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I think both you and the GP are missing the essence of what Elon is. He is neither an amazing operator and businessman, nor is he a slave driving demon. He do

I think both you and the GP are missing the essence of what Elon is. He is neither an amazing operator and businessman, nor is he a slave driving demon. He does have a huge ego and need for attention, I'll give you that, but fundamentally he is someone who cares more about solving big problems than he does about money or people. The push to deify or villify him is all about satisfying ones own judgement, but personally I find those reductive opinions to be far less interesting than actually looking at the various things he's done and evaluating them on their own merits.

uxcolumbo 4y ago
Not sure. He seems like a ‘slave driving demon’. Best example how he treated the folks at Twitter or his other companies… demanding ‘hardcore’ hours and exactly like you said… he doesn’t care about people… doesn’t care whether they burn out or creating a culture where bullying is accepted. I don’t think he really cares about solving big problems, it’s just a front to feed his big ego… he wants be seen as real life Tony Stark. If he really cared about solving big problems like the climate crisis etc he wouldn’t have wasted his time with Twitter. He wouldn’t have come with a stupid idea like the hyperloop and trying to derail a high speed rail project. What he has achieved is he inspired more people to become engineers and problem solvers and have a positive vision of the future. But his big ego and narcissistic traits have ruined it and more and more folks see what he really is.
- dasil003 4y ago
  No argument with what you said, but I give him credit for Tesla and SpaceX. Those are more ambitious than the vast majority of SV companies funded over the past couple decades.
  - uxcolumbo 4y ago
    Yes true, that’s what I meant by he inspired others.. to join him to solve humanity’s problems. At the beginning his ambitions were probably more aligned to this vision, but he probably got more jaded over the years, realised it’s effin hard and his narcissism got the better of him. It’s a shame the way he treated the Tesla founders. Also I never saw him credit his various teams, it’s always about him. Tesla and SpaceX are successful despite his involvement, because ppl care about creating more sustainable solutions for humanity… it’s a great mission. /rant over ;)

uxcolumbo 4y ago

Not sure. He seems like a ‘slave driving demon’. Best example how he treated the folks at Twitter or his other companies… demanding ‘hardcore’ hours and exactly like you said… he doesn’t care about people… doesn’t care whether they burn out or creating a culture where bullying is accepted. I don’t think he really cares about solving big problems, it’s just a front to feed his big ego… he wants be seen as real life Tony Stark. If he really cared about solving big problems like the climate crisis etc he wouldn’t have wasted his time with Twitter. He wouldn’t have come with a stupid idea like the hyperloop and trying to derail a high speed rail project. What he has achieved is he inspired more people to become engineers and problem solvers and have a positive vision of the future. But his big ego and narcissistic traits have ruined it and more and more folks see what he really is.

dasil003 4y ago
No argument with what you said, but I give him credit for Tesla and SpaceX. Those are more ambitious than the vast majority of SV companies funded over the past couple decades.
- uxcolumbo 4y ago
  Yes true, that’s what I meant by he inspired others.. to join him to solve humanity’s problems. At the beginning his ambitions were probably more aligned to this vision, but he probably got more jaded over the years, realised it’s effin hard and his narcissism got the better of him. It’s a shame the way he treated the Tesla founders. Also I never saw him credit his various teams, it’s always about him. Tesla and SpaceX are successful despite his involvement, because ppl care about creating more sustainable solutions for humanity… it’s a great mission. /rant over ;)