RTNAug 31, 2024

The Guardian / Robert Reich:
"Elon Musk is out of control. Here is how to rein him in"

".. The US should terminate its contracts with him, starting with Musk’s SpaceX."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/aug/30/elon-musk-wealth-power

30.8.2024

#Musk #SocialMedia #SpaceX #SpaceFlight #Tesla #Twitter #X

Elon Musk is out of control. Here is how to rein him in

He may be the richest man in the world – but that doesn’t mean we’re powerless to stop him

The Guardian
Show threadNafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦Aug 31, 2024
@raumfahrttutnot That's not even remotely plausible. Nobody else has SpaceX's launch capacity or costs, or even remotely close. The closest example would be the Chinese government, which is obviously a non-starter.
Show threadLouis BotelhoAug 31, 2024
@nafnlaus @raumfahrttutnot terrible arguments with strong biases when people attack SpaceX or Tesla. Very good arguments with mostly fair opinions when they attack Elon's politics. It's a shame that some very smart people think that SpaceX and Tesla are terrible companies, their weak arguments make me question all of their opinions.
Show threadNafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦

@Louisbotelho17 @raumfahrttutnot We saw with years and years of TSLAQ throwing away their life's savings that "betting against a major corp because you personally hate the CEO" is a dumb bet.

Tesla and SpaceX's fortune was that Elon attracted together a ton of talented ideological nerds who got the job done. Their future misfortune is now that the ideology he preaches is not climate change and Mars, but hate.

Attracts a very different crowd..

Sep 1, 2024 at 12:05amWeb
Show threadNafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦Sep 1, 2024

@Louisbotelho17 @raumfahrttutnot Common:

Interviewer: "Why'd you work so hard to become an expert on innovative battery cell design?"

Engineer: "Because I want to fight climate change!"

---

NOT Common:

Interviewer: "Why'd you work so hard to become an expert on innovative battery cell design?"

Engineer: "Because I hate minorities, jews, and queers!"

***

It's the reversal of the talent-attraction that worries me about the companies future (more Tesla than SpaceX, but still)

Show threadLouis BotelhoSep 1, 2024
@nafnlaus @raumfahrttutnot Early Tesla was like "we have to save the planet" which became "we need to be profitable first" now engineers like it because, similar to SpaceX, if you have good ideas you're going to do well and from the get go, not fetching coffee like an intern at a legacy company. I'm not an engineer, I did work with many when I was in QC/QA for 16 years (wire & cable) and worked together with R&D. They were weird, crusty and leaned Right.