4 ms·

Call me a cynic but I have zero trust for a man who becomes the wealthiest on the planet and, rather than have a little gratitude and actual try to give back, i

Call me a cynic but I have zero trust for a man who becomes the wealthiest on the planet and, rather than have a little gratitude and actual try to give back, is then consumed by getting the f out of here before the crowd with pitchforks arrive. And, no, personally I don’t think Tesla or SpaceX count as giving back. Why can’t our billionaires at least just slink off to the lovely beaches of some island somewhere. Oh wait, egos… But Mars? Mars? How does that sound enjoyable? I actually hope he makes it there. And millions of people? I’m no expert but are there even anywhere near enough launch windows for that? And I’m guessing even just figuring out the cost of the fuel to reach escape velocity would show how this a non-starter for more than Musk himself and a few companions.

krisoft 3y ago
> I have zero trust for a man who becomes the wealthiest on the planet and, rather than have a little gratitude and actual try to give back, is then consumed by getting the f out of here But that is not actually the order things happened. He was talking about mars colonies before he become the wealthiest on the planet. > Mars? Mars? How does that sound enjoyable? Nobody said they want to do it because it is enjoyable. Where are you getting this? > millions of people? I’m no expert but are there even anywhere near enough launch windows for that? In what way do you think the number of launch windows constrain the number of colonist? > I’m guessing even just figuring out the cost of the fuel to reach escape velocity would show how this a non-starter You are guessing? :)
mulmen 3y ago
> And, no, personally I don’t think Tesla or SpaceX count as giving back. Yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man. Say what you will about the tenets of Muskianism but at least it’s an ethos. > Why can’t our billionaires at least just slink off to the lovely beaches of some island somewhere. Oh wait, egos… One person’s egotism is another’s genuine belief. I’m personally not surprised someone who had the ambition and luck to be a billionaire would continue doing things they believe in. I’m not even convinced it would be beneficial for them to disappear. What happens to the immense amount of capital they control? > But Mars? Mars? How does that sound enjoyable? I actually hope he makes it there. Does he actually want to go to Mars personally? I thought the idea was that he wants humanity to be multi-planetary.
- ben_w 3y ago
  > Does he actually want to go to Mars personally? He said "I'd like to die on Mars, just not on impact." in 2013, no idea how serious he is though. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musks-vision-die-mars-165604970.html#:~:text=A%20Visionary%20Dream&text=In%202013%2C%20during%20a%20keynote,survival%20beyond%20its%20home%20planet https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musks-vision-die-mars-16....
ben_w 3y ago
Much as I can appreciate the sentiment, and find problems of my own with the man, his wealth is mostly in the form of "how much money other people want to pay for the marginal cost of a ticket to ride on his coat-tails". Tesla and SpaceX have their valuations because of the things his teams did being valued by those who have money to spend on the investments; which isn't him directly doing those things (which is a general issue with corporate organisation), but it is the result of the choices he made that other leaders didn't make[0]. > And I’m guessing even just figuring out the cost of the fuel to reach escape velocity would show how this a non-starter for more than Musk himself and a few companions. You'd definitely be wrong about that. Fuel costs specifically are very obviously fine, the hard parts are (1) "can they make the superheavy/starship combo as reusable as they hope?" (2) "solve in-orbit refuelling", and (3), "kiloton/year Sabatier process ISRU without human supervision or maintenance, growing to megaton/year when humans become available for such tasks". [0] Which is also why a criticism I see others making, "Musk didn't found Tesla!", isn't a big deal. It's true, but also Tesla had delivered no more than 147 individual cars by the time Tesla took over as CEO.

krisoft 3y ago

> I have zero trust for a man who becomes the wealthiest on the planet and, rather than have a little gratitude and actual try to give back, is then consumed by getting the f out of here But that is not actually the order things happened. He was talking about mars colonies before he become the wealthiest on the planet. > Mars? Mars? How does that sound enjoyable? Nobody said they want to do it because it is enjoyable. Where are you getting this? > millions of people? I’m no expert but are there even anywhere near enough launch windows for that? In what way do you think the number of launch windows constrain the number of colonist? > I’m guessing even just figuring out the cost of the fuel to reach escape velocity would show how this a non-starter You are guessing? :)

mulmen 3y ago

> And, no, personally I don’t think Tesla or SpaceX count as giving back. Yeah, well, that’s just, like, your opinion, man. Say what you will about the tenets of Muskianism but at least it’s an ethos. > Why can’t our billionaires at least just slink off to the lovely beaches of some island somewhere. Oh wait, egos… One person’s egotism is another’s genuine belief. I’m personally not surprised someone who had the ambition and luck to be a billionaire would continue doing things they believe in. I’m not even convinced it would be beneficial for them to disappear. What happens to the immense amount of capital they control? > But Mars? Mars? How does that sound enjoyable? I actually hope he makes it there. Does he actually want to go to Mars personally? I thought the idea was that he wants humanity to be multi-planetary.

ben_w 3y ago
> Does he actually want to go to Mars personally? He said "I'd like to die on Mars, just not on impact." in 2013, no idea how serious he is though. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musks-vision-die-mars-165604970.html#:~:text=A%20Visionary%20Dream&text=In%202013%2C%20during%20a%20keynote,survival%20beyond%20its%20home%20planet https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musks-vision-die-mars-16....

ben_w 3y ago

Much as I can appreciate the sentiment, and find problems of my own with the man, his wealth is mostly in the form of "how much money other people want to pay for the marginal cost of a ticket to ride on his coat-tails". Tesla and SpaceX have their valuations because of the things his teams did being valued by those who have money to spend on the investments; which isn't him directly doing those things (which is a general issue with corporate organisation), but it is the result of the choices he made that other leaders didn't make[0]. > And I’m guessing even just figuring out the cost of the fuel to reach escape velocity would show how this a non-starter for more than Musk himself and a few companions. You'd definitely be wrong about that. Fuel costs specifically are very obviously fine, the hard parts are (1) "can they make the superheavy/starship combo as reusable as they hope?" (2) "solve in-orbit refuelling", and (3), "kiloton/year Sabatier process ISRU without human supervision or maintenance, growing to megaton/year when humans become available for such tasks". [0] Which is also why a criticism I see others making, "Musk didn't found Tesla!", isn't a big deal. It's true, but also Tesla had delivered no more than 147 individual cars by the time Tesla took over as CEO.