General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat's Elon's deal?
I once thought of him as a great thinker who would save the planet from global warming and solve all sorts of problems. Obviously he has gone off the rails, however, and I have to wonder (after listening to part of his Twit interview): Does he really believe Trump when he says global warming is not a threat? And does he believe himself when he says nuclear weapons "aren't that bad"?
Is it as simple as he's a greedy narcissist (like his buddy) and will go along with anything that threatens to take a dime out of his pocket---like unions, etc? Does he REALLY want to live in a totalitarian state? Piss off Putin and accidentally fall out of a window?
I really can't understand him. And I want Twitter and Tesla to fail.
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)Musk told Peterson that Wilsons gender transition has been the motivation for his push into conservative politics.
He's got Asperger's and not the best coping skills. Having a transgender child (or frankly any child who is different) requires better than average coping skills and Musk doesn't have them, so he's lashing out.
Thanks! I'd hate to be his child
magicarpet
(15,791 posts)The Tesla mogul has at least 12 children with three women.
Musk welcomed six kids with his first wife, Justine Wilson, three with his ex-girlfriend Grimes and three with his Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis.
notemason
(532 posts)the response was "I love my wife!" to which Groucho replied "I love my cigar too, but I take it out once in a while!"
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)Walleye
(33,892 posts)Doesnt sound like conservative principles to me.
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)It's not unusual for parents to go through an acceptance process. It's not unusual for some to need therapy. This guy is in total denial and is lashing out at the world.
He's messed up.
Walleye
(33,892 posts)LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)I think "our laws" should put him in a straight jacket. Seriously, he's dangerous!
Walleye
(33,892 posts)thebigidea
(13,193 posts)He doesn't believe in therapy and thinks he knows better than anyone, but you're gonna take his self-diagnosis at face value?
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)I went through a funk with a few of my kids over issues with them. This guy goes and buys twitter, messes it up and lashes out at the world. It's dangerous.
Walleye
(33,892 posts)Maru Kitteh
(28,716 posts)However - that weird little shit doesn't want to be the king of just the United States. He considers himself the most important person on this planet.
Voltaire2
(14,407 posts)TommyT139
(381 posts)"Having a transgender child ...requires better than average coping skills...."
No it doesn't. Having a trans child requires the same basic skills behind any decent parenting:
loving your kid for who they are;
apologizing when you screw up;
refraining from projecting your unlived dreams onto their lives;
admitting you don't know everything but know you'll always love them;
protecting them from the cruelties of the world whenever possible,
and standing right beside them when you can't.
From Elon Musk's other, conventionally-gender-expressing non trans kids, we hear that he was a shitty parent. He can blame anything on a self-diagnosis of ASD, but even if that is accurate for him, a diagnosis is not an excuse.
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)My youngest got engaged to a girl who had been in foster care her entire life. Her adoptive parents are both registered sex offenders. I was pretty down. They've been married for 8 years and still worry that she's gonna up and take off and also do some financial stuff. She isn't very stable.
My oldest was on drugs. But he had decades of severe ADHD and failed interventions with special education services.
Both have sent me to therapy.
If you can't accept your child for who they are, you need to go to therapy, not buy twitter and lash out at the world.
TommyT139
(381 posts)And it sounds like you did your best by your kids.
You wrote,
He's weird, but he also has a transgender kid, which has turned him against anything "liberal"...
That "but" implies that having a trans kid is a justification, that it's harder, etc. Actually it's not the trans kid that causes problems, but rather the hatred, stigma, and punishment from society that is the problem.
You and I are probably in agreement about therapy. And $44 million could have bought Elon Musk a lot of therapy.
But I suspect Elon isn't willing to change the proverbial lightbulb...much less himself.
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)He upped and pulled Tesla out of CA in June due to a new policy involving minors and gender disclosure. I thought that was freak'n bizarre. That's when I realized, that he's lost it. That's not normal business behavior. It's reckless. I could see if it was tax and business climate of CA, but it was something unrelated to business...Not even related to which state he raises his kids in, since his exes have custody in other states and his youngest three are being raised in TX.
He moves a multibillion company over some trivial legislation that has no impact on his business or not even any impact on his family.
It was just bizarre....
That guy is gonna crash and burn......
dhol82
(9,396 posts)I really dont see any redeeming features at the moment.
Walleye
(33,892 posts)Kittycatkat
(1,574 posts)Carlitos Brigante
(26,713 posts)problems.". I gotta ask. What ever gave you that idea?
Delarage
(2,304 posts)Brought electric cars to the forefront.
Now he seems like an anti-science asshole.
Easterncedar
(2,940 posts)Then he became a cartoon Bond villain.
Carlitos Brigante
(26,713 posts)called journalists who fawned over for no apparent reason. Other than he's a good self promoter. I watched a guy who many times spat out word salad and went totally unchallenged. Sure, he promoted Tesla (a company he invested in and kicked out the actual founder), because it was good for his bottom line. I'll give him this. Since the big auto makers gave fuck all about electric cars. He figured he could get an opening and corner the market. That was smart. But other than that he's just a money guy, right place, right time, etc., etc.
The minute he started talking about things he knew nothing about. Like that time when those kids were trapped in a cave. Musk came up with some cocamamie shit about a submarine. To then call a complete stranger "a pedo guy", because they actually knew what they were talking about. It gave me ego maniacal, con man vibes.
Delarage
(2,304 posts)I formed my opinion about his scientific cred when Tesla made a big move and brought electric cars to the forefront---and I was impressed by the Space X rocket landing upright on the pad. That seemed beyond Trumpian smoke-and-mirrors. I guess I was too stupid to see that he was just in it for the money or would go on to become an asshole. I'm glad you figured that out quickly!
Carlitos Brigante
(26,713 posts)their due diligence and asking real questions. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed myself. But it always bothered me that they treated him like some sort of inventor/engineer. When he's neither. He never bothered to correct them. Because he enjoyed the stupid ass Tony Stark memes and the legion of incel fanboys.
Personally I was buying into a lot of it earlier on. But the more I paid attention to the answers he was giving in interviews and the constant over promising. Something just seemed off. I wasn't trying to be an asshole . But I'm genuinely curious about the perception people had about him over the years. I did get into some arguments here with some, years ago because of how they pushed the myth without question. He was a brilliant self promoter.
I would encourage people to listen to that excerpt when he's talking about what was supposedly wrong with Twitter and what he'd change. He said he'd have to fix "everything" the minute some tech reporter in the call (who seemed to understand what he was talking about) starts asking for specifics. Musk falls apart, calls the guy an asshole and drops him from the call. That was a lot more recent but it was truly a "mask off" moment.
SomedayKindaLove
(832 posts)But you cant take the apartheid out of the child.
Musk and Trump are like Batman criminals and afflicted with similar mental health issues.
Walleye
(33,892 posts)I think rich people need to justify to themselves why they are rich and rationalize, and it must be because they are superior people
Enter stage left
(3,651 posts)Delarage
(2,304 posts)Like I used to see people in Hummers. Like they're giving a big "Fuck You" to the Earth and progressive people. And are being ostentatious.
spooky3
(35,560 posts)Before Elon bought Twitter and his disorders became apparent to most of us. At one time Tesla was viewed positively as a company.
LostOne4Ever
(9,550 posts)spooky3
(35,560 posts)gab13by13
(23,929 posts)UTUSN
(71,889 posts)LostOne4Ever
(9,550 posts)But he (or rather his PR team) was smart enough not to say anything that would harm his image.
Then his daughter Vivian came out as a trans woman and he refused to accept her. He started attacking anything that was pro-trans or "woke" and fell down the alt right pipeline hard. He now wants to do everything he can to fight "woke" politics and hurt trans people.
His daughter eventually had enough and disowned him changing her last name from Musk to Wilson.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/113762277
https://www.democraticunderground.com/113762319
Here is a link to her threads account:
https://www.threads.net/@vivllainous?xmt=AQGzUnQQa8vKETPd_98XUE8A3PDRdjUFKFiMNP3MbYziFWo
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)Many parents who have kids with gender issues go through an acceptance process. Some need therapy themselves.
Instead, Musk is lashing out at the world. Which is very immature and dangerous.
Walleye
(33,892 posts)Nazi asshole
tulipsandroses
(5,819 posts)his biographer using her as a scapegoat for his behavior. I agree with her. Shame on Isaacson. He used her as a way to sell his book. He never spoke directly to her get her side of the story.
Musk abuses drugs - - He admits to using Ketamine for depression but there are reports that he abuses other drugs.
When asked if he abuses Ketamine, he said " I don't think so" - If you don't abuse drugs - then the answer should just be No.
Elon Musk's trans daughter, Vivian Wilson, slams his biography as 'genuinely defamatory'
https://www.advocate.com/news/elon-musk-trans-daughter-vivian-wilson-biography-reaction
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)He's taking his issues out on the world. I think he's almost more dangerous than Trump. Heaven forbid, he should ever run for office.
tulipsandroses
(5,819 posts)who abuses drugs and has a lot of money.
This article written by his first wife tells me he's always been an asshole.
He accused her of being " emotionally manipulative" while grieving for their dead baby.
We are giving him too much credit to explain why he's just a plain ol jerk.
SNIP -----
Elon made it clear that he did not want to talk about Nevada's death. I didn't understand this, just as he didn't understand why I grieved openly, which he regarded as "emotionally manipulative." I buried my feelings instead, coping with Nevada's death by making my first visit to an IVF clinic less than two months later. Elon and I planned to get pregnant again as swiftly as possible. Within the next five years, I gave birth to twins, then triplets, and I sold three novels to Penguin and Simon & Schuster. Even so, Nevada's death sent me on a years-long inward spiral of depression and distraction that would be continuing today if one of our nannies hadn't noticed me struggling. She approached me with the name of an excellent therapist. Dubious, I gave it a shot. In those weekly sessions, I began to get perspective on what had become my life.
SNIP-------
I barely recognized myself. I had turned into a trophy wife and I sucked at it. I wasn't detail-oriented enough to maintain a perfect house or be a perfect hostess. I could no longer hide my boredom when the men talked and the women smiled and listened. I wasn't interested in Botox or makeup or reducing the appearance of the scars from my C-sections. And no matter how many highlights I got, Elon pushed me to be blonder. "Go platinum," he kept saying, and I kept refusing.
SNIP------
Not long after the accident, I sat on our bed with my knees pulled up to my chest and tears in my eyes. I told Elon, in a soft voice that was nonetheless filled with conviction, that I needed our life to change. I didn't want to be a sideline player in the multimillion-dollar spectacle of my husband's life. I wanted equality. I wanted partnership. I wanted to love and be loved, the way we had before he made all his millions.
Elon agreed to enter counseling, but he was running two companies and carrying a planet of stress. One month and three sessions later, he gave me an ultimatum: Either we fix this marriage today or I will divorce you tomorrow, by which I understood he meant, Our status quo works for me, so it should work for you. He filed for divorce the next morning. I felt numb, but strangely relieved.
Eight years after I signed the postnup, I began to understand just what I'd done. I had effectively signed away all my rights as a married person, including any claim to community property except our house, which was to be vested in my name once we had a child. But my lawyer is presenting a legal theory that could render the postnup invalid. A postnup, unlike a prenup, requires a complete financial disclosure because of something called "marital fiduciary duty": the obligation of one spouse to be honest and straightforward in financial dealings with the other. Around the time we signed the agreement, Elon was involved in a significant merger between X.com and a company called Confinity. Together, the two became PayPal and raised the value of Elon's X.com stock by millions of dollars more than what he reported on the postnup. Whether this was deliberate or an oversight, according to my lawyer, it could render the contract fraudulent, and thus invalid if it weren't for the protection of mediation confidentiality. That period ended not when we left the lawyer's office or when we got married, but only once we'd signed. The question that will determine the outcome of our divorce case, which has been winding its way through the California legal system for more than two years, is a legal one: Should mediation confidentiality trump marital fiduciary duty, or vice versa? Two years after our separation, we ended up in court. The judge ruled in Elon's favor, but stressed that the case was "a long cause matter" and immediately certified it for appeal. Resolution is at least a year away.
https://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/a5380/millionaire-starter-wife/
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)He's got all that power and money and he seems very unstable to me. He's gonna crash and burn...It ain't pretty....
At least Trump is mostly about power. But Musk is unstable with all that power. (Sorry, I don't think Trump is "unstable" I think Trump just wants power, but Musk is unstable....Heck he impulsively moved Tesla from CA to TX due to a new transgender policy in CA. Who does crazy stuff like that?
Justice matters.
(7,325 posts)A few years back.
Intractable
(184 posts)What do you do when you are the richest man in the world and can have anything you want?
Naturally, you eventually get bored and start to fuck with stuff.
edbermac
(16,065 posts)And I wouldnt piss on Twitter Elon if he were on fire.
Meadowoak
(5,949 posts)I really want an EV, but probably not going to be a Tesla. Can anybody recommend another affordable EV that's dependable.
DBoon
(22,878 posts)They have good reviews. Also the Ars Technica web site has interesting reviews of electric vehicles.
dobleremolque
(828 posts)and propped up by Saudi money. The Chevrolet Blazer EV also seems to get high marks. And the number one Big 3 EV seller is the Ford Mustang EV.
Have seen the bumper stickers on older Teslas that read: "Bought it before I knew what he jerk he is."
www.lucidmotors.com.
mzmolly
(51,411 posts)his other passions. No pun intended.
tinrobot
(11,340 posts)There are stories that he was fired from PayPal for being awful.
Now that he has more money that he knows what to do with, he doesn't have to hide.
duncang
(2,758 posts)Nuclear bombs be exploded over the Martian icecaps releasing the water.
Theres been some studies saying there wouldnt be enough water to really help. Also wanting to spread radioactive water and material across the entire planet doesnt seem like a good idea for the people who might want to live there. Mars already has a problem with solar radiation so lets add some man made radiation.
Metaphorical
(2,019 posts)Fantastic murder mystery with Daniel Craig as a very intelligent but laid back gay Southern private detective and Edward Norton as Edward Norton, a VERY thinly disguised Elon Musk.
bullimiami
(13,759 posts)haele
(13,181 posts)"Cool! Look at how powerful that guy was! He only did that one stupid thing, and I can avoid that..."
And he never grew up.
I'd say he was a nerd, but he's more clever than smart. He's just a jerk edge lord because he was well off enough to party with the right tech bros in the 1990's. He is a genius in marketing, I'll give him that. But not really smarter than the average BS in Electrical Engineering who read a lot of Heinlein, Azimov, Clark and Dick.
Haele
AlexSFCA
(6,255 posts)and complete inability to think widely.
Skittles
(156,940 posts)it's very disturbing he is using his accomplishments to undermine American democracy
dchill
(39,676 posts)That's what he's good at. He's also gifted in apartheid.
pansypoo53219
(21,475 posts)not.
IbogaProject
(3,315 posts)I'd guess he had a pampered but emotionally lacking childhood. He did well with the three investments he made with his PayPal windfall. Tesla, SpaceX, & Solar City. SolarCity was burned out by the greedy sales crew his cousin put together there. But all three were to push useful tech into the mainstream. He picked up or already had substance use issues. I believe he is abusing ketamine plus whatever else.
LudwigPastorius
(10,276 posts)He absolutely does. He watched his dad get rich under the apartheid regime of South Africa, so...yeah, he wouldn't mind Trump turning the U.S. into an Oligarchy that disenfranchised everyone but white males.
relayerbob
(6,880 posts)Now, he doesn't give a shit. Yes, he does want to live in a totalitarian state, and an apartheid one at that. He's fine with it, because he has the money and privilege to not be personally affected. If I had my way, he'd lose all rights to companies involved with national security (ie SpaceX) and be deported (and based on his own brother's statement, he wasn't here legally in the first place.)
PatrickforB
(14,939 posts)But he's not, is he?
This is what I say about billionaires. How many pairs of pants do they need? How many houses? How many cars?
And why do eleven people a minute have to starve to death on this planet?
This wealth imbalance we have - the whole earth groans under the weight of it, of the billionaires.
Their raw greed now threatens the very habitability of the planet, not just for us, but for all other life.
This is the Kali Yuga, they say, the Age of Vice, where our species is ruled by pride, wrath, greed, envy, lust, gluttony and addictive distractions like gaming, gambling, sex addiction, drugs, alcohol, extreme sports. In spite of what the Christians say, we do not seem to worship any god in this country except the bronze bull on Wall Street.
Musk, Buffet, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Thiel, Gates and all the rest. These people get so filled with themselves that they begin to think it is they who are the gods who rule.
That's what got into Elon.
This is why I call these people billionaire parasites, because they are.
Carlitos Brigante
(26,713 posts)proof to this claim?
Mblaze
(341 posts)LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)Last edited Thu Aug 15, 2024, 02:32 AM - Edit history (1)
No touchy touchy....No in and out....No comingling of body fluids.???
He's got 12 freak'n kids
Here is his latest partner. How does he attract them? (Well I know) But still...
She's 1/2 Indian.
She's also the third Canadian that he's had kids with. The third Canadian!!
Maybe he has genes that fools Canadians??
Oh Elon's mom is from Canada.....I sense a conspiracy!
Zoomie1986
(1,213 posts)Seriously, he's pining for the good old days of apartheid.
They've never gotten over losing all their power and goodies back in the old country, and still think they deserve to have it all again. They're such entitled twits that they even pass down that ressentiment to their equally spoiled and evil spawn.
Sort of like the Cubanos. But whiter and sounding more like Nazis.
LeftInTX
(28,995 posts)Elon's dad was a a member of the anti-apartheid party.
I don't know people from S Africa, but is every white person from S Africa a racist? Does being white from S Africa force people to have 12 kids, buy twitter, hate transgenders, and hang around Donald Trump?
As far as being sheltered from it, thats nonsense. They were confronted by it every day, recalled Errol, who said he belonged to the anti-apartheid Progressive Party. He added, They didnt like it.
Still, Errol offered a description of their lives that underscored how removed they were from the countrys violent reality. They got along well with Black people, he said, pointing to his childrens good relationship with their domestic staff, and he described life in South Africa during apartheid as being mostly better and safer than it is now.
According to a biography of Mr. Musk, written by Ashlee Vance, Mr. Musk said he did not want to partake in South Africas mandatory military service because it would have forced him to participate in the apartheid regime and that may have contributed to his decision to leave South Africa shortly after high school graduation. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/world/africa/elon-musk-south-africa.html
Voltaire2
(14,407 posts)As long as they arent part of the designated subhuman others. In fact it is much better than liberal democracy where every citizen has nominally equal rights.
Musk was never a great thinker.