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He did revolutionize the space launch services industry. And jump started the transition to electric cars. Doesn’t seem to know anything about tech though. And

He did revolutionize the space launch services industry. And jump started the transition to electric cars. Doesn’t seem to know anything about tech though. And he’s burned his reputation to the ground this last year.

dbingham 3y ago
Did he do those things? Or did he just slap his name and brand on other people's work in those areas?
- simonswords82 3y ago
  Of course he did. He put his own money and reputation on the line for both businesses. There's a reason he was lauded before this Twitter/X debacle.
  - AlexandrB 3y ago
    > Of course he did. He put his own money and reputation on the line for both businesses. This describes an investor, not a genius founder/engineer. Also, IIRC his reputation was pretty low key before he got involved in Tesla. Not sure how meaningful "putting his reputation on the line" was at the time. The backlash against Musk was also already growing long before Twitter. Between constantly over-promising and under-delivering regarding Tesla, wacky ideas like the hyper loop, and his social media antics (pedo guy, taking Tesla private for $420) his image was already taking quite a hit.
    - gtirloni 3y ago
      > his social media antics (pedo guy, I didn't know this one and just read more about it. This is so absurd.
    - ulfw 3y ago
      He is an investor and marketer who wants to be a seen as a genius techie, which he clearly isn't. Hence his fake titles such as "Tesla Founder" (he wasn't) or "SpaceX Chief Technology Officer" (he isn't) or "Technoking" (I'm sorry?)
    - EricE 3y ago
      If you think he's just an investor then you are grossly ignorant into the roles Elon has at his companies - he is the epitome of hands on. You don't will multiple, entirely new industries into existence by sitting on ass throwing piles of money at random people. Good grief.
  - kaba0 3y ago
    Lauded by the usual investor-propaganda machine selling CEOs as gods.
- afavour 3y ago
  Well look at Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Totally different skill sets but they were complimentary, with Jobs largely taking Wozniak’s work and packaging it up in a form that sells. “Slapping a name on other people’s work” is something leaders do. They also typically are the ones who gather those people together and create the environment in which they can do their best work. …that said, yes, I think Musk is an idiot.
- puchatek 3y ago
  Depends on your definition of "doing those things". He led the companies that achieved those things. Tesla's case is more complicated than SpaceX's but in both cases he was at the top in a crucial moment.
- physicles 3y ago
  A combination of both. There’s an episode of the podcast On With Kara Swisher where she goes into detail about who he was and how he went off the rails. The date is 2022-11-14. I found it really helpful to square this circle. I’m not as familiar with Tesla, but I’ve been following SpaceX pretty closely since around 2014. He’s not in the trenches doing CFD to optimize cooling on the latest iteration of the raptor engine, and who knows whether reusability was originally his idea, but he knows his shit. When you hear him talk about rockets, he sounds very competent, unlike when he talks about software. And I’ve never heard any actual rocket scientists say Elon doesn’t know shit about rockets. (He does sometimes move fast and ignore established wisdom though, as with the concrete pad that got obliterated during the last launch. But sometimes that’s how you sidestep decades of cruft) I do wish Gwynne Shotwell were more of a household name. She’s the one running SpaceX while Elon is off Eloning.

dbingham 3y ago

Did he do those things? Or did he just slap his name and brand on other people's work in those areas?

simonswords82 3y ago
Of course he did. He put his own money and reputation on the line for both businesses. There's a reason he was lauded before this Twitter/X debacle.
- AlexandrB 3y ago
  > Of course he did. He put his own money and reputation on the line for both businesses. This describes an investor, not a genius founder/engineer. Also, IIRC his reputation was pretty low key before he got involved in Tesla. Not sure how meaningful "putting his reputation on the line" was at the time. The backlash against Musk was also already growing long before Twitter. Between constantly over-promising and under-delivering regarding Tesla, wacky ideas like the hyper loop, and his social media antics (pedo guy, taking Tesla private for $420) his image was already taking quite a hit.
  - gtirloni 3y ago
    > his social media antics (pedo guy, I didn't know this one and just read more about it. This is so absurd.
  - ulfw 3y ago
    He is an investor and marketer who wants to be a seen as a genius techie, which he clearly isn't. Hence his fake titles such as "Tesla Founder" (he wasn't) or "SpaceX Chief Technology Officer" (he isn't) or "Technoking" (I'm sorry?)
  - EricE 3y ago
    If you think he's just an investor then you are grossly ignorant into the roles Elon has at his companies - he is the epitome of hands on. You don't will multiple, entirely new industries into existence by sitting on ass throwing piles of money at random people. Good grief.
- kaba0 3y ago
  Lauded by the usual investor-propaganda machine selling CEOs as gods.
afavour 3y ago
Well look at Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Totally different skill sets but they were complimentary, with Jobs largely taking Wozniak’s work and packaging it up in a form that sells. “Slapping a name on other people’s work” is something leaders do. They also typically are the ones who gather those people together and create the environment in which they can do their best work. …that said, yes, I think Musk is an idiot.
puchatek 3y ago
Depends on your definition of "doing those things". He led the companies that achieved those things. Tesla's case is more complicated than SpaceX's but in both cases he was at the top in a crucial moment.
physicles 3y ago
A combination of both. There’s an episode of the podcast On With Kara Swisher where she goes into detail about who he was and how he went off the rails. The date is 2022-11-14. I found it really helpful to square this circle. I’m not as familiar with Tesla, but I’ve been following SpaceX pretty closely since around 2014. He’s not in the trenches doing CFD to optimize cooling on the latest iteration of the raptor engine, and who knows whether reusability was originally his idea, but he knows his shit. When you hear him talk about rockets, he sounds very competent, unlike when he talks about software. And I’ve never heard any actual rocket scientists say Elon doesn’t know shit about rockets. (He does sometimes move fast and ignore established wisdom though, as with the concrete pad that got obliterated during the last launch. But sometimes that’s how you sidestep decades of cruft) I do wish Gwynne Shotwell were more of a household name. She’s the one running SpaceX while Elon is off Eloning.