It is interesting to see that whenever Elon Musk's name is mentioned and people start discussing his achievements, such as the reinvention and automobiles and space travel, someone always says: Yes, but I hear he could be a real dick.
Elon, take that.
Let's be completely honest. You know deep down, dear reader that you can be a real dick too. If we are being honest, so can you. She must be a dick at least 10 times per week. Since when does being a "dick" somehow make you a less human person? It doesn't. It's stupid. What good is it to criticize someone you don't know? Negative thinking is a way for a person to pretend they are smart, but in reality it is just a way for them to be negative. Let's also be clear about another thing: We all hate goody two-shoes. So, what kinda perfect behavior do you expect from any person, even Elon Musk?
He seems to be only interested in publicity.
Elon Musk is terrible at public relations. The launch of the Cybertruck was a disaster. And the Tesla in Space thing was terrible. He is opaque, techy, and difficult to get along with Richard Branson. But there's something about Musk, that makes Branson seem like a thousand-year-old.
He seems to be trying to manipulate media
This is also something he does poorly. Musk has become the planet's most influential tweeter after the deplatforming Donald Trump. While a Kardashian can make a product for armpit hair removal go viral, Musk can create or destroy billions in just a few words. He would waste three brain cells trying manipulate the media. His often lame tweets often backfire as well. He is the first to confirm this with his tweet: Tweeting about Ambien is not wise. Musk does not need to manipulate media, because his work is so fascinating. Musk doesn't need to fish for media.
He's only out to make some money.
What if he is? But, b), He's not. He does what he does. At the time of writing, he is also the second-richest person on Earth. He probably grew up going to the candy shop and buying 10 things a lot. He lives modestly. He reinvests his ideas in his own thoughts and they are often good.
However, self-driving cars can kill!
Get up.
Musk did more than just create a few basic patents. He also moved to Santa Barbara to play golf the rest of his adult life. He tries to improve the system every day. Have you ever shopped online? Have you ever wanted to visit the International Space Station (ISS)? Do you want a new car or a brand-new vehicle? Musk, a single-handedly shamed the global auto industry by accelerating the rollout of electric cars by 7 to 10 years. People kvetch and it makes me wonder what is wrong with our age. It is nearly impossible to get people saying something kind about anyone else. If you give a like to someone else, it could have gone to yourself. This suggests that something fundamentally different is happening in selfhood today than 25 years ago. 1996 seems to be the peak of celebrity profiles, remember them? Say Vanity Fair. The glossy cover. The fawning. The expectation of dirt revealed. They will they backstab Interviewers are still renowned for their ability to interview, which makes it seem like it was a million years ago. Is there any celebrity interviewers? Oprah is a good example of this, I suppose, but it seems that her heart isn't in it and she appears to be just an enabler for the Megan-andHarry politics that plague our time.
However, I have heard that he treats his workers badly
We already talked about this: Elon Musk can be a dick so don't be surprised if he does. People know that they will be working with Elon Musk so they won't have to play "Woe is Me" if he gets Elon on them. Third, he is extremely smart and used to working alongside the most intelligent and accomplished people in the world. Here's something he said to someone pissed off at him in the Tesla factory: I could be drinking mai Tais with naked supermodels. But instead, Im here with You.
He hurt my feelings and made it seem like I was working in a dangerous and triggering environment.
Do you believe this is what our society has become?
Here are some facts about Musk that you can find easily:
He is a loving father to six children: three triplets, two twins, and one single. At the age of 10 weeks, his first son was killed by Sids.
He was married twice to two women (his second spouse).
He is well-known for his inability to sleep alone and desire to be with someone he loves.
He spent his 47th Birthday in his factory, fixing robots for 24hrs.
He loves his mother, a top-tier global fashion model at age 73.
He sees no future in fossil fuels.
He doesn't like visible seams in his products.
He swears a lot.
His tunnel-drilling business, The Boring Company, sold 20,000 novelty firethrowers in 2018 as a publicity stunt. They are now available on eBay for an average of $3,000.
He is not political, however!
He is not. He doesn't support them nor show any interest in their causes, which is why he isn't liked by the left. The right dislikes him because he plays with stock markets and doesn't take classical capitalism seriously. He believes that short selling should be prohibited in the stock market. Musk gives to Republicans and Democrats because it is the cost of being able to have a voice in government. Musk seems to view left and right as an outdated binary, and instead focuses his altruistic efforts on ecology and innovation. He seems to care more about the systems that produce signals than the signals themselves.
He is trying to save humanity, which is kinda corny.
Megan-and Harry could not have done a better job of saving the world. Musk is not trying to save the planet, but to make it better. Musk is the founder of three multibillion-dollar businesses in four extremely difficult areas in which to create anything. These companies are now successful without the help of those we used to consider gatekeepers. He is like many people who do many things and are too busy to contemplate.
What is the deal with him wanting people go to Mars?
The most confusing thing about Musk is his relationship with Mars. Musk loves to discuss the possibility of creating new platforms for human exploration in other parts of the universe. Rolling Stone told him that he wants humanity to be multi-planetary. These things are not understood by most people. These things are not understood by most people, unless you're a cockroach, a mushroom, or a sponge. *Nervous chuckle* Maybe not. His Martian plans are likely to be realized soon enough. This has sparked a lot of discussion about what it takes to travel to Mars, which is most likely a one way trip. Although I don't know much about therapy, it seems that Musk may see himself as a prime candidate. Perhaps this is reading too much. Perhaps he just thinks it's a great idea. Sometimes it's that simple.
He gave his child a strange name, however.
It is true. This is true.
Musk and his partner, musician Grimes (2018) Photograph by Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
What is the point of him claiming that AI will take over humanity and wipe out everything?
Okay, but what if he is right? Hitler was born from the radio. The internet has given us the last five years. We may be surprised by AI, but Musk only sees 5-10% of humanity being able contain it and make it safe. His non-profit Neuralink, which seeks to develop mind/machine interfaces, may be able to help it. It may seem a bit absurd to try to stop AI enslavement, but it is possible.
It's almost as if he has given up on Earth, and therefore is not being any help down there
He has done more than his fair share in reducing fossil fuel consumption. However, I don't know if he recycles any rubbish at his home. What if he didn't? This would make him a horrible human being. We could jump on him and beat him up with sticks.
He is a fraud, and he will make a lot of money on cryptocurrency.
You'll notice the presence of teenage boys wearing body sprays and gym socks if you do a search on Reddit for Musk online comments. It's incel heaven. Musk is rarely discussed by adults. It seems that most Musk comments are focused on bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Yes, I can hear your yawning, but we're stuck with these things so we need to make some kind of deal. Musk seems to enjoy causing havoc with people's minds and with regulators of the stock market. He doesn't seem to have any opinion on crypto. My guess is that he views cryptocurrencies as interesting because they are available. Musks toxic trolls, including the public, seem to love his constant dance of taunts, teases, and hints. Especially with dogecoin which is like Daffy Duck for b itcoins Bugs Bunny and the two are locked into an endless battle for relevance. Even onlookers from Belarus must be thinking: Wow. Although we were planning to create a fake conflict between these two things it seems that the real world has already done it for us. Moi slezy ne soderzhat antibiotikov! *
It is also interesting to see that Musk will often post big events in his life via Twitter. For example, Musk's successful space launches. His detractors may post photos of Tesla Model 3s whose wheels fell off a suburban garden edge. A photo added by vitriolic metacommentary like: My mom's Roomba detects edges better than a Tesla. #VeryDisappointed
PS: Musk's estimated value is $185bn
* My teardrops contain no antibiotics!
Musk must have fun with Jeff Bezos, at least.
*Cringe* This makes it seem like we are comparing Vanderbilts to Rockefellers. However, I must admit that there is an underlying dark part of me that longs for Musk and Bezos to look even slightly like the walrus-mustached, blank-eyed plutocrat that haunts Monopoly. But that is not happening. Both men appear to be exclusively Tommy Hilfiger shoppers at outlet malls. Perhaps Lauren Snchez purchases Bezoss shirts at the hotel lobby shops in coastal resort cities. But honestly, who is responsible for your wardrobe, even if you are two of the most wealthy unmarried men on Earth? What about your girlfriends? No. Who is it? Do you need a personal assistant? Your mum? It is a miracle that any new clothes ever made it into these men's dressing rooms. This doesn't address the Bezos/Musk competition, which I don't believe exists. Although it may seem like they could have a great rivalry, their ways of making money are so different (and money is the primary lens through which our view them) that I feel it's wrong to lump them all together. Bezos is your mum's third boyfriend, after her divorce. Musk is your maths tutor, who won the Powerball lottery. Zero overlap.
SpaceX's Starship prototype spacecraft is seen at its Texas launch facility. Photograph by Loren Elliott/Getty Images
He didn't win a genetic lottery? Right place, right time?
Many people want to believe this, but the truth is that Musk has an incredible IQ. He is scientifically, clinically, and demonstrably the most intelligent person in any room. He can quickly tell you the square root number of your Amex card. He can tell you that he doesn't know the square root for zinc. He is mildly Aspergers and avoids arguing with himself about details. He is a storm of personality who comes from a middle-class family. His family was like millions, and then he became one the most wealthy people on Earth.
What does it all mean?
The biggest difference between the 20th and 21st centuries is the ability to see the future inside your head. New ways were invented to envision, for example, an information utopia, or an ecological harmonisation between humans and non-humans. We can only see a tiny glimpse of a possible future in the 21st Century, but only if you work hard at it. This is a big difference when looking ahead. Musk's appeal lies in his ability to see both the past and the future, even though Mars has only 38% of Earth's gravity and 1% of Earth's atmosphere. It would take six and a half minutes to send wifi from Earth to the other side. It's not very hot so you might have to watch random episodes of The Big Bang Theory while sharing your wisdom with your pals back in Palo Alto.
But when will this end? Why doesn't he just move down to Santa Barbara so he can play golf the rest of his lives?
Musk celebrated his 50th birthday on 28 June. Musk has at least three more years of high-functioning years to go. He is likely to have five or six more years of high-functioning decades. People who believe hell will soon end are either ignorant or assassins.
Amazon UK will have Douglas Couplands Binge 60 Stories to Make your Head Feel Different in October
