2018.07.14; Who wants to be a billionaire? Not Elon Musk
Published by DB,
Who wants to be a billionaire? Not Elon Musk
The inventor, entrepreneur and much-ridiculed rich person thinks his wealth is used as a stick to beat him. People with less than $20bn disagree …
Fri 13 Jul 2018 13.55 ED
Boring entrepreneur Elon Musk. (He has a company called The Boring Company. Sigh.)
Name: The billionaire’s curse.
Age: Of the moment.
Appearance: Mostly on Twitter.
What is it? The state of being absolutely loaded – and condemned for it.
Who is the principal sufferer? The inventor, entrepreneur and much-ridiculed ludicrously rich person Elon Musk. "The ‘billionaire’ label, when used by media, is almost always meant to devalue and denigrate the subject," he tweeted when the press failed to take his plan to save the trapped Thai football team sufficiently seriously.
What was his plan? He was going to use a teleportation machine à la Star Trek to beam the boys and their coach out of the cave.
You’re making this up. Only slightly. He had various notions – underwater airtubes, a miniature submarine, digging into the cave from above. Most pundits dismissed his ideas as impractical and a publicity stunt.
Hence his Twitter fightback. Indeed. "This reaction has shaken my opinion of many people," he said. "We were asked to create a backup option and worked hard to do so. Checked with dive team many times to confirm it was worthwhile. Now it’s there for anyone who needs it in future. Something’s messed up if this is not a good thing."
And all because he is a billionaire. "I wasn’t called that until my companies got to a certain size, but reality is that I still do the same science and engineering as before. Just the scale has changed," he said on Twitter.
How much is he worth? About $20bn (£15bn).
How were his tweets received? People with fewer than $20bn tended to be dismissive. Many were eager to relieve him of some of the burden. One radical political commentator praised his courage for discussing the "B-word" and the oppressions that underpin it.
So, if not b**********, how does Musk want to be labelled? As a scientist and an engineer. He says his wealth is irrelevant and merely a stick with which to beat him. He has attacked the "holier than thou" media for singling out him and his company Tesla for criticism.
Fake news! You’ve got it. He has suggested setting up a website, called Pravda, to rate the reliability of reporters.
Not to be confused with: The equally put-upon billionaire in the White House. While sharing Donald Trump’s obsession with the media, Musk is richer and harder to pin down politically.
Do say: "Who wants to be a billionaire?"
Don’t say: "Imagine the oppression and marginalisation you face on a daily basis as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities."
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- 0 1Musk made a perfectly good robot submarine for the brief theres some boys stuck in a cave with one long wide deep lake between them and rescue.I refuse to believe that Musk would be so stupid as to no not research the cave before building his submarine not to fit it so there is but one option left: a massive unreported earthquake that completely changed the underground layout and miraculously left the boys unharmed.But from a guy who launched a roadster to Mars but who currently has no cameras to capture that moment, this isn’t surprising. Reply
- 2 3He was requested to provide a backup plan which he did. I get some of you are jellous but these childish antics do you only a disservice. Reply
- 0 1He wasn't requested to provide a backup plan. He did it himself. Then when it wasn't made into plan A and wasn't deemed viable he has thrown a bit of a wobbler. I like Musk and respect what he's done but this is moving him into a different realm. I hope it's just a one off and not the new norm for him. Reply
- 0 1Elon Musk. Hard to feel sorry for him but I do believe he meant well in his efforts to help save the football team. He just didn't research it enough. It was common knowledge that one area required to squeeze through was a S shapped tunnel. Musks mini-sub wouldn't have made it and then there's the fast moving water to consider. Also there clearly was not enough time to use the sub given it can only take one Child at a time, that would have meant up to a week for the rescue to be completed. For a really intelligent guy it's kind of stupid not realizing all of this.As it was the four boys/ coach and there Rescuers only got out with minutes to spare when the main hose burst and pump failed. I read that caused water levels to rise over one foot every 10 minutes. The support team in the chamber 3 were running thowards the entrance to save their lives and only got out with a minutes to spare . If that burst hose would have happened when the boys and Coach were still trapped in the cave the outcome of the rescue would have been a disaster, potentially. Reply
- 0 1Maybe it was a PR stunt.""He can stick his submarine where it hurts," he told CNN. "It had absolutely no chance of working. He had no conception of what the cave passage was like."The Independent: Elon Musk can 'stick his submarine where it hurts', says British caver who helped rescue Thai schoolboys.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/thai-cave-rescue-elon-musk-mini-submarine-british-driver-tham-luang-vern-unsworth-a8447166.htmlvia Google News Reply
- 2 3Elon Musk pretends that he's the pioneer of a new form of capitalism, but as he recently proved when his company used a potter's design as a branding exercise for Tesla- without paying- he's just another rich fucker who thinks he's doing you a favour by ripping you off.Musk made out that the publicity was so good for his business that the potter should be grateful.What a turd. Reply
- 1 2€12 000/ annum, will do me fine, so, Elon, if you want to offload some of that burden. ... Reply
- 1 2Tesla is doing more than any other company to keep the Earth a habitable planet, and Mr. Musk (now an American) is doing more than any Brit.Why the hate, Guardian? Jealousy? Self-loathing? Short-selling Tesla stock? Bad journalists? Reply
- 2 3What has the Guardian got against Elon Musk? Seen a lot of negative articles recently attacking him. Give the guy a break - he is doing more to help the environment then anyone with Tesla. He was just trying to help the kids, he doesn't need any more publicity!! Reply
- 1 2Maybe, the Guardian is trying to win over Daily Mail and Sun readers. Reply
- 0 1there is certainly enough of you here commenting to think its worked. Reply
- 0 1This is news how? Reply
- 5 6I see a lot of people defending Musk as a rich guy trying his best. Well if this is his best then it falls seriously short and he should be willing to listen to criticism rather that throw a very public tantrum every time people fail to fall to their knees at his munificence.Working conditions in his factories are bad, he hasn’t made good on his promises regarding injuries there and he’s blocked/blocking workers from forming a union.But with regards to the submarine, launching a car, and everything else he does? The big problem is that it’s performative, he’s stroking his own ego and when some people don’t give him what he feels is due adulation he throws a hissy fit.Now don’t get me wrong, he’s not a terrible person. Based on what I’ve heard from his former business partner Thiel (libertarian) I thought he might be similar, but he’s not that bad. He pays taxes (as far as I could find out) and he doesn’t want regulations stripped back (again, that I could find out with a quick search) and I at least believe he cares about the world and people.But he can’t just fix a problem, it has to be an eye catching PR moment. Look at his recent offer to Flint for their water; filters. Which is something that’s been provided for years. What needs fixing is the entire pipe network along with other structural damage. Just as important is the eroded trust the people there have in their taps, but making that better doesn’t make good headlines. He’s still in talks with local authorities there so maybe he’ll offer something else, I’m reserving judgement for now. Reply
- 1 2Either way he's a billionaire because the businesses that he owns not because of what he hoarded away. I doubt he has much liquidity with his wealth.He's the kind of guy who invest his capital into technologies or new projects much like he did with his Paypal money towards Space X. A far cry from financial managers and etc. Reply
- 0 1No, he’s the kind of guy who invests vast quantities of government support in companies that, for the most part, he’s yet to actually make profitable on their own.Seriously, his companies have received an estimated $4.9 billion in gov money. Reply
- 2 3Just because he's more intelligent, more creative, more conscious, more independent and probably better looking than you is insufficient reason to resent the man so much. Reply
- 1 2He is a bit of an arse though. Reply
- 0 1Most nerds lack social skills. Billionaire nerds are no exception. Reply
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