Elon Musk

[electracity]

Quote from the guardian today:

Musk has repeatedly come under fire for his behavior on Twitter and for Tesla’s PR strategy, under which it aggressively attacks critics and journalists. James Anderson, a partner at Baillie Gifford, Tesla’s fourth-largest shareholder, said in a recent Bloomberg interview the company needed a period of “peace and execution”, adding: “It would be good to just concentrate on the core task.”
Asked about the “pedo” tweet, Anderson told the Guardian in an email: “I intend to convey my – predictable I trust – feelings to the company tomorrow.” He declined to elaborate.

Musk's behavior does affect Tesla's ability to raise capital. Obtaining funding to open new manufacturing facilities and constant drama don't mix.

 

[bro1999]

I forget the movie's name, but it starred Johnny Knoxville. "You never go full retard!"
Elon Musk sinks to a new low in ‘pedo’ rant

 

[Hota]

Elon wouldn't double down without knowing something. When Government offices are open this morning in Thailand he should have the proof. I hope.

You have now been made moderator of r/the_elon

 

[AZRI11]

You have now been made moderator of r/the_elon

Nooo anything but that. I hate you internet.

 

[TEG]

Elon Musk: The Architect of Tomorrow – Rolling Stone

...When he got into a fight with the biggest bully at school and knocked him out with one punch, Musk noticed that the bully never picked on him again. “It taught me a lesson: If you’re fighting a bully, you cannot appease a bully.” Musk speaks the next words forcefully. “You punch the bully in the nose. Bullies are looking for targets that won’t fight back. If you make yourself a hard target and punch the bully in the nose, he’s going to beat the *sugar* out of you, but he’s actually not going to hit you again.”...

 

[Krugerrand]

So that’s a no.

 

[skitown]

I forget the movie's name, but it starred Johnny Knoxville. "You never go full retard!"

The movie was actually Tropic Thunder. And not staring Johnny Knoxville. Ironic.

 

[Krugerrand]

Most of us aren’t billionaires with 22 million followers on Twitter.

Doesn’t make him less human. What it does do is allow every action and every word by him be dissected by the audience, while the audience gets to be righteous, as if they’ve never done a thing wrong in their lives.

 

[Canuck]

Doesn’t make him less human. What it does do is allow every action and every word by him be dissected by the audience, while the audience gets to be righteous, as if they’ve never done a thing wrong in their lives.

Of course people make mistakes -- we all do. But at the same time, our actions have consequences. People who make bad choices have to pay the consequence. It's the only way to keep our society civil.

I don't agree with the "no judgment' or "I forgive" people. I judge people all the time -- that's the only way to lead an informed life in my view -- and I only forgive people who are truly sorry and make amends.

I'm hoping Elon either has proof or is truly sorry and makes amends -- and fast!

 

[Economite]

I think this article summarizes the situation pretty well: Elon Musk, insisting he helped in Thai cave rescue, calls actual rescuer a 'pedo'

To my mind, the problem here isn't so much that Musk's "submarine" wound up being useless (and possibly never could have been useful) but that during a period when the actual rescuers were focusing on rescue efforts and doing only very limited press availability, Musk was stirring up a great deal of personal PR. The classy thing to do in this situation would have been to offer/give help, but not publicize it. But Musk (being Musk) not only tweets about his effort, but promotes his simple-- banged together-- escape tube as a "submarine", expresses certainty that it will work, gives it a publicized name, and personally shows up at the disaster site (and tweets from it) well after the rescue effort is successfully under way without his device.

Side note: this thing doesn't look particularly advanced or novel. If a rigid escape pod were useful, no reason anyone in Thailand/southeast Asia with the right shop couldn't have designed and fabricated it. The thing is an aluminum tube with some off the shelf air valves attached. Plus, since it was a ten hour round trip through the cave, one would never have done much good. Need at least four.

Side note, an unsupported ad hominem attack like "pedo" (or even a factually correct ad hominem attack) is never an appropriate way for a public figure (or anyone, really) to respond to criticism of a public action. And even more classlessly, Musk seems to be insulting the effort of all the divers, acting like what they did was simple because of the efforts of the pumping teams.

 

[mmd]

Just a week ago, when I pointed this out, the usual bh's came out with pitch forks and I got banned, by the newly minted biased mod I believe. The world is not dumb and saw right through this. Now look what a mess he has made. Had Elon just helped out from the sidelines or retreated gracefully, he would be looking a lot better right now. Now, he is trying to forcefully take credit and pursuing something that is more distracting (shooting video of the sub navigating the cave.)

Rescue work already started. Elon's engineers it seems, will just be side kicks this time, not the superheroes
Elon will snap some pics with the navy seals and rescued kids (hopefully) and post it on twitter to take the credit, is my best case scenario.

General Discussion: 2018 Investor Roundtable

 

[schonelucht]

Elon Musk: The Architect of Tomorrow – Rolling Stone

Except that today, Elon is the bully.

 

[gora321]

It's very difficult to gain my trust, it's a long way to reach it..but Elon has it!

 

[S4WRXTTCS]

Wasn't he just asked by a major shareholder to stop this nonsense?

It's like a football game where the receiver started taunting before he ever reached the end-zone for the game winning score.

For the most part the SpaceX sub was a PR win whether intentional or not. Elon had all the evidence he needed with the email saying to continue working on it. That was a enough for the vast majority of people to understand it's purpose/intent. That it was simply a backup, and thankfully it wasn't needed.

At most all Elon should have said is "He's entitled to his own opinion" and to reiterate that SpaceX was asked to continue working on it. He didn't need to take it any further.

The easiest argument to win is one where someone does a personal attack. As soon as the rescuer said “stick his submarine where it hurts” he lost credibility. It made it seem like he was bitter at Elon for taking attention away. Why else would someone in his position feel the need to spew such negativity? I can understand things like "it wasn't practical", or "I don't believe it would work". But, to take it to the level "where the sun doesn't shine"? That's normally reserved for printers.

Elon responded in the worst possible manner.

One is he insulted a person that contributed to the rescue
Second is he insulted the entire country with a stereotype about expats living in the country
Thirdly he defamed someone and there is always a chance of being sued.
Fourthly he likely pissed off major shareholders by throwing a temper tantrum.

In 2015 I bought a Model S, and part of it was a bit of a juvenile excitement. The idea that this car company was run by someone who also made rocket ships. It was like contributing to a fantasy life of something I could only dream of.

But, fast forward it to 2018 and I'm still on the fence about getting a Model 3. Sure as before the car itself is the number one deciding factor. But, there is an emotional quotient too. What's the emotional quotient telling me? To stay clear.

The CEO is unstable.
The production line is unstable.

It all needs to settle down.

 

[182RG]

When Government offices are open this morning in Thailand he should have the proof. I hope.

You hope the guy is a pedophile? Seriously, you hope?

Why don’t you hope that EM is wrong, and inappropriate. Why don’t you hope that his ego is out of control, and he finally crossed the line this time?

 

[mongo]

Tl;dr People asked Elon to help, he initially refused. People asked again. He tried as hard as his team could. Then people criticized him. I know what that is like. His response was not the best. I'd suggest reading the whole Twitter thread of the attempt with replies on...

To my mind, the problem here isn't so much that Musk's "submarine" wound up being useless (and possibly never could have been useful) but that during a period when the actual rescuers were focusing on rescue efforts and doing only very limited press availability, Musk was stirring up a great deal of personal PR.

It wound up being unneeded, that is much different than useless.

But Musk (being Musk) not only tweets about his effort, but promotes his simple-- banged together-- escape tube as a "submarine", expresses certainty that it will work, gives it a publicized name, and personally shows up at the disaster site (and tweets from it) well after the rescue effort is successfully under way without his device.

He personally flew it out there. That is why he was at the cave, after four of the kids were out and four more were in the process of being extracted.

Side note: this thing doesn't look particularly advanced or novel. If a rigid escape pod were useful, no reason anyone in Thailand/southeast Asia with the right shop couldn't have designed and fabricated i

And yet they didn't. Either the first or the other 3 you say they needed.

Moreover, based on extensive cave video review & discussion with several divers who know journey, SpaceX engineering is absolutely certain that mini-sub can do entire journey & demonstrate at any time.

And even more classlessly, Musk seems to be insulting the effort of all the divers, acting like what they did was simple because of the efforts of the pumping teams.

Maybe to you, however his point (and the reason for the mini sub effort continuing after the first bits were rescued) has been that if the pumps failed, or if one of the boys was too weak, it could be needed.
Link to email of tech email.
Twitter

Yes. Caves are now filled with water again. Difficulty of passage is massively dependent on water level. Little kids can walk/swim in when low, but it can be deadly to pro divers when high. Pump & generator engineering team deserves some credit for the rescue.

That Tribune article can't even get the timeline right...

As The Washington Post has already chronicled, Musk accepted the challenge with "a lengthy, live brainstorming process on Twitter," which ended when he traveled to Thailand with a miniature submarine made from rocket parts, tweeted some photos of the cave, left the device there and went home.

Hours later, a dive team sans submarine began extracting the children - ultimately successfully. And while Musk's fans lauded his intentions, his submarine drive-by also became the butt of many jokes.

The sub arrived as the second round of rescue was underway. Did not interfere with operations.

Elon
July 7

Continue to be amazed by the bravery, resilience & tenacity of kids & diving team in Thailand. Human character at its best.

July 8

Extremely talented dive team. Makes sense given monsoon. Godspeed.

July 9

Just returned from Cave 3. Mini-sub is ready if needed. It is made of rocket parts & named Wild Boar after kids’ soccer team. Leaving here in case it may be useful in the future. Thailand is so beautiful.

July 10

Great news that they made it out safely. Congratulations to an outstanding rescue team!

July 11

This reaction has shaken my opinion of many people. We were asked to create a backup option & worked hard to do so. Checked with dive team many times to confirm it was worthwhile. Now it’s there for anyone who needs it in future. Something’s messed up if this is not a good thing.

 

[bro1999]

How to destroy your credibility in 7 days or less:
1. Inject yourself needlessly into a story that is captivating literally the entire world (Thai youth soccer team rescue)
2. Proclaim you'll help and come up with a rescue solution (despite having 0 real world knowledge/experience in the relevant fields)
3. (After everyone is rescued without your help) Get into Twitter spat with authorities in charge of the successful rescue
4. Call one of the men instrumental in planning the rescue of the soccer team a pedophile
5. Double down on the baseless claim after someone challenges your initial abhorrent tweet.
6. Delete said tweets (in vain, because...you know, screenshots)
7. Maintain radio silence and let the outrage of your actions boil over by not issuing a public apology.

 

[182RG]

But, fast forward it to 2018 and I'm still on the fence about getting a Model 3. Sure as before the car itself is the number one deciding factor. But, there is an emotional quotient too. What's the emotional quotient telling me? To stay clear.

^^ This ^^ right here. I continue to follow Tesla for the cool tech and performance. I was a Model 3 reservation holder. One day, I might buy an S. But for everything cool, high tech, and performance, there is a dark side that I just can't shake that would make me cough up money.

The irrational, cult-like allegiance to Elon Musk, and the dismissal of anything negative disturbs me. It is off-putting. The constant string of half truths, missed expectations, and frankly out and out lies to customers and shareholders is egregious.

 

[scaesare]

How to destroy your credibility in 7 days or less:
1. Inject yourself needlessly into a story that is captivating literally the entire world (Thai youth soccer team rescue)
2. Proclaim you'll help and come up with a rescue solution (despite having 0 real world knowledge/experience in the relevant fields)
3. (After everyone is rescued without your help) Get into Twitter spat with authorities in charge of the successful rescue
4. Call one of the men instrumental in planning the rescue of the soccer team a pedophile
5. Double down on the baseless claim after someone challenges your initial abhorrent tweet.
6. Delete said tweets (in vain, because...you know, screenshots)
7. Maintain radio silence and let the outrage of your actions boil over by not issuing a public apology.

8. Skulk around an internet forum making dubious proclamations a competitive product you own is superior and taking potshots at every opportunity.

 

[Barklikeadog]

How to destroy your credibility in 7 days or less:
1. Inject yourself needlessly into a story that is captivating literally the entire world (Thai youth soccer team rescue)
2. Proclaim you'll help and come up with a rescue solution (despite having 0 real world knowledge/experience in the relevant fields)
3. (After everyone is rescued without your help) Get into Twitter spat with authorities in charge of the successful rescue
4. Call one of the men instrumental in planning the rescue of the soccer team a pedophile
5. Double down on the baseless claim after someone challenges your initial abhorrent tweet.
6. Delete said tweets (in vain, because...you know, screenshots)
7. Maintain radio silence and let the outrage of your actions boil over by not issuing a public apology.

Maybe he can help out those kids. free flamethrowers?