and then realized he wasn't all that interested. It's bad, clearly, when this has negative externalities. A better Elon would stop himself from hurting people with these adventures - but, I also think it's possible that without this trait, whatever you call it, Elon wouldn't have made the progress in the areas he has. On net I think he's still done a tremendous amount.

pwillia7 4y ago
Sounds like ADHD hyperfixation
sroussey 4y ago
I think it’s called the shiny ball syndrome, common to many startup founders.
mjfl 4y ago
does it really have that many negative externalities? Net negative? electric cars and rockets are pretty cool.
wolverine876 4y ago
Stop making excuses for the behavior; there is nothing necessary about it.

Swenrekcah 4y ago

The day he starts threatening US homeland security with SpaceX might be the day he finally understands his place.

scoopertrooper 4y ago

> I wonder if it’s only a matter of time before he starts dangling that to get what he wants in cases like this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Production_Act_of_1950 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Production_Act_of_1950

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

mlindner 4y ago

Can we stop making up conspiracy theories please? There is zero indication that he would do such a thing as he has no history of doing so. Elon spares no breath praising NASA any time he is asked about NASA.

wolverine876 4y ago

> Musk holds a key piece of America’s future in space in SpaceX. Let's stop glorifying the personality - when has that ever worked out well? The US will get along fine without Musk (maybe better without this cult of personality).