# Why the hate for Elon Musk? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 14, 2022, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053 "2022-03-14T21:22:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/122 "2022-03-18T15:58:21Z")
> [@nate](#): > > I don’t know why it’s so hard to believe Musk would have genuinely altruistic intentions Because he didn’t bother to consult the experts. He didn’t bother to contact the divers on the site, or the Thai authorities, to ask what the situation actually was and what they needed. He didn’t even ask experienced cave divers in the US for their opinions. Apparently he only relied on media reports. He just wasn’t serious. His solution never had any chance of working from the beginning. Anyone who knew anything about the actual situation could have told him that immediately. When he was called out on his bullshit project, he resorted to defaming someone who repeatedly risked his own life to save those those kids. All he was doing was grandstanding on a very high-profile situation to generate free publicity and feed his own ego. It’s the same thing with his ridiculous offer to fight Putin in single combat. He cares nothing for Ukraine, or he would offer a billion or two of his own money, which he can easily afford, for practical help. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/123 "2022-03-18T16:11:30Z")
Read the SDMB thread I linked. You’re viewing the situation from hindsight. And I don’t know why you think he didn’t consult anyone. > **[Elon Musk has an idea for saving boys stranded in a Thailand cave](https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/07/elon-musk-has-an-idea-for-saving-boys-stranded-in-a-thailand-cave/)** > > Musk outlines possible plan for rescuing 12 stranded boys and their coach. > “SpaceX & Boring Co engineers headed to Thailand tomorrow to see if we can be helpful to govt,” [Musk tweeted](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1015138953693880320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1015138953693880320&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2018%2F07%2F06%2Felon-musk-to-send-team-of-engineers-assist-thai-cave-rescue-mission.html) just after midnight, California time, on Thursday night. “There are probably many complexities that are hard to appreciate without being there in person.” ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/124 "2022-03-18T16:14:11Z")
I don’t know what one has to do with the other. You can be altruistic in an endeavor and when you get told to shove it up your ass you can act like an ass back, but that doesn’t take away from the altruism of the endeavor. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/125 "2022-03-18T16:18:50Z")
> [@nate](#): > > Read the SDMB thread I linked. You’re viewing the situation from hindsight. In hindsight Elon Musk didn’t acquire basic information about what was needed. That random posters on an internet board also had opinions without sufficient information is irrelevant. > [@nate](#): > > You can be altruistic in an endeavor and when you get told to shove it up your ass you can act like an ass back, but that doesn’t take away from the altruism of the endeavor. If it doesn’t inform your opinion of the sincerity and depth of the intent, and of the man in general, you are a bad judge of character. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/126 "2022-03-18T16:21:22Z")
> [@nate](#): > > Read the SDMB thread I linked Why? Nobody here had expert knowledge of the situation any more than Musk did. > [@nate](#): > > I don’t know why you think he didn’t consult anyone. Anyone who did know the details of the situation could have told him immediately that his idea wouldn’t work, and why. Maybe they did, and he just ignored the inconvenient facts. But I’m not going to bother arguing this further. Fanboys gonna be fanboys, it seems. 😄 ---
**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 18, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/127 "2022-03-18T16:29:32Z")
> [@naita](#): > > That random posters on an internet board also had opinions without sufficient information is irrelevant. Also, at least on _this_ message board, criticism of any ideas in that thread weren’t met by accusations of pedophilia. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/128 "2022-03-18T16:33:17Z")
This reminds me so much of how the right treats Hillary Clinton. Everything she does has self-serving, evil intent. They assume the worst. They blow up anything, any true mistake into a huge deal. But when you look deep into the specific claims made they are always misrepresented at best, completely false at worst. So many don’t like Hillary, but I feel the need to defend where a defense is justified, same for Elon. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/129 "2022-03-18T16:34:11Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > I’m not going to bother arguing this further. Trying to communicate with someone who, metaphorically speaking, has their entire forearms in their ears is pretty pointless. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/130 "2022-03-18T16:34:47Z")
No, the right makes up stuff out of whole cloth about her. No one is doing that to your idol. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/131 "2022-03-18T16:39:12Z")
Oh? I posted a link to an ars article that clearly states Musk sent a team of engineers to Thailand to gather information needed for the design, on whether it would work or not. But at least two posters here continue to spout “he didn’t acquire basic information”, “he didn’t consult Thailand gov’t”, “he only gathered his info from the media”, etc. Complete fabrications. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/132 "2022-03-18T16:53:00Z")
> [@filmstar-en](#): > > How does that compare with other magnates and moguls? There are vast swathes of country lain waste by the industries of the twentieth century. His twenty-first century factories and spaceports are nothing in comparison. I’m largely indifferent to Musk who does seem to be a bit of an asshole, but not someone I care enough about to hate. I generally don’t think of him at all. But I do dislike those kind of comparative arguments. On a moral scale I compare other people to myself, not other members of their peer group. Would I consider myself to be an asshole if I had called someone a ‘pedo’ groundlessly and went to the trouble of hiring a PI to investigate someone who dissed me? Yes. Then he’s an asshole. End of story. That he may be less of an asshole than, say, the late Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos (entirely possible) or certainly Donald Trump is neither here nor there. It just means others are bigger assholes, not that he isn’t one. ---
**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 18, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/133 "2022-03-18T17:12:15Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > although kind of contradicted in this very thread, where plenty of positive statements have been made about some aspects of those companies without provoking accusations of fanboyism etc.). Not really, I can see accusations with the words “fanboy” and “idol” thrown about in this thread. That not _everyone_ jumps on this bandwagon doesn’t mean that it isn’t a valid observation that those accusations do get thrown around. > [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Are we reading the same thread? I _am_ talking about more than just this thread, as not only are there other threads on this messageboard, there is in fact a much wider world out there, but in this thread as well there has been, and continues to be, exactly such accusations of idol worship and fanboyism as I was just talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/134 "2022-03-18T17:30:39Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I _am_ talking about more than just this thread, as not only are there other threads on this messageboard, there is in fact a much wider world out there, but in this thread as well there has been, and continues to be, exactly such accusations of idol worship and fanboyism as I was just talking about. I see someone being accused of this, when that person has engaged in a completely counter-factual defense of Musk, and in fact chosen the most absurd hill to die on, the completely indefensible one. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/135 "2022-03-18T17:33:39Z")
Sadly today we live in a celebrity obsessed culture. It is all about personality, who we like and don’t like. Whether Musk wins ass-hole of the year prize is superficial nonsense. The companies he fronts and the achievements of the engineering teams, however, are very interesting. They are innovating at time when there is an inflexion point in the adoption of some important new technologies. Musk is just a bagatelle, something to distract the trolls and rivals and get free publicity when they complain loudly about his latest pronouncement. Maybe his contribution is that the budget for public relations and marketing for his companies must be a small fraction of others. Products that sell themselves because they are well designed - that is quite an innovation in itself. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/136 "2022-03-18T17:43:41Z")
> [@filmstar-en](#): > > Whether Musk wins ass-hole of the year prize is superficial nonsense. Could you let the Musk superfans know that? Then they wouldn’t have to waste so many keystrokes defending the guy 😉 ---
**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:** [March 18, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/137 "2022-03-18T17:43:52Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Would I consider myself to be an asshole if I had called someone a ‘pedo’ groundlessly and went to the trouble of hiring a PI to investigate someone who dissed me? Yes. Then he’s an asshole. End of story. > > That he may be less of an asshole than, say, the late Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos (entirely possible) or certainly Donald Trump is neither here nor there. It just means others are bigger assholes, not that he isn’t one. Thank you, yes, that. And it doesn’t mean that what I feel about him is “hate”. It just means I think he’s a prick in matters of personal character. Did I have a blast when he launched the roadster? Hell yeah. Will I give him props for beating none other than _f_\*\*_king Boeing_ to succesful commercial orbital crew delivery? Damn sure. Would I tell him to STFU with the covid misinformation? Damn right I would. Was he way beyond the pale with the “pedo guy” slander as a way to get back to someone telling him he didn’t know what he was talking about? Hell yes he was. Is challenging Putin to single combat something that detracts from the seriousness of the crisis? Yes it is. None of that means I “hate” him. Just that it reminds me he does not get paid to be a role model, and nobody should assume him as one. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/138 "2022-03-18T17:49:43Z")
Yeah I’m not sure why some posters are calling me a fanboi or think I idolize Elon for merely defending him by fighting ignorance. I’d do the same for anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/139 "2022-03-22T07:11:40Z")
Surfacing is a $12,000 option though ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/140 "2022-03-22T09:14:28Z")
All I’m saying I root for **nate** in this display of hate for Elon Musk. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053/141 "2022-03-24T22:50:40Z")
The book on Musk by Vance is an interesting read. It shows a lot of the things he has done, some of which are clever. It has some rah-rah moments, as do sites including WaitButWhy (which I also like). Vance’s book blames some of Musk’s trolling on growing up in a certain hypermasculine culture where he did not always fit in. Is this true? I do not know. I do not like everything Musk has done, but the man has his moments. After Trump, playing to the trolls might seem a lucrative strategy. Tesla certainly expanded appeal for electric cars, an eventual good thing, even if perhaps overvalued by times. But that does not mean I have to like everything Musk has done. Impressive people often “swing for the fences”, so strike out plenty. This is not always a bad thing; though it can be. Musk need not be a part of every crisis or world event. The US in particular probably forgives the uberwealthy too much and gives too much credit to their general opinions. Smart people also think they are holistically smart even in unfamiliar fields like public health or other complicated esoteric subjects - when this is not always true. I would like to see Musk become more modest; the leopard changing its spots, as said above. It may not happen soon. Musk deserves a more balanced appraisal, to get this he must be more balanced. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-hate-for-elon-musk/961053.md?page=8)