> His father having "a share in an emerald mine" doesn't mean Elon used his father's money for his business ventures, and it doesn't mean the share was substant

> His father having "a share in an emerald mine" doesn't mean Elon used his father's money for his business ventures, and it doesn't mean the share was substantial. It doesn't, no. But it does mean that when he later claimed not to have anything to do with an emerald mine in apartheid SA, he was being knowingly fraudulent. And it takes no small effort to get articles taken down. If it weren't for the Internet Archive, there'd be no evidence he's lying when he says so. In his own words [from 1 above, already linked]: > This is going to sound slightly crazy, but my father also had a share in an Emerald mine in Zambia. I was 15 and really wanted to go with him but didn’t realize how dangerous it was. I couldn’t find my passport so I ended up grabbing my brother’s – which turned out to be six months overdue! So we had this planeload of contraband and an overdue passport from another person. There were AK-47s all over the place and I’m thinking, “Man, this could really go bad.” Does that sound like something someone with an insubstantial share would do with their 15 year old? It's possible, I guess, and if you want to give him the benefit of the doubt on that you're welcome to. Seems naive though. And the point wasn't that it got him his start, although it certainly didn't hurt. That's a strawman. The point was that Musk has denied having any part in an emerald mine since that interview to build his myth as an entirely self-made entrepreneur. Fraudulently. > The idea that Musk has single-handedly held back public transportation is funny. It sure is. Many people have had a part in driving America's infrastructure further into shambles, as they like things just as they are. Especially car makers. So hilarious. However, if you read carefully over the thread so far, you'll see that no one actually made the claim that he "single-handedly" is responsible. Although, Musk himself seems happy to have had a part in it: > As I’ve written in my book, Musk admitted to his biographer Ashlee Vance that Hyperloop was all about trying to get legislators to cancel plans for high-speed rail in California—even though he had no plans to build it. - [from 2, also linked above]