3 ms·

I have a sneaking sense that "I wasn't told" is Muskese for "I told people to shut up and didn't listen to them."

busterarm 3y ago
It's not an autobiography. Whatever is written to have been said here comes from multiple sources. That also means that whatever isn't written as having been said we know was not said.
- EA-3167 3y ago
  I have a lot of skepticism when it comes to biographers of living people, compromises are necessarily going to be made for the sake of access.
  - busterarm 3y ago
    What purpose is served by grossly misrepresenting the number of servers in a datacenter and who said what about their status with the very real risk that they might sue you? Elon is the kind of deep-pocketed person that lawyers take cases on pro-bono against.
- saghm 3y ago
  This is a ludicrous assertion. What if he said something to only one person in privacy, and there literally aren't multiple sources other than him (and the other party to the conversation might have incentive not to divulge anything he didn't approve of)? Not being an autobiography doesn't somehow imply that we know every single thing he's ever said.
  - busterarm 3y ago
    You're talking about a hypothetical scenario that doesn't even match the conversation described. The recounted conversation involved multiple individuals, many of whom have an adversarial relationship with the subject and would be inclined to sue. Misrepresentations of facts could have meaningful reputational damage. If you're the author you do not risk going to publication without verification that the gist of the conversation is accurate. Your editor literally will not let you. The publisher's reputation is on the line too.
ianburrell 3y ago
Also could mean, "I fired the guy who knew".
- TheCoelacanth 3y ago
  It could also mean "I shot the first 10 messengers who delivered bad news, why doesn't anyone want to deliver bad news anymore?"
  - datadrivenangel 3y ago
    this so much. Why is this behavior so rewarded?
  - reducesuffering 3y ago
    "The challenge is his personality and demeanor can turn on a dime going from excited to angry. Since it was hard to read what mood he might be in and what his reaction would be to any given thing, people quickly became afraid of being called into meetings or having to share negative news with him." -Esther Crawford https://twitter.com/esthercrawford/status/1684291048682684416 https://twitter.com/esthercrawford/status/168429104868268441... also Gavin Belson was spot on https://youtu.be/XAeEpbtHDPw?t=15 https://youtu.be/XAeEpbtHDPw?t=15 https://youtu.be/30WTWkFe910?t=8 https://youtu.be/30WTWkFe910?t=8 https://youtu.be/30WTWkFe910?t=762 https://youtu.be/30WTWkFe910?t=762

It's not an autobiography. Whatever is written to have been said here comes from multiple sources. That also means that whatever isn't written as having been said we know was not said.

EA-3167 3y ago
I have a lot of skepticism when it comes to biographers of living people, compromises are necessarily going to be made for the sake of access.
- busterarm 3y ago
  What purpose is served by grossly misrepresenting the number of servers in a datacenter and who said what about their status with the very real risk that they might sue you? Elon is the kind of deep-pocketed person that lawyers take cases on pro-bono against.
saghm 3y ago
This is a ludicrous assertion. What if he said something to only one person in privacy, and there literally aren't multiple sources other than him (and the other party to the conversation might have incentive not to divulge anything he didn't approve of)? Not being an autobiography doesn't somehow imply that we know every single thing he's ever said.
- busterarm 3y ago
  You're talking about a hypothetical scenario that doesn't even match the conversation described. The recounted conversation involved multiple individuals, many of whom have an adversarial relationship with the subject and would be inclined to sue. Misrepresentations of facts could have meaningful reputational damage. If you're the author you do not risk going to publication without verification that the gist of the conversation is accurate. Your editor literally will not let you. The publisher's reputation is on the line too.

ianburrell 3y ago

Also could mean, "I fired the guy who knew".

TheCoelacanth 3y ago
It could also mean "I shot the first 10 messengers who delivered bad news, why doesn't anyone want to deliver bad news anymore?"
- datadrivenangel 3y ago
  this so much. Why is this behavior so rewarded?
- reducesuffering 3y ago
  "The challenge is his personality and demeanor can turn on a dime going from excited to angry. Since it was hard to read what mood he might be in and what his reaction would be to any given thing, people quickly became afraid of being called into meetings or having to share negative news with him." -Esther Crawford https://twitter.com/esthercrawford/status/1684291048682684416 https://twitter.com/esthercrawford/status/168429104868268441... also Gavin Belson was spot on https://youtu.be/XAeEpbtHDPw?t=15 https://youtu.be/XAeEpbtHDPw?t=15 https://youtu.be/30WTWkFe910?t=8 https://youtu.be/30WTWkFe910?t=8 https://youtu.be/30WTWkFe910?t=762 https://youtu.be/30WTWkFe910?t=762