Elon Musk: Always A Douche

[grumbler]

He has a history of floating false solutions to the drawbacks of our over-reliance on cars that stifle efforts to give people other options. The Boring Company was supposed to solve traffic, not be the Las Vegas amusement ride it is now. 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.

(just 'cause I like to repeat it , but Berkut will accuse me of tabloid something something)

I wonder why Musk's biographer didn't include that detail in the book (which I read).

[Josquius]

"Elon Musk admitted to his biographer that the reason the Hyperloop was announced—even tho he had no intention of pursuing it—was to try to disrupt the California high-speed rail project to get in the way of that actually succeeding."
https://twitter.com/brenttoderian/status/1557224539267817472
The titans of tech brought plenty of disruption to our broken transportation system but delivered little in the way of innovation.

And more details about the general douchiness of Elon Musk business behavior:
https://time.com/6203815/elon-musk-flaws-billionaire-visions/

He has a history of floating false solutions to the drawbacks of our over-reliance on cars that stifle efforts to give people other options. The Boring Company was supposed to solve traffic, not be the Las Vegas amusement ride it is now. 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.

(just 'cause I like to repeat it , but Berkut will accuse me of tabloid something something)

I saw this too and thought to post it here....but click through the link trail there and there's no definitive proof of him saying this sadly.

[viper37]

I wonder why Musk's biographer didn't include that detail in the book (which I read).

https://jalopnik.com/did-musk-propose-hyperloop-to-stop-california-high-spee-1849402460

Elon was never really selling the Hyperloop after the announcement," Vance said. "The tunnel stuff, I think, is much more questionable. I still don't understand how The Boring Company digs tunnels faster or better than anybody else. Unlike SpaceX, Tesla, it's not clear to me that there's any major innovation in the tunneling. I just don't understand what the breakthrough is on that one."
"So did Elon try to sell a green project to make money? Or did he just have an idea and blurt it out," I asked Vance.
"I'm 99.9-percent sure it's the latter," Vance tells me.

Might not be as douchey as it was hinted in the Time's article, but it's still one more billionaire against fast public transit in North America, and from Musk, one more unrealistic idea floating out there that he hasn't delivered on.

[grumbler]

So that actual quote from Vance is

With any luck, the high-speed rail would be canceled. Musk said as much to me [Ashlee Vance] during a series of e-mails and phone calls leading up to the announcement. "Down the road, I might fund or advise on a Hyperloop project, but right now I can't take my eye off the ball at either SpaceX or Tesla," he wrote.

So, he didn't say it, Vance inferred that it was true based on the fact that Musk actually said that "Down the road, I might fund or advise on a Hyperloop project."  That's why Vance only noted in the book that "it seemed at the time" that Hyperloop was "designed to make the public and legislators rethink high speed trains."

So, once again, we have people taking other peoples' words, re-writing them to make the subject appear more evil than even the quoted source claims, and boom!:  sensational article to aid book sales.

Musk is a douche, but the people lying about him for their own gain are also douches.

[Berkut]

Why would I accuse you of anything?

It's bizarre how much you guys get pissed off over anyone not agreeing with every little detail of your obsession.

[viper37]

Why would I accuse you of anything?

because you spent 15 pages denouncing people criticizing Musk.

[grumbler]

Why would I accuse you of anything?

because you spent 15 pages denouncing people criticizing Musk.

  Let us know when you are done nailing yourself to that cross.

[Tamas]

JUST IN:

Twitter, $TWTR, has shown this message in the Elon Musk vs Twitter merger trial:

May 8th, Musk to Morgan Stanley: "let's slow down just a few days ... it won't make sense to buy Twitter if we are heading into World War."

[The Minsky Moment]

Meh.  Standing alone not such a killer doc.

[The Minsky Moment]

Good news for Musk is that there is a similar social media platform coming on the market at a truly bargain price.

It's the truth.  And social.

[Jacob]

So Musk - after his "I love peace and people, so Ukraine should compromise with Russia tweet" is apparently saying he'll buy Twitter at the original price he offered.

Saw another thing that one of his major backers is some dubious Saudi Prince or other.

I guess we'll see if this is just a stunt to make people stop talking about being an idiot on Ukraine, or whether he's going to actually follow through.

[Razgovory]

So Musk - after his "I love peace and people, so Ukraine should compromise with Russia tweet" is apparently saying he'll buy Twitter at the original price he offered.

Saw another thing that one of his major backers is some dubious Saudi Prince or other.

I guess we'll see if this is just a stunt to make people stop talking about being an idiot on Ukraine, or whether he's going to actually follow through.

That doesn't narrow it down, they're all dubious.

[HVC]

I'm kind of surprised how many pies the saudis have their fingers in.

*edit* as to twitter, I had read that he wasn't going to win. So he might just be getting ahead of that story. He seems fine at being seen as a dick, but doesn't like to be seen as losing.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

So Musk - after his "I love peace and people, so Ukraine should compromise with Russia tweet" is apparently saying he'll buy Twitter at the original price he offered.

Saw another thing that one of his major backers is some dubious Saudi Prince or other.

I guess we'll see if this is just a stunt to make people stop talking about being an idiot on Ukraine, or whether he's going to actually follow through.

That doesn't narrow it down, they're all dubious.

And already invested in twitter, so no change there

[Syt]

Saw a comment the other day that it's natural for Musk to weigh in on the Ukrainian war - after all he knows a few things about failed takeovers.