# 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:** 194
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3864 "2023-03-15T15:56:54Z")
But if they’re on the bus _with wifi_, they can start to work more _teh hardcorez_ more the sooner. Capitalism! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3865 "2023-03-15T16:01:25Z")
Oh, well, as long as they’re individually paying extra fees for that privilege, I guess it’s okay. ---
**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 15, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3866 "2023-03-15T16:15:28Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I know it’s not a multi-lane expressway, but it’s not a dirt road, either. I’d expect the speed limit to be 80km/hr for a road like that, here. I’m not sure where the math for this is coming from, then. Because you aren’t averaging 80 kph the entire way. It’s ~22 miles to the facility from the middle of Brownsville. At an average of 55 mph (the maximum in that zone), that’s still 24 minutes. And nobody averages the speed limit over a short drive like that. Most of the ‘lost’ time are the first and last miles. In this case, it’s a one lane (each way) highway. Take a look at the current traffic map. It’s not noon yet, which isn’t a heavy commute period, and traffic is heavy as you get within a few miles of the facility. It’s not really designed for hundreds of daily commuters, and there’s no way to actually average 55 mph the entire way in any event even if you could. So, a half hour would be very good time, assuming you aren’t speeding. Any stoppages or traffic at all, and 40-50 minutes is very reasonable, especially if you live on the other side of Brownsville or more likely in Harlingen or McAllen or thereabouts, which are a bit farther out. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3867 "2023-03-15T16:28:33Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Because you aren’t averaging 80 kph the entire way. No, if most of the journey is 80, and only a short suburban bit is stop-start, I’d expect to come out at something like 60 overall, not the 40 that seems to be expected here. So yes, the 24 minutes. But… > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Take a look at the current traffic map. It’s not noon yet, which isn’t a heavy commute period, and traffic is heavy as you get within a few miles of the facility. Can’t argue with the facts. I suspect trucks are to blame, more than anything. Just noticed a couple on the streetview, and didn’t really account for them. All the more reason for buses. And can we all agree that even 40 minutes is a far cry from “4 hours”? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3868 "2023-03-15T16:28:41Z")
I love Pit threads that turn into math problems and analysis of traffic patterns. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3869 "2023-03-15T16:31:33Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > But if they’re on the bus _with wifi_ Well now we’re back to streaming blue movies on Boca Chica Boulevard. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3870 "2023-03-15T16:34:03Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I love Pit threads that turn into math problems and analysis of traffic patterns. _If bus A leaves Brownsville at 8:00 and travels north at an average speed of 60 mph, and bus B leaves the Starlink compound at 8:15 and travels south at an average of 45 mph. which one will hit the cow in the road that’s gotten loose from the Palmito Ranch?_ ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3871 "2023-03-15T16:47:47Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Well now we’re back to streaming blue movies on Boca Chica Boulevard. _Really_ off-topic, but once when I was with friends on our way to a camping trip in the desert, we passed a bus headed to Las Vegas which had individual TV screens at each seat…playing porn. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3872 "2023-03-15T17:07:28Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > which one will hit the cow in the road that’s gotten loose from the Palmito Ranch? A better question is how does Palmito Ranch raise roads, and how did one get loose? ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3873 "2023-03-15T18:58:25Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Musk was the smartest person on Earth when the left thought he was part of their tribe. He only became a moron when he dared to step off the reservation. Here’s a 2013 thread Hyperloop thread: [A tube train? That’s IT?!! (Elon Musk’s Hyperloop)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tube-train-thats-it-elon-musks-hyperloop/666085) The over the top hero worship of the smartest man on Earth is sickening from this leftist board praising their presumed leftist hero. Here’s some examples. > [@A tube train? That's IT?!! (Elon Musk's Hyperloop)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tube-train-thats-it-elon-musks-hyperloop/666085/1): > > To my somewhat disappointment, it’s a [tube train](http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/08/12/technology-hyperloop-travel-elon-musk.html): vehicles running in a semi-evacuated tube. > [@A tube train? That's IT?!! (Elon Musk's Hyperloop)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tube-train-thats-it-elon-musks-hyperloop/666085/3): > > Particularly disappointing since he said it wasn’t going to be a tube train… > [@A tube train? That's IT?!! (Elon Musk's Hyperloop)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tube-train-thats-it-elon-musks-hyperloop/666085/5): > > Elon Musk sounds like a Harry Potter character. > [@A tube train? That's IT?!! (Elon Musk's Hyperloop)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tube-train-thats-it-elon-musks-hyperloop/666085/9): > > I get motion-sick just thinking about something that fast. > [@A tube train? That's IT?!! (Elon Musk's Hyperloop)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-tube-train-thats-it-elon-musks-hyperloop/666085/21): > > It never ceases to amaze me - the faith people put in these supposed technological messiahs. ---
**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 15, 2023, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3874 "2023-03-15T19:19:29Z")
The hyperloop is certainly an exception. And I hope you noticed that I was one of the biggest critics of the concept in those threads. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3875 "2023-03-15T19:24:13Z")
The hyperloop was an exception to what, exactly? Musk’s genius, or to your assertion that the left has held him as “the smartest person on Earth”? Or are you pointing out that he “step[ped] off the reservation” back in 2013? ---
**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 15, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3876 "2023-03-15T19:31:10Z")
I was trying to find Sam’s harsh criticism of hyperloop in that 2013 thread, and all I see is him riffing on tube pressure and expansion joints and generally taking the proposal entirely seriously. Which is fine and kind of interesting! But where’s the harsh criticism? To his credit, I see a post from him in January this year, but nothing at all before (say) 2015 where: > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I was probably the first and harshest critic of Hyperloop on this board. So where’s this first/harshest Hyperloop bashing from Sam? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3877 "2023-03-15T19:36:38Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I was trying to find Sam’s harsh criticism of hyperloop in that 2013 thread, and all I see is him riffing on tube pressure and expansion joints and generally taking the proposal entirely seriously. Yup, there’s the problem. You actually read the cites. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3878 "2023-03-15T19:50:51Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > ‘Company town’ means lots of things. It can mean an exploitive situation where everyone has to buy everything at inflated prices from their employer, keeping them in wage slavery. But it can also mean a healthier, better living environment for remote workers. When Musk’s name or face pops up on the news, do you start stroking your cock immediately or wait until later when you have more privacy? Simp. > [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > Ah yes, nothing to worry about since we will be protected from abuse by regulations. Those same regulations that Republicans have been fighting tooth and nail to get rid of , and have gutted any enforcement of? I’m sure Sam vehemently opposed this, right? ---
**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 15, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3879 "2023-03-15T19:55:16Z")
My point is exactly as it was before: Elon Musk is a flawed genius. As I’ve said right from the beginning, history is full of geniuses who did great things but who also made horrible mistakes. Genius often comes with other psychological issues. No one would say that Howard Hughes, Nikola Tesla, Edison and others like them were rocks of stability and good judgment. Richard Feynman hung out in strip clubs. Albert Einstein was a serial philanderer. Tesla wasted a chunk of his life working on beaming power through the air over long distances, which everyone else correctly thought was nuts. But maybe they thought A/C power was nuts too, and that changed the world. My other point was to refute the idea that I’m a ‘Musk fanboi’’ or whatever. I have been critical of hyperloop, I’ve said that I was disappointed in Tesla cars when I had a chance to look at the build quality, I thought the Boring Compay was stupid (I may have been wrong about that…), I think his personal life is crazy, and saddling his kids with ‘meme’ names or whatever the hell they are is cruel and a sign of his lack of emotional intelligence. I’m surprised that a 50 year old man still thinks ‘420’ jokes are funny. I would not be surprised at all if he treats some of his employees like crap. But I can look at evidence. I think you guys go too far in trying to trash everything he does, and to assume that every decision he makes is either stupid or evil. And the notion that he’s just a guy who got lucky is daft. There are reams of comments out there from rocket engineers who have said Musk is brilliant. I posted some of them here, making sure to include a mix of people who work with Musk, people who did but no longer do and have no reason to praise him, and outside experts like Rubin who have looked at Musk’s work and talked with him at length and who also say that the guy is a genius. He says he wants to incorporate a city to become a living place and supply hub for whast is a very large, remote inustrial facility. _This is a very common problem_. My brother lived in company work camps and facilities for a good chunk of his working life, because he worked in remote areas. But everyone here immediately went to ‘company town’, and from ‘Musk wants to set up a company town’ to horror stories about company towns etc. That forces me to defend him in those cases where I think you’re being hyperbolic, probably for partisan reasons. You simply assume that Musk has malevolent intentions, for reasons. I’m not a fanboy, but I’m not a hater. He’s a guy who has done great things that should be applauded, but who also marches to the tune of his own drummer, and sometimes that’s pretty weird, sometimes thoughtless, and sometimes stupid. Like many humans, he’s a complex person with many facets. You can agree with some, admire some, and think others are ridiculous. On the other hand, if you perceive him as a political enemy, then he can do no right, and everything he does must be judged in the harshest possible way. That’s what I’m seeing in this thread. Every Musk headline is followed by a harsh interpretation, then a pile-on by all the other haters, each one amping up the situation to look even worse until everyone is absolutely convinced that this is the worst thing ever. And if anyone dares take the other side in even a mild way, they too must be destroyed. _Albert Einstein was a ladies man,_ _While he was working out his universal plan._ _He was making out like Charlie Sheen,_ _He was a genius._ -Genius, by Warren Zevon. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3880 "2023-03-15T20:01:14Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > That forces me to defend him in those cases Forces you? Really? Is there somebody with a gun to your head? Blink twice if you need help. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3881 "2023-03-15T20:04:39Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > On the other hand, if you perceive him as a political enemy, then he can do no right, Once again this is projection, Sam. The tribalism you’re so fond of pointing out only exists on the right. ---
**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:** [March 15, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3882 "2023-03-15T20:10:14Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > That’s exactly what I thought! _Boca chica BOW wow…_ Okay, new plan. If my urology clinic in nearby Hickory, NC fails–and if you can guess its name you win an Internet cookie–I’m gonna open a doggie day care in Boca Chica. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3883 "2023-03-15T20:13:43Z")
Boca Chica is a weird name. Girl Mouth? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=193) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=195)