# Elon Musk is a Russian stooge **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 4, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666 "2022-10-04T02:15:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/21 "2022-10-05T18:51:40Z")
For that matter, who cares what ANY celebrity has to say about anything outside of their “profession”? (I use quotes for people like the Kardashians who aren’t pros at anything except self-promotion and that doesn’t count). Being rich or famous doesn’t make you informed or smart. Granted, there are some exceptions. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/22 "2022-10-05T18:55:50Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Because the former Soviet republics set the borders when the U.S.S.R. dissolved, and Crimea was made part of the new independent Ukrainian nation. All parties involved agreed to it. Anything before that is irrelevant. All agreements are irrelevant by the same argument. There’s no compelling reason why an agreement post WWII is more valid than one 30+ years ago following the end of the USSR. The only meaningful argument is one backed by military force and/or the will of the people. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/23 "2022-10-05T21:30:38Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I don’t think it’s necessarily that he’s a stooge/tankie as it is that Musk is a narcissistic prick who can’t understand that he is not an expert in all things. Yeah, he’s got the billionaire equivalent of whatever Hollywood stars get when they think they can opine about all sorts of stuff of which they have no real knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/24 "2022-10-05T22:07:46Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > There’s no compelling reason why an agreement post WWII is more valid than one 30+ years ago following the end of the USSR. One compelling reason is that the post-WW2 “agreement” was an internal Soviet administrative adjustment, while the 1991 agreement was made between two sovereign nations. “Russia” and “Ukraine” did not exist prior to 1991. How could any earlier agreement between them be valid? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/25 "2022-10-05T22:20:58Z")
That’s the point. They’re not. The 1991 agreement isn’t any more valid because the “Russia” and “Ukraine” that signed them have nothing in common with the administrations that operate there today. Treaties aren’t worth the paper their written on if the current leadership doesn’t consider them valid. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/26 "2022-10-06T14:49:59Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Treaties aren’t worth the paper their written on if the current leadership doesn’t consider them valid. Agree in general as a matter of _Realpolitik_. But … What to do when one side still agrees with / honors the treaty & the other doesn’t? Does the answer change whether the latter’s reasons are fair or foul? If we are ever to move our global village beyond chimpanzee-like notions of justice, we can’t simply shrug and say “At the limit, might makes right. As it should.” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/27 "2022-10-06T15:21:58Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > That’s the point. They’re not. The 1991 agreement isn’t any more valid because the “Russia” and “Ukraine” that signed them have nothing in common with the administrations that operate there today. Treaties aren’t worth the paper their written on if the current leadership doesn’t consider them valid. Then why sign treaties at all? If it’s accepted that treaties are personal pacts between temporary leaders, and not agreements between nation-states, then why bother with them? Why should any country ever compromise with another? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/28 "2022-10-06T19:00:58Z")
I’m not saying treaties are useless, though they are fragile, I’m saying that pointing to old treaties to justify something is a fool’s errand. Once a treaty has been breached or the ruling structures in a signing party change, it becomes effectively worthless. The US, as a democracy with a reasonable degree of continuity is one situation where a treaty might hold up a bit better. But when the Russia that signed a treaty was a broken state with highly uncertain leadership and governance like in 1991, you really can’t expect that to carry a lot of force. Compounded with the fact that Putin’s Russia is a full-on autocratic state which has nothing in common with the Federation of 1991 it becomes even more pointless. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/29 "2022-10-06T19:07:11Z")
I think you guys are nuts. . . maybe just jealous or something. Elon Musk is rational, that’s the biggest difference between him and you guys. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/30 "2022-10-06T19:16:58Z")
Sure is rational to pile up forty-odd billion dollars and set it on fire in order to avoid a humiliating loss in court, and to use one’s tweets to echo the messaging from a murderous mob-boss dictator, and to impregnate employees. All perfectly rational. You betcha. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/31 "2022-10-06T19:55:15Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > rational to pile up forty-odd billion dollars and set it on fire in order to avoid a humiliating loss in court, and to use one’s tweets to echo the messaging from a murderous mob-boss dictator, and to impregnate employees. All perfectly rational. You betcha Just securing his legacy, is all. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/32 "2022-10-06T19:56:44Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Sure is rational to pile up forty-odd billion dollars and set it on fire… There does seem to be an overlap between Elon Musk fans and people who are little too “into” Heath Ledger’s Joker… ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/33 "2022-10-06T21:45:05Z")
[![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1tpcRmXIAI0ule.jpg) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1tpcRmXIAI0ule.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/34 "2022-10-07T18:05:05Z")
That there’s a rationale to some aspect of someone’s behaviour doesn’t necessarily make all their behaviour rational. It depends on your initial premise(s). Garbage in, garbage out. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/35 "2022-10-07T18:37:49Z")
Unsurprisingly, Elon is also a Chinese stooge. > ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/36 "2022-10-07T18:45:48Z")
> [@tullsterx](#): > > Elon Musk is rational, that’s the biggest difference between him and you guys. Sociopaths are rational. But you know, arguing with fanboys is a pointless endeavor. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/37 "2022-10-07T18:54:19Z")
Why the hell does he think he has any expertise on geopolitics or that his “recommendation” means anything? The arrogance and self-importance he has as a self appointed expert on all things is so off putting. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/38 "2022-10-07T18:57:24Z")
So… surrender to the reality that it’s submit or perish, live on your knees rather than die on your feet, try and get some crumbs off the table. “arrangement more lenient than Hong Kong” - seriously??? _ **”lenient”?** _ Someone better clue him in that the likes of Putin/Xi would not hesitate to have _ **him** _ fall out a window if they have their way ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/39 "2022-10-07T19:00:58Z")
Seems like standard bully and bully apologist stuff. “Just let him have what he wants and he’ll leave you alone”, “it’s either your lunch money or your teeth”. Right wing authoritarians are schoolyard bullies that never grew up and have never been stood up to. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2022, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666/40 "2022-10-07T19:07:27Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > Why the hell does he think he has any expertise on geopolitics or that his “recommendation” means anything? The arrogance and self-importance he has as a self appointed expert on all things is so off putting. He’s one of those people who inspires the reaction, “If I want your opinion, I’ll read it in your entrails.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elon-musk-is-a-russian-stooge/972666.md?page=3)