WYP
News Guru
Musk has cemented his control of Twitter.
Read more about Elon Musk firing Twitter's board of directors.
Read more about Elon Musk firing Twitter's board of directors.
Elon Musk takes control of Twitter by dissolving its board of directors
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Dicehunter
Resident Newb
I'm no fan of his but all the blue haired octo gender people having meltdowns because their favorite dear diary activist website has a new owner is some amazing entertainment 
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
I dunno if you're being serious, but I don't want Elon's version of the future. He's had some incredible ideas, but on countless occasions his vision has got in the way of common sense. Many of his projects that he insisted were the future ended up being scrapped because they were obviously stupid.
NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
You got to take into account he's trolling with most of obviously stupid projects...
I mean the man started the boring company. Idk how much more obvious he can be on his seriousness when it comes to things not Mars or EV related..
I mean the man started the boring company. Idk how much more obvious he can be on his seriousness when it comes to things not Mars or EV related..
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
But it's not just his obviously crazy/trolling ideas. It was Elon's idea to shut down PayPal accounts that had little money in them and pocket the funds. People never said anything about it because the amounts were so little. And because PayPal wasn't a bank, nothing was done.
Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong completely denounced the SpaceX program.
Musk forced the co-founder of Tesla out in a similar way that Mark Zuckerberg did to take over Facebook. Lawsuits and settlements were then filed.
If you look into Elon Musk, the rabbit hole of debauchery and tomfoolery goes very deep. He's been called a pathological liar by investors, many of which have been defrauded by him.
Tesla doesn't even make that much money on their cars. They make money by receiving 'credits', which I see as penalty points, from their competitors. US States demand that car companies produce a certain amount of EVs. When they can't meet that demand, they have to pay companies that do meet the demand. Seeing as Tesla only makes EVs, they receive most of their income just by existing. It's not because their products are the best; it's because they are the only ones who exist in that pocket. As soon as other car manufacturers catch up—and they very much—Tesla's income will drop. It's true that Tesla has invested that money into R&D, and the way they've collected that money is very clever. But that just makes Musk a good investor.
The image Musk has created is really quite amazing. He speaks of a rags to riches story, when his own father counters it by saying the kids were spoiled and were very wealthy. Tesla staff have come out saying that work conditions were awful, management was racist (Musk went to one of the most prestigious schools in South Africa and grew up at a time when blacks and whites were divided), and unionisation was denied by him repeatedly. He even offered yoghurt stands to his staff to avoid it.
Or when he turned up to save those kids in Thailand that were trapped with a tiny submarine. The diver that actually saved the kids said the idea wouldn't work and that Musk was there as a PR stunt. When Musk heard this, he called the diver a "pedo". The diver sued him and Musk won, saying it was just a joke, a joke that really hurt the dude.
Dead serious. Just because you and others may be too closed minded to understand doesn't mean I and others are.
Visionaries are often misunderstood.
scubasteve
Member
Elon is a dumb guy’s idea of a smart guy anyone can see that who has a pinch of common sense :lol:
NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
That's not how tax credits work bud as far as I've seen.
In regards to Neil denouncing, his opinion doesn't mean anything. NASA works with SpaceX and vice versa. Even given contracts out. If they were a sham, then NASA wouldn't work with them.
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
You're right. I'm close-minded to ever idolising a single imperfect human being. I don't know why anyone would. Never in human history has it ever ended well. But hey, if you believe in the minds of so-called visionaries, I can't stop you.
Tesla earns much of its wealth from tax credits. They're investing that wealth into designs that are actually competitive. But people misconstrue that as Tesla right now being better, which is architecturally untrue.
NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
Tax credits apply to people buying cars.
Business tax credits has NOTHING to do with Tesla. It applies to ALL companies investing in EV. This is a moot point and apply to all businesses in general. EV technology is just being boosted by the government but still applies to all and does not last forever.
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
It does apply to all companies investing in EVs, yeah, but many of them cannot meet the demand that governments have put on them. Tesla can because that's all they manufacture, even if what they're manufacturing is not better or is not profitable in sales volume. Tesla can then sell their credits to said companies at a massive profit. That's a huge portion of their income.
"These carmakers are required to have a certain amount of regulatory credits each year. If they can’t meet the target, they can buy them from other companies that have excess credits.
Because Tesla only sells electric cars which come under the ZEV category, the company always has excess regulatory credits and can effectively sell them at a 100% profit."
"It’s worth noting that Tesla generated about $344 million in automotive regulatory credits revenue during the second quarter of 2022. Zoom out further and we see that Tesla generated $1.46 billion from regulatory credits in 2021."
That's an enormous amount of income, not from making better products, but more from just existing. That's my point, really, that Musk is not a revolutionary thinker in terms of health or mindset or social issues, or an engineering genius; he's more of a very savvy investor. He knows how to milk the market for money effectively. I just don't see that as being particularly praiseworthy or visionary. There are loads in the world like him; they just don't have as big of a personality or bring sinks to meetings.
Tesla took 17 years to actually turn a profit from selling EVs. To me, what's incredible about Musk is that he has helped bring Tesla to become one of the biggest companies in the world while not actually being able to produce a product at a profit. The profits come more from business savvy, not from technological advancement. Other car companies have made similar advancements, but they haven't gone full EV so aren't able to make as much money from it.
I'm not an anti-Musk or anti-Tesla guy. I just don't agree that he's a visionary or a revolutionist that deserves more praise that any other savvy investor. I think many people look up to him because he's got a personality. People think he's 'cool'.
Tesla has a huge future ahead, because while they've struggled to make products that are profitable, they've cleverly milked the system so much that they now have massive R&D budgets that they can put into Powerwalls, Solar Roof, and other areas of energy business.
Ultimately, I trust Musk to make money for himself. I don't trust him to run the planet. That's my biggest takeaway. There are thousands across the world that genuinely believe he should lead the charge in 'fixing' mankind's woes, and to me that's bonkers.
NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
I would agree. I see his point and it's not invalid
I would argue however this doesn't make Elon a savvy investor. He started all the EV production by himself. Other large companies failed. He did not and in a time when nobody cared anymore. Now he was successful and tax credits then became a thing. Which he then took advantage of but again it didn't make him successful. It only further enhanced the success they found. Being EV only it helps his company.
Other companies see this as well and are moving to EV production only. He's not the only one vying for free money.
As a tax payer it angers me. We shouldn't incentivize any tax credits. But that's a different story and topic.
NeverBackDown
AMD Enthusiast
If only Mickey Rourke had taken out Musk in Iron Man 2... right guys?
He's in iron man? I didn't know that lol
Does a little Cameo in a restaurant during an event in Monaco.
AngryGoldfish
Old N Gold
Yeah, I feel like maybe I've been giving Elon a hard time. It's not because I think he's a bad person or maniacal or stupid. I was more trying to play the opposing side of the statement that he's the future. I think Tesla is genuinely an exciting company to follow, and Elon is incredibly entertaining as a persona. And his private life is none of my business in reality.
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