Karl BodeApr 22, 2023

it literally took the US tech press the better part of fifteen years to realize musk was an unremarkable rich brat cosplaying as a supergenius engineer, which says more about our press than it does musk

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/22/elon-musk-the-barking-mad-publicity-hound-00093293

Elon Musk Figured Out the Media’s Biggest Weakness

Here's why the press falls for his stunts every time.

POLITICO
Show threadKarl BodeApr 22, 2023
I'm still really enjoying the seamless pivot of countless big name tech journalists who enabled his bullshit mythology for more than a decade, and now, only when he's descended into full caricature, casually pretend to be hard nosed skeptics who saw him for what he was the entire time
Show threadKarl BodeApr 22, 2023
golly shucks gee maybe there are lessons here
Show threadKarl BodeApr 22, 2023
there were like four or five US tech journalists who adequately called out musk's bullshit from the start, and most of them were rewarded with ridicule, marginalization, and if they were female, death threats
Show threadKarl BodeApr 22, 2023
I repeat this often because it's true, but three or four years ago if you dared suggest that musk was a rich, unremarkable bullshit artist you'd get a look somewhere between confusion and constipation from 90% of the tech press punditry elite
Show threadKarl BodeApr 22, 2023
but if you were actually paying attention to the details instead of the hype or marketing, the evidence was there long before he fully embraced all the red-pilled memes and dipshittery
Show threadKarl BodeApr 22, 2023

You can tell from the starship explosion the press isn't really incentivized to learn from a decade+ of mistakes, either. Musk's bulbous ego and a rush to launch on a dumb weed joke date resulted in him nixing flame diverters, which severely damaged the launch pad and engines, all portrayed by the press as a smashing success:

https://twitter.com/Tazerface16/status/1649443447164776450?t=UBBuDSLAOI8yCh0YTvpWLw&s=19

Christopher David on Twitter

“This is what happens to your launchpad when you think it would be funny to launch to the world's largest rocket on 4/20, instead of when it's ready. It will probably be at least a year before the FAA will approve another Starship launch.”

Twitter
Show threadMike MerrittApr 22, 2023

@KarlBode I don't understand this line of argument since it was scheduled earlier. Not having the diverter system in place when it's been standard was definitely a mistake.

Whatever stupidity he's brought to Twitter and his childish character, SpaceX is actually one of his successes, not just a fluke.

Show threadKevin Sours
@mikewmerritt @KarlBode Largely because he got heavily involved with Tesla during the crucial time period. The landing pad issue was pure amateur hour and likely impacted the data they got from the flight.
Apr 23, 2023 at 2:13amElk