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At one point in Tesla's path, Musk was down to a net worth of $200k or so. He laid his entire fortune on the line. How many of us would be willing to do that? N

At one point in Tesla's path, Musk was down to a net worth of $200k or so. He laid his entire fortune on the line. How many of us would be willing to do that? Not me.

jdiff 1y ago
Is that courage or ketamine? I'm not sure there's anything aspirational there, or just a huge streak of vanity. Just look at all the plastic surgery.
- WalterBright 1y ago
  If you think taking drugs is the key to success, well, it's not a path I'd try.
  - jdiff 11mo ago
    I did say, "I'm not sure there's anything aspirational there." But clearly it does have a chance at success, as evidenced by Elon. Or, as it always turns out, it's difficult to fail anywhere but up when you're wealthy.
    - WalterBright 11mo ago
      [flagged]
      - jdiff 11mo ago
        [flagged]
        Teever 11mo ago
        [flagged]
        venturecruelty 11mo ago
        Thank you for calling this out. I'm shocked it doesn't happen more often. It really ought to.
        Teever 11mo ago
        It should but it won't because people on here have developed a parasocial relationship with Walter and he's become a sort of minor celebrity on HN. I mentioned this to Dang recently[0] and he's ambivalent about it. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45610620#45637851 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45610620#45637851
        tomhow 11mo ago
        In that discussion you seemed to agree that there's not much we can or should do about it; you seemed to be indicating that you were just contemplating the phenomenon, rather than complaining or arguing that something needed to be done. For what it's worth: the “celebrity” effect works both ways. Sure, some members of the community may be more willing to give them a pass. But other users will be more motivated to downvote and/or flag, even if the comment is relatively benign.
raw_anon_1111 11mo ago
At a young age and knowing I could easily get a job and rebuild? Why not? $200K to get back is a year a two in Silicon Valley just working in a tech company. By 2010 with a combination of divorce and over investing in real estate before the financial crisis I had a negative net worth of over $200K at 36 years old and absolutely no money in the bank. I really didn’t stress at all. They were just numbers. I had a job, a home and parents who could help me out a little when needed mostly for unexpected expenses because my credit was also shot by 2013 with 5 foreclosures/short sales. At 51, remarried for 15 years and grown (step)kids and working remotely, and a lot of other quality of life changes, we are good.
- WalterBright 11mo ago
  Going from $200 million to $200 thousand in a few months is a terrifying drop. No, you cannot make $200m overnight from $200g.
  - raw_anon_1111 11mo ago
    The question was whether I would take a chance with my last $200K.
    - WalterBright 11mo ago
      Musk did. Most wouldn't.
      - raw_anon_1111 11mo ago
        Young and knowing your future earning potential? That’s. I different than paying $200K for college. That’s only slightly more than the average new grad makes working at any of the BigTech companies their first year. What else was he going to do? Hoard it in a High Yield Savings account?

At one point in Tesla's path, Musk was down to a net worth of $200k or so. He laid his entire fortune on the line. How many of us would be willing to do that? Not me.

jdiff 1y ago

Is that courage or ketamine? I'm not sure there's anything aspirational there, or just a huge streak of vanity. Just look at all the plastic surgery.

WalterBright 1y ago
If you think taking drugs is the key to success, well, it's not a path I'd try.
- jdiff 11mo ago
  I did say, "I'm not sure there's anything aspirational there." But clearly it does have a chance at success, as evidenced by Elon. Or, as it always turns out, it's difficult to fail anywhere but up when you're wealthy.
  - WalterBright 11mo ago
    [flagged]
    - jdiff 11mo ago
      [flagged]
      - Teever 11mo ago
        [flagged]
        venturecruelty 11mo ago
        Thank you for calling this out. I'm shocked it doesn't happen more often. It really ought to.
        Teever 11mo ago
        It should but it won't because people on here have developed a parasocial relationship with Walter and he's become a sort of minor celebrity on HN. I mentioned this to Dang recently[0] and he's ambivalent about it. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45610620#45637851 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45610620#45637851
        tomhow 11mo ago
        In that discussion you seemed to agree that there's not much we can or should do about it; you seemed to be indicating that you were just contemplating the phenomenon, rather than complaining or arguing that something needed to be done. For what it's worth: the “celebrity” effect works both ways. Sure, some members of the community may be more willing to give them a pass. But other users will be more motivated to downvote and/or flag, even if the comment is relatively benign.

raw_anon_1111 11mo ago

At a young age and knowing I could easily get a job and rebuild? Why not? $200K to get back is a year a two in Silicon Valley just working in a tech company. By 2010 with a combination of divorce and over investing in real estate before the financial crisis I had a negative net worth of over $200K at 36 years old and absolutely no money in the bank. I really didn’t stress at all. They were just numbers. I had a job, a home and parents who could help me out a little when needed mostly for unexpected expenses because my credit was also shot by 2013 with 5 foreclosures/short sales. At 51, remarried for 15 years and grown (step)kids and working remotely, and a lot of other quality of life changes, we are good.

WalterBright 11mo ago
Going from $200 million to $200 thousand in a few months is a terrifying drop. No, you cannot make $200m overnight from $200g.
- raw_anon_1111 11mo ago
  The question was whether I would take a chance with my last $200K.
  - WalterBright 11mo ago
    Musk did. Most wouldn't.
    - raw_anon_1111 11mo ago
      Young and knowing your future earning potential? That’s. I different than paying $200K for college. That’s only slightly more than the average new grad makes working at any of the BigTech companies their first year. What else was he going to do? Hoard it in a High Yield Savings account?