# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442 "2022-04-25T22:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 128
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2542 "2023-01-07T13:53:11Z")
The enthusiasm for the Cybertruck amuses me because when I first moved to KY I was interested in getting a used Honda Ridgeline, imo the best truck for someone that doesn’t really need a truck. All the truck-owning rednecks as work thought it was the weirdest-looking freak show of a vehicle in the world due to the slight angle to the rear bed at the sides. Now that Musk is the “defender of freedom,” will attitudes change? I suspect not really - EVs aren’t popular round the parts. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2543 "2023-01-07T15:18:56Z")
The Cybertruck looks like a drawing that would I would be proud to display on the fridge after my six-year old brought it home from school. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2544 "2023-01-08T00:42:07Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > … “By Elon’s own admission, this is illegal” > [https://twitter.com/sferik/status/1611039554152333312](https://twitter.com/sferik/status/1611039554152333312) ^ from the tweet by one of the bilked. We all know from the example of Trump that rich guys can do all sorts of illegal stuff, never fearing any consequences from law enforcement. So why _wouldn’t_ Elmo simply decline to comply with the particular law in question? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2545 "2023-01-08T00:51:23Z")
I’m convinced he’s setting up a run for President. Constant tweeting, inadequate attention span, lying narcissim, owning the libs, making a heroic stand for free speech, working hard to change his status from actual billionaire to sham billionaire. He knows what the people want. He needs to work on capitalizing any Words that he Deems Important in his tweets. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2546 "2023-01-08T00:58:09Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I’m convinced he’s setting up a run for President. You’re certainly right that he’s mastered the ‘how to appeal to deplorables’ list of approved conduct. There is that pesky “born in South Africa” issue to contend with, however. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2547 "2023-01-08T01:02:11Z")
I think we covered that upthread, with the resurrection of the _Arnold_ Amendment as the _Election Laxity for Musk is Okay_ Amendment. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2548 "2023-01-08T01:27:47Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > There is that pesky “born in South Africa” issue to contend with, however. Have we seen the long form birth certificate, though? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2549 "2023-01-08T01:48:03Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > There is that pesky “born in South Africa” issue to contend with, however. Not a problem. Elmo will produce a birth certificate showing he was born in the south part of **[Africa, Ohio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa,_Ohio)**. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2550 "2023-01-08T02:01:11Z")
With enough money, you can forge anything like Obama. The _really_ expensive part is going back in time to put those birth announcements in newspapers. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2551 "2023-01-08T02:10:55Z")
And Obama got away with it, too, despite all the “stuff you wouldn’t believe” that Trump’s investigators found in Hawaii! If Obama could do it, surely it would be child’s play for a genius like Elmo. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2552 "2023-01-08T02:12:06Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > And Obama got away with it, too, despite all the “stuff you wouldn’t believe” that Trump’s investigators found in Hawaii! If Obama could do it, surely it would be child’s play for a genius like Elmo. - Obama was smart enough to travel back in time and teach himself everything he knows. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2023, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2553 "2023-01-08T13:39:01Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > … despite all the “stuff you wouldn’t believe” that Trump’s investigators found … It always amazes me how often scamsters introduce patently unbelievable nonsense to the rubes using that exact catch phrase. It’s almost like a magic amulet that absorbs all the disbelief, leaving the rubes totally primed to accept the rest of the claptrap as gospel. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2554 "2023-01-08T14:19:40Z")
> **[r/EnoughMuskSpam - Elon not knowing anything about aerospace engineering or...](https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/106i1ni/elon_not_knowing_anything_about_aerospace/)** > > 3,962 votes and 1,311 comments so far on Reddit Sigh. You just know someday SpaceX going to build an ion thruster and he will claim that he invented the electric rocket. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2555 "2023-01-08T17:08:30Z")
For folks like me and Elon Musk who know nothing about the subject, here’s Wikipedia’s entry: > **[Spacecraft electric propulsion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft_electric_propulsion)** > > Spacecraft electric propulsion (or just electric propulsion) is a type of spacecraft propulsion technique that uses electrostatic or electromagnetic fields to accelerate mass to high speed and thus generate thrust to modify the velocity of a spacecraft in orbit. The propulsion system is controlled by power electronics. > Electric thrusters typically use much less propellant than chemical rockets because they have a higher exhaust speed (operate at a higher specific impulse) than chemical rockets... ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2556 "2023-01-08T18:14:39Z")
Musk knows what ion thrusters are. Starlink uses them. He was almost certainly talking about launching rockets from Earth with electricity. Musk isn’t stupid or ignorant when it comes to rockets. Former SpaceX rocket engineer Jim Cantrel on Musk: > [@](#): > > He is by far the single smartest person that I have ever worked with. Period. I can’t estimate his IQ but he is very very intelligent. And not the typical egg head kind of smart. He has a real applied mind. He literally sucks the knowledge and experience out of people that he is around. He borrowed all of my college texts on rocket propulsion when we first started working together in 2001. We also hired as many of my colleagues in the rocket and spacecraft business that were willing to consult with him. It was like a gigantic spaceapalooza. This was while they were still planning to buy Russian rockets, not build their own. He goes on to say that he left SpaceX because he had decades of experience that told him SpaceX wouldn’t succeed when they decided to build their own. He was wrong, and admits it. > **[How Did Elon Musk Learn Enough About Rockets To Run SpaceX?](https://inc42.com/resources/elon-musk-learn-enough-rockets-run-spacex/)** > > We all know Elon Musk  — the ex PayPal co-founder, creator of the Hyperloop, the real life influence of Iron Man a.k.a Tony Stark and the man running the show behind the likes of Tesla Motors and SpaceX. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2557 "2023-01-08T18:30:38Z")
From 2014. I wonder if there might be more recent developments that could potentially inform this analysis. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2558 "2023-01-08T18:35:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Musk knows what ion thrusters are. Starlink uses them. He was almost certainly talking about launching rockets from Earth with electricity. Musk isn’t stupid or ignorant when it comes to rockets. When his answers are short enough and enigmatic enough to fit in a fortune cookie, you may forgive me for thinking he’s an absolute idiot. I’m surprised he didn’t tell me what my lucky numbers are. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2559 "2023-01-08T18:40:32Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Musk knows what ion thrusters are. Starlink uses them. He was almost certainly talking about launching rockets from Earth with electricity. Musk isn’t stupid or ignorant when it comes to rockets. Well, I agree - and his response was appropriate to (say) a child asking if a rocket ship could work just like an electric car. Explaining that the wheels have the ground to push against, but in space there’s nothing to push against, so you have to do things a bit differently. But was his response appropriate to a question from what appears to be an engineer, who obviously knows this, and is asking a completely different question? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2560 "2023-01-08T18:49:07Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Well, I agree - and his response was appropriate to (say) a child asking if a rocket ship could work just like an electric car. Explaining that the wheels have the ground to push against, but in space there’s nothing to push against, so you have to do things a bit differently. > > But was his response appropriate to a question from what appears to be an engineer, who obviously knows this, and is asking a completely different question? World of Engineering puts out questions to readers. They aren’t asking questions for themselves. Sometimes those questions are very simple, because WoE has readers of all education levels. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/2561 "2023-01-08T18:55:39Z")
Then explain who, exactly, this answer is appropriate for? > Lol no, Newton’s Third Law The content of that response only makes sense for a child who doesn’t understand Newton’s Third Law. But then the _manner of saying it_ makes you a complete jerk, and explains nothing. The “gotcha” jerkish manner of saying it implies that the person asking it is an engineer who _should_ understand Newton’s Third Law. But if it’s an engineer then they obviously weren’t asking that elementary question. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=127) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=129)