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Musk has fallen off the rails completely in recent years. I guess being constantly told that you are the smartest man alive over and over does that to a man. He

Musk has fallen off the rails completely in recent years. I guess being constantly told that you are the smartest man alive over and over does that to a man. He is genuienly embracing some fascist ideas lately though, and that's worrying because he is a global celebrity with a huge following, not some drunkard in a pub that no one listens to.

sschueller 3y ago
Recent years? He hasn't changed, just the general public perception of him has.
- rich_sasha 3y ago
  My impression is that he is certainly holding back less. He is certainly less cancellable than ever, owning Twitter and ingrained with the US government via SpaceX, so I suppose perhaps he feels he can now afford to be bold.
- caeril 3y ago
  Indeed, watching Hacker News go from a nearly unanimous Musk Cheerleading Squad to the precise diametric opposite of that -- literally in the course of one month -- because he didn't echo CIA talking points about Ukraine was hilarious to watch.
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    There's already been plenty of detractors, especially around the "full self driving" system. The big shift seems to have come more from when he made a very public ass of himself with the Twitter acquisition and subsequent clear hypocrisy on free speech issues.
  - Zigurd 3y ago
    I used to be an admirer if not exactly a stan. I was an optimist that pushing FSD would result in safer roads. I liked the cheeky touches like a virtual whoopie cushion. Many tech bros are small-l libertarian without being asses about it. Who doesn't want regulation to be simple and government to be non-interventionist where there is no benefit? Russia started a land war in Europe and Elon is an appeaser from the start. Not cool. The magnitude of Russia's aggression, and the extent to which it would have grown if appeased threatened to create a global conflict. From there, Elon went on a weird red pill journey, boosting racists and outright Nazis with replies on Twitter that made him impossible to excuse. The CIA is not the source of Elon's problems. He's got a screw loose.
  - gambiting 3y ago
    It's been way longer than a month, I stopped respecting him around the time when he kept pushing the idiotic self driving system in Teslas when it was already obvious that it's nothing more than a scam designed to extract your money. It was only downhill from there.
    - caeril 3y ago
      Sure. There were a few people, perhaps you, who tried pointing out how he was a charlatan, how Tesla's profits were wholly due to carbon credit sales and the core business was a disaster, how he rarely delivered on his insane promises, how the new Roadster, the Cybertruck, and the Semi were vaporware, how there was nothing revolutionary about SpaceX reusable boosters etc, who were roundly and consistently downvoted because the HN zeitgeist was to huff Elon's farts. Literally one month after his infamous Ukraine tweet, it was completely reversed. My comment really isn't even about Musk, it's about HN. HN doesn't care about facts or rational arguments, despite the relatively high IQ here. It's politics, and always has been. And this abrupt change demonstrated that quite well.
  - r00fus 3y ago
    It's not his position on Ukraine/Russia that's worrying. It's his retweeting of known white-nationalist content pretending it's not. It's his complete faceplant of "free speech maximalism" and numerous public moves that prove he's the exact opposite (latest being his currying favor with Erdogan by hiding his opponents tweets during voting hours). In short, it's him shredding his image and principles (even if that was a cover) that gave him any legitimacy in public discourse. I have to admit, I used to stan.
systemvoltage 3y ago
Have you wondered maybe the whole world is where it was and you’re veering off into an area of belief system that makes you think everyone else is Fascist?
- foldr 3y ago
  Not really. The article documents his recent activity on twitter where he’s been promoting far right conspiracy theories.
  - systemvoltage 3y ago
    Remember when Covid lab theory was a “far right conspiracy”? Most of the conspiracies have just been a difference of opinion. And then they’re labeled in a gas lighting contest of political cultural war. HN was so hung up on Science(tm), that everyone was flagged suggesting even a hint of it in 2020. Then the entire thing mob made a U turn in 2021. Hell, I remember my comments were flagged for a mere suggestion of inflation when the dominant narrative was “transitory”. What an epic failure of a forum that’s suppose to espouse and foster difference of opinion.
    - foldr 3y ago
      Do you think the Texas shooting was a psyop? Or do you think that’s a nutty conspiracy theory?
    - cassepipe 3y ago
      To be fair, it's because of the HN front page that I have read about the possibility and credibility of a lab leak. A very well argued science based article with a reasonable timeline and explanation that allowed to me to know about a position made unhearable elsewhere. Broad statements on the "HN crowd" don't make much sense to me. It's the internet and there's much more diversity than most other subgroups, get used to it.
      - systemvoltage 3y ago
nerdchum 3y ago
Can you provide any sources? Or is this just an emotion driven as hominem attack on him?
- youngNed 3y ago
  Can you read the article?
  - nerdchum 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - gambiting 3y ago
      >>the article itself is an emotion driven ad hominem attack on Musk. How so? Please explain. >>you should look at yourself. What was it about ad hominem?
      - nerdchum 3y ago
        would you say that article is fair to Elon? does it present numerous sides and possibilities for why Elon does the things that the article is attacking him for? Or does the article present a singular interpretation for Elon's behavior?
        gambiting 3y ago
        >>would you say that article is fair to Elon? So if you're describing someone's fascist behaviour, you now need to be fair to them? I'm sorry I didn't realize we have to find and explain the reasoning for someone's insane conspiracy theories - I guess next time Musk tweets that the moon landing was fake or some other crap, we'll have to find a reason why he thinks that, before being able to point out how stupid that is? >>does it present numerous sides and possibilities for why Elon does the things that the article is attacking him for? I'm really struggling to see how any of this is an attack. Is describing Erdogan's totalitarian practices also an attack on him? Or is it just when you don't preempt the article with a whole story as to why Erdogan behaves the way he does? >>Or does the article present a singular interpretation for Elon's behavior? Sure, it does. Like with any other article, you can read it and come up with a different conclusion, this is what the comments section is actually for. What isn't helpful is coming here and saying the whole article is an attack so should be dismissed - ok, cool, if you think Musk's general behaviour isn't leaning toward fascism lately then please explain why you think so, again, that's why we're here - to discuss.
BobTheDestroyer 3y ago
[dead]
pupppet 3y ago
He’s living proof no one is safe from being pulled into social media’s black hole of idiocy.
hn2017 3y ago
He has started embracing white supremacists, far right politicians and even qanon conspiracy theories. it's a terrifying and dangerous situation for something as influential as social media (as if it wasn't bad enough)

sschueller 3y ago

Recent years? He hasn't changed, just the general public perception of him has.

rich_sasha 3y ago
My impression is that he is certainly holding back less. He is certainly less cancellable than ever, owning Twitter and ingrained with the US government via SpaceX, so I suppose perhaps he feels he can now afford to be bold.
caeril 3y ago
Indeed, watching Hacker News go from a nearly unanimous Musk Cheerleading Squad to the precise diametric opposite of that -- literally in the course of one month -- because he didn't echo CIA talking points about Ukraine was hilarious to watch.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  There's already been plenty of detractors, especially around the "full self driving" system. The big shift seems to have come more from when he made a very public ass of himself with the Twitter acquisition and subsequent clear hypocrisy on free speech issues.
- Zigurd 3y ago
  I used to be an admirer if not exactly a stan. I was an optimist that pushing FSD would result in safer roads. I liked the cheeky touches like a virtual whoopie cushion. Many tech bros are small-l libertarian without being asses about it. Who doesn't want regulation to be simple and government to be non-interventionist where there is no benefit? Russia started a land war in Europe and Elon is an appeaser from the start. Not cool. The magnitude of Russia's aggression, and the extent to which it would have grown if appeased threatened to create a global conflict. From there, Elon went on a weird red pill journey, boosting racists and outright Nazis with replies on Twitter that made him impossible to excuse. The CIA is not the source of Elon's problems. He's got a screw loose.
- gambiting 3y ago
  It's been way longer than a month, I stopped respecting him around the time when he kept pushing the idiotic self driving system in Teslas when it was already obvious that it's nothing more than a scam designed to extract your money. It was only downhill from there.
  - caeril 3y ago
    Sure. There were a few people, perhaps you, who tried pointing out how he was a charlatan, how Tesla's profits were wholly due to carbon credit sales and the core business was a disaster, how he rarely delivered on his insane promises, how the new Roadster, the Cybertruck, and the Semi were vaporware, how there was nothing revolutionary about SpaceX reusable boosters etc, who were roundly and consistently downvoted because the HN zeitgeist was to huff Elon's farts. Literally one month after his infamous Ukraine tweet, it was completely reversed. My comment really isn't even about Musk, it's about HN. HN doesn't care about facts or rational arguments, despite the relatively high IQ here. It's politics, and always has been. And this abrupt change demonstrated that quite well.
- r00fus 3y ago
  It's not his position on Ukraine/Russia that's worrying. It's his retweeting of known white-nationalist content pretending it's not. It's his complete faceplant of "free speech maximalism" and numerous public moves that prove he's the exact opposite (latest being his currying favor with Erdogan by hiding his opponents tweets during voting hours). In short, it's him shredding his image and principles (even if that was a cover) that gave him any legitimacy in public discourse. I have to admit, I used to stan.

systemvoltage 3y ago

Have you wondered maybe the whole world is where it was and you’re veering off into an area of belief system that makes you think everyone else is Fascist?

foldr 3y ago
Not really. The article documents his recent activity on twitter where he’s been promoting far right conspiracy theories.
- systemvoltage 3y ago
  Remember when Covid lab theory was a “far right conspiracy”? Most of the conspiracies have just been a difference of opinion. And then they’re labeled in a gas lighting contest of political cultural war. HN was so hung up on Science(tm), that everyone was flagged suggesting even a hint of it in 2020. Then the entire thing mob made a U turn in 2021. Hell, I remember my comments were flagged for a mere suggestion of inflation when the dominant narrative was “transitory”. What an epic failure of a forum that’s suppose to espouse and foster difference of opinion.
  - foldr 3y ago
    Do you think the Texas shooting was a psyop? Or do you think that’s a nutty conspiracy theory?
  - cassepipe 3y ago
    To be fair, it's because of the HN front page that I have read about the possibility and credibility of a lab leak. A very well argued science based article with a reasonable timeline and explanation that allowed to me to know about a position made unhearable elsewhere. Broad statements on the "HN crowd" don't make much sense to me. It's the internet and there's much more diversity than most other subgroups, get used to it.
    - systemvoltage 3y ago

nerdchum 3y ago

Can you provide any sources? Or is this just an emotion driven as hominem attack on him?

youngNed 3y ago
Can you read the article?
- nerdchum 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - gambiting 3y ago
    >>the article itself is an emotion driven ad hominem attack on Musk. How so? Please explain. >>you should look at yourself. What was it about ad hominem?
    - nerdchum 3y ago
      would you say that article is fair to Elon? does it present numerous sides and possibilities for why Elon does the things that the article is attacking him for? Or does the article present a singular interpretation for Elon's behavior?
      - gambiting 3y ago
        >>would you say that article is fair to Elon? So if you're describing someone's fascist behaviour, you now need to be fair to them? I'm sorry I didn't realize we have to find and explain the reasoning for someone's insane conspiracy theories - I guess next time Musk tweets that the moon landing was fake or some other crap, we'll have to find a reason why he thinks that, before being able to point out how stupid that is? >>does it present numerous sides and possibilities for why Elon does the things that the article is attacking him for? I'm really struggling to see how any of this is an attack. Is describing Erdogan's totalitarian practices also an attack on him? Or is it just when you don't preempt the article with a whole story as to why Erdogan behaves the way he does? >>Or does the article present a singular interpretation for Elon's behavior? Sure, it does. Like with any other article, you can read it and come up with a different conclusion, this is what the comments section is actually for. What isn't helpful is coming here and saying the whole article is an attack so should be dismissed - ok, cool, if you think Musk's general behaviour isn't leaning toward fascism lately then please explain why you think so, again, that's why we're here - to discuss.

BobTheDestroyer 3y ago

[dead]

pupppet 3y ago

He’s living proof no one is safe from being pulled into social media’s black hole of idiocy.

hn2017 3y ago

He has started embracing white supremacists, far right politicians and even qanon conspiracy theories. it's a terrifying and dangerous situation for something as influential as social media (as if it wasn't bad enough)