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It's funny he's only able to do that because he has so little real technical understanding. A real engineer wouldn't be so flippant.

by jordanb 4mo ago

tristanj 4mo ago
> [Elon] has so little real technical understanding This is a common trope, it's been dismantled many times previously https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33555870 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33555870
- bigyabai 4mo ago
  Your response is also a common trope. What has Elon actually invented? What code did Elon write on-par with Carmack? We can judge him by technical merits very easily. But if you hold him to the standards of Carmack or Feynman, Elon's accomplishments are entirely benign.
  - tristanj 4mo ago
    The query in question is "Elon little real technical understanding", which is demonstrably false. Responding to that with the logical fallacy of Moving the Goalposts does not address it.
    - keeda 4mo ago
      Wait, "demonstrably false" based on anecdotes? I'm sorry, when I wonder whether someone like, say, Carmack has technical chops I wouldn't rely on anecdotes from people, especially people I do not know of. For one, I can counter those with anecdotes from people I do know and trust. Like, I know directly from at least one very senior ex-Twitter engineer, who I worked directly with and whose technical chops I can vouch for (and who left before Elon took over, so you know, less chances of prejudice) that everything Elon said about Twitter engineering after he took over was absolute BS. For another, I can point to boneheaded moves directly traceable to Elon, like eschewing LIDAR for Tesla FSD, that have endangered my own life on multiple occasions. Like, phantom braking is STILL a problem for in 2026, something that LIDAR would largely eliminate. Just because he's built some very successful technical businesses does not mean he's technically strong. It is useful to know that cults of personality are cultivated. And especially for one like Elon (cf video game cheating scandal) when in doubt, it is probably a good idea to err towards "cultivated."
      - tristanj 4mo ago
        Elon is clearly highly technical as demonstrated by the Starbase interviews by Everyday Astronaut https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLStF4EoZOEFJ6xDx656Ikt92n4VXkDtRS https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLStF4EoZOEFJ6xDx656Ik... You can pick any video and see this for yourself.
        verzali 4mo ago
        Wasn't the orginal point that he sounds highly technical to people that don't understand the field well?
        tristanj 4mo ago
        Elon Musk is the chief engineer of SpaceX. If you don't believe this, I'm not sure what to tell you. It's extremely well documented. https://erik-engheim.medium.com/is-elon-musk-just-a-sales-guy-9d3eb7a1b49c https://erik-engheim.medium.com/is-elon-musk-just-a-sales-gu... You can watch the playlist linked above to verify this for yourself. Tim Dodd asks Elon deeply technical questions about Starship and Elon explains the design rationale and tradeoffs behind each of them. In one of the videos Elon walks around Super Heavy booster with Joe Petrzelka, Head of Booster Engineering at SpaceX, and they take turns explaining the technical details of how the ship works.
jazz9k 4mo ago
What I think is funny is that Steve Jobs also had very little technical knowledge and was just as much of an asshole, yet he's worshipped in the tech community. The only reason comments like yours are being made is because of Musk's politics. He was also loved in the Tech community, before supporting Trump. Musk doesn't have to be a 'real engineer'. Most 'real engineers' would obsess over mundane details and rarely think about the bigger picture or making a profit.
- jordanb 4mo ago
  I don't worship Steve Jobs but he didn't pretend to be an engineer What turned me off to Elon was "it's a tube with an air hockey table in it, it's not that hard."
- cosmicgadget 4mo ago
  For people outside the Apple bubble, Jobs is disliked for perpetuating the Apple walled garden and contempt for its users. Elon would have gotten there with his inability to deliver on promises but he found his political cash cow first.
- oska 4mo ago
  > yet he's worshipped in the tech community Maybe for those who are younger and who mostly know of Jobs posthumously but Jobs was a highly polarising figure through the 80s, 90s and 2000s and there were many ppl who would never buy any Apple product because of the Jobs personality behind it (including when Jobs wasn't actually in charge; it was still a company built in his "Walled Garden + Salesman Hype" image)

It's funny he's only able to do that because he has so little real technical understanding. A real engineer wouldn't be so flippant.

by jordanb 4mo ago

It's funny he's only able to do that because he has so little real technical understanding. A real engineer wouldn't be so flippant.

tristanj 4mo ago

> [Elon] has so little real technical understanding This is a common trope, it's been dismantled many times previously https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33555870 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33555870

bigyabai 4mo ago
Your response is also a common trope. What has Elon actually invented? What code did Elon write on-par with Carmack? We can judge him by technical merits very easily. But if you hold him to the standards of Carmack or Feynman, Elon's accomplishments are entirely benign.
- tristanj 4mo ago
  The query in question is "Elon little real technical understanding", which is demonstrably false. Responding to that with the logical fallacy of Moving the Goalposts does not address it.
  - keeda 4mo ago
    Wait, "demonstrably false" based on anecdotes? I'm sorry, when I wonder whether someone like, say, Carmack has technical chops I wouldn't rely on anecdotes from people, especially people I do not know of. For one, I can counter those with anecdotes from people I do know and trust. Like, I know directly from at least one very senior ex-Twitter engineer, who I worked directly with and whose technical chops I can vouch for (and who left before Elon took over, so you know, less chances of prejudice) that everything Elon said about Twitter engineering after he took over was absolute BS. For another, I can point to boneheaded moves directly traceable to Elon, like eschewing LIDAR for Tesla FSD, that have endangered my own life on multiple occasions. Like, phantom braking is STILL a problem for in 2026, something that LIDAR would largely eliminate. Just because he's built some very successful technical businesses does not mean he's technically strong. It is useful to know that cults of personality are cultivated. And especially for one like Elon (cf video game cheating scandal) when in doubt, it is probably a good idea to err towards "cultivated."
    - tristanj 4mo ago
      Elon is clearly highly technical as demonstrated by the Starbase interviews by Everyday Astronaut https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLStF4EoZOEFJ6xDx656Ikt92n4VXkDtRS https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLStF4EoZOEFJ6xDx656Ik... You can pick any video and see this for yourself.
      - verzali 4mo ago
        Wasn't the orginal point that he sounds highly technical to people that don't understand the field well?
        tristanj 4mo ago
        Elon Musk is the chief engineer of SpaceX. If you don't believe this, I'm not sure what to tell you. It's extremely well documented. https://erik-engheim.medium.com/is-elon-musk-just-a-sales-guy-9d3eb7a1b49c https://erik-engheim.medium.com/is-elon-musk-just-a-sales-gu... You can watch the playlist linked above to verify this for yourself. Tim Dodd asks Elon deeply technical questions about Starship and Elon explains the design rationale and tradeoffs behind each of them. In one of the videos Elon walks around Super Heavy booster with Joe Petrzelka, Head of Booster Engineering at SpaceX, and they take turns explaining the technical details of how the ship works.

jazz9k 4mo ago

What I think is funny is that Steve Jobs also had very little technical knowledge and was just as much of an asshole, yet he's worshipped in the tech community. The only reason comments like yours are being made is because of Musk's politics. He was also loved in the Tech community, before supporting Trump. Musk doesn't have to be a 'real engineer'. Most 'real engineers' would obsess over mundane details and rarely think about the bigger picture or making a profit.

jordanb 4mo ago
I don't worship Steve Jobs but he didn't pretend to be an engineer What turned me off to Elon was "it's a tube with an air hockey table in it, it's not that hard."
cosmicgadget 4mo ago
For people outside the Apple bubble, Jobs is disliked for perpetuating the Apple walled garden and contempt for its users. Elon would have gotten there with his inability to deliver on promises but he found his political cash cow first.
oska 4mo ago
> yet he's worshipped in the tech community Maybe for those who are younger and who mostly know of Jobs posthumously but Jobs was a highly polarising figure through the 80s, 90s and 2000s and there were many ppl who would never buy any Apple product because of the Jobs personality behind it (including when Jobs wasn't actually in charge; it was still a company built in his "Walled Garden + Salesman Hype" image)