7 ms·

I don't like Elon either, but not only has SpaceX created breakthrough tech that didn't exist by landing an orbital class rocket, as of today still nobody else

I don't like Elon either, but not only has SpaceX created breakthrough tech that didn't exist by landing an orbital class rocket, as of today still nobody else has done it. Landing a rocket was considered impossible and unthinkable 10 years ago, and then SpaceX completely changed the game. And they're reinventing rocket tech again with Starship by catching it midair.

jprd 2y ago
We can all thank Gwynne Shotwell for this though.
- melodyogonna 2y ago
  Gwynee Shotwell works for Elon Musk.
- everfrustrated 2y ago
  Have you listened to her interviews? You can find some on YouTube. I'm sure she has been very helpful in navigating the US govt/NASA bureaucracy and winning SpaceX deals, but she's clearly not a visionary.
GoatInGrey 2y ago
It still blows my mind that nobody has meaningfully replicated the Falcon 9 after thirteen years of it flying commercially.
TFYS 2y ago
The number of people that have the capital and connections required to even attempt such things is very small, so it's not necessarily Musk's abilities that made those things happen, just the combination of having the power to allocate enough resources and an interest in such things.
- somenameforme 2y ago
  He started both Tesla and SpaceX when he had "only" a few hundred million to his name and no more connections than would be expected of a Silicon Valley guy making payment software. And lots of brilliant guys, including John Carmack for instance, have tried their hand at aerospace - and failed. Jeff Bezos started Blue Origin before SpaceX was even founded, and it was literally only last month that they finally managed to get a rocket into orbit for the first time. There's a joke in the industry: 'How do you become a millionaire in the aerospace industry? Start out as a billionaire in the aerospace industry!' And we live in a world of millions of millionaires, and thousands of billionaires. For that matter, even China is trying their hardest to replicate SpaceX tech given all the resources of the world's largest economy, and 1.4 billion people (meaning a proportionally larger chunk of intellectual outliers), and defacto authoritarian power to make it all happen. Yet they remain (in terms of rocket technology) behind SpaceX.
  - beAbU 2y ago
    Nit: musk is not a tesla founder. He bought his right to be called that for $6M
    - everfrustrated 2y ago
      While technically correct, the Tesla that Elon bought has basically nothing in common with current Tesla.
    - somenameforme 2y ago
      When Musk 'joined' Tesla it was a name and two other guys. The latter two of whom left the company before a single car had been produced. They then sued for the right to be called founders a couple of years after they left, and once it became clear the company would stand a reasonable chance of success.
      - megaman821 2y ago
        If my memory serves me correctly, they had put some Sony Handicam batteries on a chasis and driven it around before Musk. Musk was there for every actual product and its development.

jprd 2y ago

We can all thank Gwynne Shotwell for this though.

melodyogonna 2y ago
Gwynee Shotwell works for Elon Musk.
everfrustrated 2y ago
Have you listened to her interviews? You can find some on YouTube. I'm sure she has been very helpful in navigating the US govt/NASA bureaucracy and winning SpaceX deals, but she's clearly not a visionary.

GoatInGrey 2y ago

It still blows my mind that nobody has meaningfully replicated the Falcon 9 after thirteen years of it flying commercially.

TFYS 2y ago

The number of people that have the capital and connections required to even attempt such things is very small, so it's not necessarily Musk's abilities that made those things happen, just the combination of having the power to allocate enough resources and an interest in such things.

somenameforme 2y ago
He started both Tesla and SpaceX when he had "only" a few hundred million to his name and no more connections than would be expected of a Silicon Valley guy making payment software. And lots of brilliant guys, including John Carmack for instance, have tried their hand at aerospace - and failed. Jeff Bezos started Blue Origin before SpaceX was even founded, and it was literally only last month that they finally managed to get a rocket into orbit for the first time. There's a joke in the industry: 'How do you become a millionaire in the aerospace industry? Start out as a billionaire in the aerospace industry!' And we live in a world of millions of millionaires, and thousands of billionaires. For that matter, even China is trying their hardest to replicate SpaceX tech given all the resources of the world's largest economy, and 1.4 billion people (meaning a proportionally larger chunk of intellectual outliers), and defacto authoritarian power to make it all happen. Yet they remain (in terms of rocket technology) behind SpaceX.
- beAbU 2y ago
  Nit: musk is not a tesla founder. He bought his right to be called that for $6M
  - everfrustrated 2y ago
    While technically correct, the Tesla that Elon bought has basically nothing in common with current Tesla.
  - somenameforme 2y ago
    When Musk 'joined' Tesla it was a name and two other guys. The latter two of whom left the company before a single car had been produced. They then sued for the right to be called founders a couple of years after they left, and once it became clear the company would stand a reasonable chance of success.
    - megaman821 2y ago
      If my memory serves me correctly, they had put some Sony Handicam batteries on a chasis and driven it around before Musk. Musk was there for every actual product and its development.