4 ms·

It's such a shame that he's sullying his reputation like this. Howard Hughes-like. He could have retired in a blaze of glory a couple of years ago, straight in

It's such a shame that he's sullying his reputation like this. Howard Hughes-like. He could have retired in a blaze of glory a couple of years ago, straight into the pantheon of epic American entrepreneurs.

dralley 3y ago
His behavior isn't the only Howard Hughes callback. The entire Cybertruck project screams it.
- smallmancontrov 3y ago
  Apparently Henry Ford bought a newspaper (the Dearborn Independent) to publish his opinions on jews. History sure does rhyme. What is it with car CEOs?
  - FredPret 3y ago
    If it rhymes this much, it's bad news for Musk but fantastic for Tesla. Ford has generated a ridiculous amount of shareholder returns over the years and makes good cars today.
  - myroon5 3y ago
    And Ford was hardly alone collaborating with Nazis: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39888684 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39888684
- silverquiet 3y ago
  I didn't think about the parallel to the Spruce Goose, but it's a fair comparison. Honestly, it seems to happen to a lot of megalomaniac, ivory-tower type creators - the urge to build something to top their last creation (and for all his faults, Elon does have some really impressive creations behind him). The other example that jumps to mind is George Lucas with the Star Wars prequels.
  - mschuster91 3y ago
    > The other example that jumps to mind is George Lucas with the Star Wars prequels. These were by far not as bad as some people tend to paint them, the problem with the Star Wars prequels IMHO was more that the "old guard" fanbase tends to be quite the whiny bunch. The sequels are another topic entirely - these were corporate driven projects which isn't a bad sign per se (see the MCU), but unlike the MCU there wasn't a central person like Kevin Feige who actually took care about a cohesive storyline, directors and script writers kept changing, and the SW universe unlike Star Trek or MCU doesn't have a concept of multiple/alternate realities or time travel so a ton of lore went down the drain for nothing.
    - archagon 3y ago
      They’re just stories. A future Disney could declare 7-9 non-canon and redo the lore.
  - philistine 3y ago
    The Star Wars prequels are not comparable to the Spruce Goose. The Star Wars prequels did exactly what they intended to do: sell toys so George could maintain the independence of Lucasfilm. The fact those movies are terrible is irrelevant.
JKCalhoun 3y ago
South African entrepreneurs? EDIT: I had heard he was South African. Googled it though: "South African-born American businessman" so I guess he is American now. Thanks.
- misiti3780 3y ago
  [flagged]
- AlotOfReading 3y ago
  He's a US citizen, he lives in the US, and his companies are headquartered in the US. "American" is definitely an appropriate label here.
- anonporridge 3y ago
  You seem not American. To Americans, being born to a different nationality doesn't preclude you from being considered a full and true American. First generation immigrants and naturalized citizens tend to be completely accepted as equals by natural born citizens, so long as they are productive and not criminally destructive. I do understand that this tends to not be the case in many other countries, where even second generation immigrants may not be fully accepted because ethnic identity is so deeply entwined in nationality in most countries.
  - VBprogrammer 3y ago
    You would have to admit that passing the "looks white to me" test helps a lot in being culturally accepted as an American. You don't have to go very far to find counter examples. Even in this comment section people talk about "Asians" driving Tesla's - regardless of the fact they maybe second or third generation Americans.
    - JKCalhoun 3y ago
      The way you put it, it would seem odd to me to mention someone's ethnicity unless it was somehow relevant to the conversation. Without context though my generous assumption is that when they say "Asian driving a Tesla" they mean "Asian-American driving a Tesla" and are lazy rather than racist.
cavisne 3y ago
Very unlikely, Bezos & Gates basically did that and they are still massive targets of criticism. If Elon had decided to just roll over a couple years ago and do everything the media asked him to do (shutdown the Fremont factory during covid, stop "polluting the sky" with starlink, rely on a nice unionized automaker like GM to "lead the EV revolution") Tesla & SpaceX wouldn't exist today.
- r00fus 3y ago
  None of that shit actually matters to the people who despise Elon. No, it’s the fascist-friendly sex-mongering racist rhetoric that gets most people. Even that could be explained the way if it weren’t for his inept business moves with Twitter and ugly cybertruck. Jobs proved you can be worshipped while being an eccentric asshole if you’re at least competent.

dralley 3y ago

His behavior isn't the only Howard Hughes callback. The entire Cybertruck project screams it.

smallmancontrov 3y ago
Apparently Henry Ford bought a newspaper (the Dearborn Independent) to publish his opinions on jews. History sure does rhyme. What is it with car CEOs?
- FredPret 3y ago
  If it rhymes this much, it's bad news for Musk but fantastic for Tesla. Ford has generated a ridiculous amount of shareholder returns over the years and makes good cars today.
- myroon5 3y ago
  And Ford was hardly alone collaborating with Nazis: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39888684 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39888684
silverquiet 3y ago
I didn't think about the parallel to the Spruce Goose, but it's a fair comparison. Honestly, it seems to happen to a lot of megalomaniac, ivory-tower type creators - the urge to build something to top their last creation (and for all his faults, Elon does have some really impressive creations behind him). The other example that jumps to mind is George Lucas with the Star Wars prequels.
- mschuster91 3y ago
  > The other example that jumps to mind is George Lucas with the Star Wars prequels. These were by far not as bad as some people tend to paint them, the problem with the Star Wars prequels IMHO was more that the "old guard" fanbase tends to be quite the whiny bunch. The sequels are another topic entirely - these were corporate driven projects which isn't a bad sign per se (see the MCU), but unlike the MCU there wasn't a central person like Kevin Feige who actually took care about a cohesive storyline, directors and script writers kept changing, and the SW universe unlike Star Trek or MCU doesn't have a concept of multiple/alternate realities or time travel so a ton of lore went down the drain for nothing.
  - archagon 3y ago
    They’re just stories. A future Disney could declare 7-9 non-canon and redo the lore.
- philistine 3y ago
  The Star Wars prequels are not comparable to the Spruce Goose. The Star Wars prequels did exactly what they intended to do: sell toys so George could maintain the independence of Lucasfilm. The fact those movies are terrible is irrelevant.

JKCalhoun 3y ago

South African entrepreneurs? EDIT: I had heard he was South African. Googled it though: "South African-born American businessman" so I guess he is American now. Thanks.

misiti3780 3y ago
[flagged]
AlotOfReading 3y ago
He's a US citizen, he lives in the US, and his companies are headquartered in the US. "American" is definitely an appropriate label here.
anonporridge 3y ago
You seem not American. To Americans, being born to a different nationality doesn't preclude you from being considered a full and true American. First generation immigrants and naturalized citizens tend to be completely accepted as equals by natural born citizens, so long as they are productive and not criminally destructive. I do understand that this tends to not be the case in many other countries, where even second generation immigrants may not be fully accepted because ethnic identity is so deeply entwined in nationality in most countries.
- VBprogrammer 3y ago
  You would have to admit that passing the "looks white to me" test helps a lot in being culturally accepted as an American. You don't have to go very far to find counter examples. Even in this comment section people talk about "Asians" driving Tesla's - regardless of the fact they maybe second or third generation Americans.
  - JKCalhoun 3y ago
    The way you put it, it would seem odd to me to mention someone's ethnicity unless it was somehow relevant to the conversation. Without context though my generous assumption is that when they say "Asian driving a Tesla" they mean "Asian-American driving a Tesla" and are lazy rather than racist.

cavisne 3y ago

Very unlikely, Bezos & Gates basically did that and they are still massive targets of criticism. If Elon had decided to just roll over a couple years ago and do everything the media asked him to do (shutdown the Fremont factory during covid, stop "polluting the sky" with starlink, rely on a nice unionized automaker like GM to "lead the EV revolution") Tesla & SpaceX wouldn't exist today.

r00fus 3y ago
None of that shit actually matters to the people who despise Elon. No, it’s the fascist-friendly sex-mongering racist rhetoric that gets most people. Even that could be explained the way if it weren’t for his inept business moves with Twitter and ugly cybertruck. Jobs proved you can be worshipped while being an eccentric asshole if you’re at least competent.