# 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:** 177
**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:** [March 6, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3524 "2023-03-06T02:09:58Z")
Engineers working for those companies usually apply for the patent, often with the company’s help. I have my name on two patents like that. You get paid a little extra, and it looks good for the resume. Tesla might need to patent things to maintain those perks for engineers. The company may also patent things defensively so others don’t patent them and then go after Tesla and make them pay. So the best thing to do can be to get the patent but allow people to use it freely. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3525 "2023-03-06T02:15:17Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > The part where its reputation is based around Elmo supposedly being some sort of revolutionary genius that inspires people to say things like “He reduced space transportation costs.” I’m not sure where there’s any claim of him being a revolutionary genius, what he did was found and lead the company that reduced space transportation costs. He started the company, he’s the CEO and the Chairman, he has voting control over what the company does, and the company reduced space transportation costs. > [@Smapti](#): > > So what Elmo brings to the table is that he says things? He said his company was going to do something, **then his company did that thing**. It isn’t the talking part that was interesting, it was the launching 200 rockets into space, launching at a pace that nobody has done before, landing boosters like a fecking 50’s space movie. I think we are all able to comprehend the difference between running your mouth and actually accomplishing something. Elmo ran his mouth about Twitter and doesn’t seem to be particularly accomplishing anything special. SpaceX is different, he’s delivering. So, he’s a clown that doesn’t understand social media, high speed transportation and self driving cars, but he’s got the space rocket thing going pretty good. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2023, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3526 "2023-03-06T02:16:05Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > He said his company was going to do something, **then his company did that thing**. [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUCPD8zWYAAZT0g?format=jpg&name=900x900) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUCPD8zWYAAZT0g?format=jpg&name=900x900) ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3527 "2023-03-06T02:21:06Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > SpaceX is doing extraordinary things, maybe they’re doing it because of Elmo, maybe in spite of Elmo, but the man said “we are going to space” and damn they are going to space, as well or better than anyone else around. Only that’s not what Elmo said. He didn’t say “we’re going to space” when he founded SpaceX; he very specifically created it with the utterly absurd mission statement of “we’re going to colonize Mars,” which SpaceX has done absolutely nothing meaningful to advance towards that goal, because the goal itself is so wildly beyond our capabilities in the foreseeable future. Before making some statements about reducing space transportation costs, remember that was and is not his stated goal. They have done nothing to come up with any kind of plan to deal with rather more serious issues such as, to name just a scant few, deal with Mars having an atmosphere 0.6% that of Earth, having an average temperature colder than the of the middle of Antarctica, lacking breathable oxygen, lacking a magnetic field protecting the planet from radiation, and has produced absolutely no plan whatsoever on how infrastructure for said colony is going to be set up aside from producing a completely content-free CGI video where a city is magicked into existence ignoring these problems in their entirety. A video in which 2 Starships, lacking any actual realistic goal, were supposed to have been sent to Mars to begin setting up said CGI city last year, with 2 more manned flights sent next year, again entirely lacking in any details as to how people on said flights are supposed to keep themselves alive, much less begin manufacturing said CGI city. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zSv0Y7qrzQM/maxresdefault.jpg "Watch Elon Musk Reveal SpaceX's Most Detailed Plans To Colonize Mars") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSv0Y7qrzQM) ---
**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:** [March 6, 2023, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3528 "2023-03-06T02:24:42Z")
Must is also Chief Engineer at SpaceX. I have posted quotes from many reknowned engineers who have worked with Musk and have said that he knows the engineering, makes a lot of technical calls, sometimes runs technical teams, etc. Several have called him the smartest man they ever worked with. Can anyone find a quote from an engineer who worked with him at SpaceX claiming he’s a know-nothing poseur? Since you all seem so sure of it, there must be evidence. So who is it that spilled the beans? ---
**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:** [March 6, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3529 "2023-03-06T02:36:44Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I’m no fan of Musk, but this is starting to feel like a reach. Would Steve Jobs fare any better under such analysis? Yes, he absolutely would. Whatever the similarities between Jobs and Elmo – and there certainly are many – and whatever may have been Jobs’ shortcomings and crazy beliefs, the fact is that Jobs _ **invented** _ the iPhone. And when it was ridiculed as a nerdy toy that would never surpass the Blackberry among serious users, he proved it could do exactly that. And then he invented the tablet, another completely new concept, and another that was widely ridiculed. By the time the iPad was announced, the iPhone was already seeing great success and his critics now turned to the iPad as the subject of the next attack, asking whether anyone was going to hold this big thing the size of a dinner plate up to their ear and talk into it. Who’s laughing now? When it comes to Elmo, lots of folks are laughing now. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2023, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3530 "2023-03-06T02:42:04Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I have posted quotes from many reknowned engineers who have worked with Musk and have said that he knows the engineering, makes a lot of technical calls, sometimes runs technical teams, etc. Several have called him the smartest man they ever worked with. I can’t imagine any reason why people working for a clueless micromanager who fires people because his tweets aren’t getting enough likes and forces them to sign nondisparagement clauses would ever exaggerate Elmo’s technical prowess. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3531 "2023-03-06T02:48:01Z")
Hey you! Remember @Sam_Stone isn’t a Musk fanboy, he said he was critical of the Hyperloop. How could you question credential like that? /s I think I threw up in my mouth a little just typing that. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3532 "2023-03-06T02:49:10Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > And then he invented the tablet, another completely new concept, and another that was widely ridiculed I’m sorry, this is mistaken. There were plenty of tablets before the iPad, including Apple’s own Newton. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3533 "2023-03-06T02:51:06Z")
Have you found anything of Musk speaking on a technical issue and actually sounding like a genius? ---
**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:** [March 6, 2023, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3534 "2023-03-06T03:01:34Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > There were plenty of tablets before the iPad, including Apple’s own Newton. In a manner of speaking, I suppose, but those were called PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). I even had one – a Palm Pilot. The iPad was, at least arguably, a sufficiently major advance that it was fundamentally different. It was more like the screen part of a laptop without the physical keyboard. The tablet concept launched both the iPad and all its imitators into the kind of widespread adoption that PDAs had never seen. The Newton itself was a failure as a product. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3535 "2023-03-06T03:08:19Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Can anyone find a quote from an engineer who worked with him at SpaceX claiming he’s a know-nothing poseur? Can you imagine the legal shitstorm that would be brought down on the head of anyone who made such a statement in public, and conversely the opportunities available to toadies and flatterers willing to flatter Musk in public? He’s not exactly known for gracefully taking criticism in stride. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3536 "2023-03-06T03:16:27Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > In a manner of speaking, I suppose, but those were called PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). I even had one – a Palm Pilot. The iPad was, at least arguably, a sufficiently major advance that it was fundamentally different Differentiating PDAs as somehow all that different sounds like marketing-speak and little more to me. The iPad was a huge success, a great product, but it was a natural evolution of a very long history of devices that preceded it. > **[History of tablet computers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_tablet_computers)** > > The history of tablet computers and the associated special operating software is an example of pen computing technology, and thus the development of tablets has deep historical roots. > The first patent for a system that recognized handwritten characters by analyzing the handwriting motion was granted in 1914. > The first publicly demonstrated system using a tablet and handwriting recognition instead of a keyboard for working with a modern digital computer dates to 1956. > The tablet computer and t... Heck, there were recognizable tablet computers in 1968’s _2001: A Space Odyssey_, so it’s not like Apple was thinking _that_ out of the box. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/2001interview.png) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7f/2001interview.png) You can and maybe should argue that iPad was different because of the touch interface, but really the iPhone broke that ground and iPad was arguably just the same thing bigger. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3537 "2023-03-06T03:18:00Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Steve Jobs was a gigantic, epic, world-class douchebag I met the man and this is spot on, though I’d add the word “brilliant” to the list, with equal weight as the rest. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3538 "2023-03-06T03:25:10Z")
That, and Jobs didn’t pretend to personally be some kind of tech expert. And arguably (the Newton is a great example), his reach did sometimes exceed his grasp by several years. The big innovation really was the touchscreen interface. And the iPad really was just a bigger, more powerful iteration of what they had already done on the iPhone. As for SpaceX employees, it came up in this thread not even 2 months ago: > [@Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition/963442/2704): > > The engineering genius at work. Overall, the article doesn’t really surprise me at all. Musk doesn’t strike me as a very good leader, and is more interested in form over function (e.g., the Cybertruck design). The Twitter employees are probably thinking “Oh God, I wish he would go focus on Tesla or SpaceX.” Smart employees (presumably the type to ya know…do rocket science) know better than to publicly, or even privately in many cases, criticize the boss. This shouldn’t come as any surprise, and yet it somehow does to some people. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2023, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3539 "2023-03-06T03:26:56Z")
I kinda concede the point. The iPhone was a brilliant innovation. The iPad was a natural follow-on that was likely inspired by previous products, although not something that every technology innovator would have necessarily envisioned. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3540 "2023-03-06T03:27:21Z")
Yes, Musk is quite clear on how he deals with criticism. I have no doubt that Musk would make life miserable for any former employee that would bad mouth him. What @Sam_Stone doesn’t seem to understand that people saying nice things about Musk isn’t (strong) evidence that Musk is those things when you factor his wealth, how he reacts to praise/criticism, etc. It is evidence that in our society people are willing to suck up to billionaires. What a shock. Evidence that Musk is a genius would be him talking about something technical at a genius level. To date, anything public that we know about his ideas have been remarkably unimpressive for a so-called genius. I invited @Sam_Stone to show me evidence of Musk speaking in a technical capacity at a genius level quite some time ago (or anything similar that is direct concrete evidence), but to date, nothing. I’m 100% willing to be convinced that Musk is a genius, but I require actual evidence. > **[SpaceX employees say they were fired for criticizing Elon Musk in open letter](https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/nov/17/spacex-employees-file-unfair-labor-practice-charges-elon-musk)** > > Eight former employees file unfair labor practices charges, alleging they were retaliated against for criticizing company CEO > **[Elon Musk Fires Twitter Employees Who Criticized Him](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/technology/elon-musk-twitter-fired-criticism.html)** > > Mr. Musk, who is rapidly transforming the social media company, also has cut its contractor work force. ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2023, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3541 "2023-03-06T03:32:54Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But your example seems to be him trying to have his cake and eat it, too. I mean, Tesla still had the patent granted. They just pledge not to sue. Such a pledge can be rescinded in a way refusing to patent cannot. Most tech companies maintain a large “defensive” patent portfolio as a sort of arms race against other tech companies. If one company tries to sue another for patent infringement, it needs to be sure that it isn’t infringing on any of the 10000 patents the other owns so they don’t get countersued. It is well-accepted that these kinds of patents are vaguely-worded at not uniformly enforced so those are usually long, expensive lawsuits. Tesla’s policy of “we have a lot of patents, but we won’t be the first to sue” is pretty standard. Just like how both the US and USSR in the 80s had a bunch of nukes, but “no first strike” policies. ---
**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:** [March 6, 2023, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3542 "2023-03-06T03:36:34Z")
Really, one picture says all there is to say about Elmo: [![](https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/635c287d4b7cd4d056876e01/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=914,514,x342,y226,safe&width=1200) ](https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/635c287d4b7cd4d056876e01/0x0.jpg?format=jpg&crop=914,514,x342,y226,safe&width=1200) ---
**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:** [March 6, 2023, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3543 "2023-03-06T04:50:49Z")
Actually, I was wrong. It takes two more pictures to say all there is to say about Elmo! [![](https://i.imgur.com/lHII8fD.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/lHII8fD.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=176) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=178)