4 ms·

I'm in my mid-20s and I cringe at the thought of how much I looked up to Musk as a teenager. I was so impressed by his success and ideas and felt I aligned with

I'm in my mid-20s and I cringe at the thought of how much I looked up to Musk as a teenager. I was so impressed by his success and ideas and felt I aligned with his values (evolving the world into a green, multi-planetary society). I put him on the same level as Steve Jobs, which is silly now looking back. Largely, my shift in perspective has been from Elon Musk's incessant meme-lord publicity style. Another factor is seeing the people that stand behind Musk no matter what he says, and refuse to consider other ideas. This is really crazy with things like the hyperloop, which ended up being a pathetic manually-operated mini loop under Vegas with little use. The nail in the coffin for me has been Elon attaching himself to conspiracy theories about Covid and Fauci, and asking for people to vote for Republicans in the midterms. I think many people are starting to see Elon for who he truly is, which is very apparent in videos like this.

v0idzer0 4y ago
If Steve Jobs had a twitter, you’d hate him too
- LightG 4y ago
  Jobs was wise enough to keep his "asshole" under wraps from the public. Musk? Not so much.
  - TooSmugToFail 4y ago
    I’m reading Big Score, and what I’m reading there, that guy was a Class A (petty) a-hole.
goldenchrome 4y ago
Half the country votes Republican—that’s hardly an extreme perspective.
- clouddrover 4y ago
  No. Voter turnout in the 2020 general election was a pathetic 67%, and that's sadly a record high for the 21st century: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/record-high-turnout-in-2020-general-election.html https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/record-high-t... So if we call it 50-50 then only 33.5% of the country votes Republican. Turnout in the 2022 midterms was an even sadder 46%, so 23% in that case: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/voter-turnout-2022-by-state/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/vot...
- willio58 4y ago
  I don't see it as an extreme perspective, but one that goes completely against Musk's claims that he is trying to make life better for humans. Republicans largely vote against efforts to fight climate change. Wasn't the whole point of Tesla to help climate change? Silly us for believing that.
  - goldenchrome 4y ago
    Musk has strong opinions about the ongoing culture war. It’s probably a big reason he’s interested in Twitter. And the Republicans are largely aligned with him on many issues. I personally think that the culture war is a more pressing threat than climate change, though I’m still concerned about how we treat the environment. I know many people with similar views. Perhaps Elon has similar views too.
    - throwawaylinux 4y ago
      This "culture war" is a very pressing threat, because a more united population can come together to demand change. Divided, they can not. Obviously this is by design. Not that the culture war does not include legitimate and important issues, but if you think for one second the ruling class who orchestrate wars and interventions that kill millions of people care even in the slightest bit about whether commoners can have abortions or what bathrooms they can use, I have a bridge to sell you. Nobody has profiteered more from petroleum extraction and other environmental destruction over the centuries than this same ruling class. And despite a large majority of voters even in the US wanting more action on climate change, somehow very little meaningful is actually done about it. That must be all just a coincidence though, the actual people blocking climate action are a shadowy cabal of unemployed coal miner rednecks in West Virginia who actually run the world.
warning26 4y ago
> I think many people are starting to see Elon for who he truly is, which is very apparent in videos like this. I'm not sure if he was always this way; I think he used to be a lot less nuts. Sure, he was a bit of a jerk before, but it seems like overuse of Twitter (and maximizing eNgAgEmEnT) pushed him on a one way train to crazytown. Owning Twitter (and thereby becoming more involved with it) is probably the single worst move he could have made.
- cyanydeez 4y ago
  I'm fairly certain afluenza is a thing, and instead of allowing it to run roughshod over society, it should be a tax. Almost every in modern America is designed increase the rate of influenza in a minority of wealthy people through lack of anticollusiin law enforcement.
Nomentatus 4y ago
The loop under Vegas has nothing to do with the hyperloop or vacuum travel. Both Fauci and Elon have been out to lunch on COVID at various times. The CDC and WHO have not exactly covered themselves with glory.
rsynnott 4y ago
Jobs, while far more competent than Musk, was also a bit of an arsehole, in fairness. Not as much of an arsehole, but not a nice guy.

v0idzer0 4y ago

If Steve Jobs had a twitter, you’d hate him too

LightG 4y ago
Jobs was wise enough to keep his "asshole" under wraps from the public. Musk? Not so much.
- TooSmugToFail 4y ago
  I’m reading Big Score, and what I’m reading there, that guy was a Class A (petty) a-hole.

goldenchrome 4y ago

Half the country votes Republican—that’s hardly an extreme perspective.

clouddrover 4y ago
No. Voter turnout in the 2020 general election was a pathetic 67%, and that's sadly a record high for the 21st century: https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/record-high-turnout-in-2020-general-election.html https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/record-high-t... So if we call it 50-50 then only 33.5% of the country votes Republican. Turnout in the 2022 midterms was an even sadder 46%, so 23% in that case: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/voter-turnout-2022-by-state/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/vot...
willio58 4y ago
I don't see it as an extreme perspective, but one that goes completely against Musk's claims that he is trying to make life better for humans. Republicans largely vote against efforts to fight climate change. Wasn't the whole point of Tesla to help climate change? Silly us for believing that.
- goldenchrome 4y ago
  Musk has strong opinions about the ongoing culture war. It’s probably a big reason he’s interested in Twitter. And the Republicans are largely aligned with him on many issues. I personally think that the culture war is a more pressing threat than climate change, though I’m still concerned about how we treat the environment. I know many people with similar views. Perhaps Elon has similar views too.
  - throwawaylinux 4y ago
    This "culture war" is a very pressing threat, because a more united population can come together to demand change. Divided, they can not. Obviously this is by design. Not that the culture war does not include legitimate and important issues, but if you think for one second the ruling class who orchestrate wars and interventions that kill millions of people care even in the slightest bit about whether commoners can have abortions or what bathrooms they can use, I have a bridge to sell you. Nobody has profiteered more from petroleum extraction and other environmental destruction over the centuries than this same ruling class. And despite a large majority of voters even in the US wanting more action on climate change, somehow very little meaningful is actually done about it. That must be all just a coincidence though, the actual people blocking climate action are a shadowy cabal of unemployed coal miner rednecks in West Virginia who actually run the world.

warning26 4y ago

> I think many people are starting to see Elon for who he truly is, which is very apparent in videos like this. I'm not sure if he was always this way; I think he used to be a lot less nuts. Sure, he was a bit of a jerk before, but it seems like overuse of Twitter (and maximizing eNgAgEmEnT) pushed him on a one way train to crazytown. Owning Twitter (and thereby becoming more involved with it) is probably the single worst move he could have made.

cyanydeez 4y ago
I'm fairly certain afluenza is a thing, and instead of allowing it to run roughshod over society, it should be a tax. Almost every in modern America is designed increase the rate of influenza in a minority of wealthy people through lack of anticollusiin law enforcement.

Nomentatus 4y ago

The loop under Vegas has nothing to do with the hyperloop or vacuum travel. Both Fauci and Elon have been out to lunch on COVID at various times. The CDC and WHO have not exactly covered themselves with glory.

rsynnott 4y ago

Jobs, while far more competent than Musk, was also a bit of an arsehole, in fairness. Not as much of an arsehole, but not a nice guy.