Fundamentally what bothers me most about the contemporary controversy surrounding Elon is what it says about how simple minded, tribal, binary thinking has now dominated our culture. Most people just won’t bother to think, to read, to contemplate any complex ideas, individuals or issues. Elon is an extremely complex man. Yet we live now in a culture where things are distilled down to hating or idolizing - depending on which tribe you belong to
I listened to the podcast of Bari and Walter I. Surprisingly to me it was actually good. What makes my temperature rise, however, is Bari's tendency to inject her biases into her writing and interviewing and do so without seeming to recognize that she is biased. Wanna know what she did in this one? She poses the question to herself and to Isaacson whether Musk has "too much power". Bari and Walter agree, Musk has too much power! Surprise, surprise, surprise. But did either try to explain why? Justify it? Explain it? Unless you think "well, he has all these major companies which he controls, Q.E.D., that is too much power". That is really a pathetic analysis by each of them. We expect better from Bari, if not Walter.
But the interview was good, mainly because Bari let Walter talk. I'd downloaded the book and intend to read it - have started. It'll be my 4th from Isaacson.
An honest criticism. The fact that the question of “does Elon have too much power” has even been created as an honest question is inherently biased. The question could of course be asked about any extremely wealthy individual. Let’s substitute Jeff Bezos for Elon Musk. Anyone asking that question? If so I haven’t heard of it. What exactly is “too much” power. Who’s to judge? Seems no one was too worried about his having “too much power” until after he purchased Twitter and began exposing censorship that made the powerful elite a bit nervous. They much prefer to wield their power quietly, behind the scenes. That Elon does it much more openly is something they are not used to, are uncomfortable with. He does not play by their rules.
NASA didn't just give up on the Space Shuttle. That program was a failure. They tried to make it do everything, and it did nothing well. The CIA stopped using it for spy satellites in the 80s because the risk was too high and it was too expensive. After the launch of Hubble, NASA's justification for the shuttle was that it protected astronauts in space, which is reductive and circular reasoning.
The support for this program is why we haven't returned to the Moon. NASA spent its budget on this, and as a result it kept having its budget cut. It stopped being a relevant program. The only thing Musk is guilty of in this regard is that he showed that NASA was just another sclerotic agency with a bloated bureaucracy protecting its own interests. It hasn't been the adventurous and experimental place it was in the 60s for decades. It hasn't been willing to take risks since Challenger, yet it also stagnated and assumed it was safe, leading to Columbia.
Private space flight is the future, and Musk is leading it, whether we like that or not. Now he needs competition. That's the only way we reach the Moon, another planet, or even begin to sniff at asteroid mining.
I'm not sure why Elon Musk agreed to have this guy write a book about him. He is clearly biased and could not even get himself to say he likes Elon after spending two years with him. Bari tried so hard to get Isaacson say only negative things about Elon who has done way more good than bad in this world. Just the fact that Elon revealed the corruption in our government during Covid should make us all grateful to him.
I found the interview with Isaacson a bit disappointing. Musk doesn't agree with the mainstream media on COVID (we now know he and others were right) and Twitter's censorship of legitimate, well-thought out and correct perspectives on a host of issues, and suddenly he's become "controversial"? Maybe even "Alt-Right"? By the way, is there ever an "Alt-Left"? That conversation tells us more about Bari's circle than Musk.
And there seemed to be an attempt at "gotcha" - Musk, gasp, has dark moments, maybe childhood issues.... he even yells at people! It's clear Bari hasn't been around entrepreneurial environments much, yet such environments are what lead to most of society's great innovations, not complacent bureaucracies that focus on DEI and work-life balance.
Musk is a genius. He is in a whole other league. I would have liked to know more about his entrepreneurial mind-set, how he realizes such amazing visions, how he prioritizes, how he sees others. If you were interviewing Leonardo da Vinci, would you ask about his political views or someone he mistreated?
My parting thought: I'm glad Musk is here in the U.S. and not in China. Come to think of it, there's no other place where he could excel to the benefit of so many. Xi would've sidelined him long ago.
Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty. This is known as "bad luck.”
Oliver, "intermittent support" can lead people to believe it's there one minute, and gone the next. He provided Starlink very early, when infrastructure was damaged, and wasn't even being compensated. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin didn't give anything to Ukraine for free. Then he did not allow his help to be also used for offensive military operations.
If Zelensky demands that Kraft Foods give Ukraine free Velveeta (high in protein and fat energy, shelf stable), and they demur, would they be roasted like Musk was?
The moment I read that Israel was cutting off all internet to Gaza (why, so their response couldn't be reported?), my first thought was that they needed Starlink.
Ever since we watched the Netflix documentary about SpaceX, I’ve been fascinated and have read everything, including the Isaacson bio, I can find about Musk. My takeaways, aside from his life and career being akin to an Andy Weir novel on steroids: 1/ He may not be great at managing relationships with individuals, but he has a deep love for humanity and is committed to our long-term survival; 2/ He is among the most impactful humans the world has ever seen, using his prodigious talents to drive innovation in multiple hugely challenging areas key to that survival - but, in the process, is continuously “poking the bears” (the deep state, progressives, corporate media, automakers/unions, the military industrial complex, big tech, etc.) - which worries me and makes me feel, in the interests of humanity, we need to protect him and allow his genius to flourish to the maximum extent possible. The best way to do that, I think (and have to believe he realizes at some level), is, given his relentless transparency, keeping the lights shining brightly on his activities with a special focus on those who seek to restrain or impede him. I think the Free Press has a big role to play on that front (including keeping Musk accountable, as well - he is no god and it is a bit scary to think of one individual wielding that level of power).
Bari and team - thanks for continuing to give us the truth viz. Israeli war. Gazan's are starting to realize that Israel won't stop until northern Gaza is Hamas-free. That's a more palpable scenario than Israel being Juden-free.
Fundamentally what bothers me most about the contemporary controversy surrounding Elon is what it says about how simple minded, tribal, binary thinking has now dominated our culture. Most people just won’t bother to think, to read, to contemplate any complex ideas, individuals or issues. Elon is an extremely complex man. Yet we live now in a culture where things are distilled down to hating or idolizing - depending on which tribe you belong to
I listened to the podcast of Bari and Walter I. Surprisingly to me it was actually good. What makes my temperature rise, however, is Bari's tendency to inject her biases into her writing and interviewing and do so without seeming to recognize that she is biased. Wanna know what she did in this one? She poses the question to herself and to Isaacson whether Musk has "too much power". Bari and Walter agree, Musk has too much power! Surprise, surprise, surprise. But did either try to explain why? Justify it? Explain it? Unless you think "well, he has all these major companies which he controls, Q.E.D., that is too much power". That is really a pathetic analysis by each of them. We expect better from Bari, if not Walter.
But the interview was good, mainly because Bari let Walter talk. I'd downloaded the book and intend to read it - have started. It'll be my 4th from Isaacson.
But, Bari, be a journalist, not a politician.
An honest criticism. The fact that the question of “does Elon have too much power” has even been created as an honest question is inherently biased. The question could of course be asked about any extremely wealthy individual. Let’s substitute Jeff Bezos for Elon Musk. Anyone asking that question? If so I haven’t heard of it. What exactly is “too much” power. Who’s to judge? Seems no one was too worried about his having “too much power” until after he purchased Twitter and began exposing censorship that made the powerful elite a bit nervous. They much prefer to wield their power quietly, behind the scenes. That Elon does it much more openly is something they are not used to, are uncomfortable with. He does not play by their rules.
Damn close. I think the Elon bias started a bit earlier - when he said people should vote Republican. The Elites seemed to have a cow at that point.
Did Jack Dorsey have too much power? Or the anonymous collective censorship beehive that Musk exposed? The title is a misplaced question.
NASA didn't just give up on the Space Shuttle. That program was a failure. They tried to make it do everything, and it did nothing well. The CIA stopped using it for spy satellites in the 80s because the risk was too high and it was too expensive. After the launch of Hubble, NASA's justification for the shuttle was that it protected astronauts in space, which is reductive and circular reasoning.
The support for this program is why we haven't returned to the Moon. NASA spent its budget on this, and as a result it kept having its budget cut. It stopped being a relevant program. The only thing Musk is guilty of in this regard is that he showed that NASA was just another sclerotic agency with a bloated bureaucracy protecting its own interests. It hasn't been the adventurous and experimental place it was in the 60s for decades. It hasn't been willing to take risks since Challenger, yet it also stagnated and assumed it was safe, leading to Columbia.
Private space flight is the future, and Musk is leading it, whether we like that or not. Now he needs competition. That's the only way we reach the Moon, another planet, or even begin to sniff at asteroid mining.
Love TFP....keep up the awesome work!
This was a great podcast, Bari. I love your hard hitting questions and your journalistic determination. thank you for all you do to keep us free!!!
I'm not sure why Elon Musk agreed to have this guy write a book about him. He is clearly biased and could not even get himself to say he likes Elon after spending two years with him. Bari tried so hard to get Isaacson say only negative things about Elon who has done way more good than bad in this world. Just the fact that Elon revealed the corruption in our government during Covid should make us all grateful to him.
I found the interview with Isaacson a bit disappointing. Musk doesn't agree with the mainstream media on COVID (we now know he and others were right) and Twitter's censorship of legitimate, well-thought out and correct perspectives on a host of issues, and suddenly he's become "controversial"? Maybe even "Alt-Right"? By the way, is there ever an "Alt-Left"? That conversation tells us more about Bari's circle than Musk.
And there seemed to be an attempt at "gotcha" - Musk, gasp, has dark moments, maybe childhood issues.... he even yells at people! It's clear Bari hasn't been around entrepreneurial environments much, yet such environments are what lead to most of society's great innovations, not complacent bureaucracies that focus on DEI and work-life balance.
Musk is a genius. He is in a whole other league. I would have liked to know more about his entrepreneurial mind-set, how he realizes such amazing visions, how he prioritizes, how he sees others. If you were interviewing Leonardo da Vinci, would you ask about his political views or someone he mistreated?
My parting thought: I'm glad Musk is here in the U.S. and not in China. Come to think of it, there's no other place where he could excel to the benefit of so many. Xi would've sidelined him long ago.
Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded — here and there, now and then — are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty. This is known as "bad luck.”
- Robert Heinlin
Oliver, "intermittent support" can lead people to believe it's there one minute, and gone the next. He provided Starlink very early, when infrastructure was damaged, and wasn't even being compensated. Raytheon and Lockheed Martin didn't give anything to Ukraine for free. Then he did not allow his help to be also used for offensive military operations.
If Zelensky demands that Kraft Foods give Ukraine free Velveeta (high in protein and fat energy, shelf stable), and they demur, would they be roasted like Musk was?
The moment I read that Israel was cutting off all internet to Gaza (why, so their response couldn't be reported?), my first thought was that they needed Starlink.
Elon have too much power? Does Zuckerberg? Gates? Soros? When's the substack coming out on them?
Srsly
Bugger off Oliver. Bari? you seriously gave time to this?
Elon is doing things. You? What have you actually accomplished?
Leading an attack of Lilliputians isn't accomplishment.
😂 LOL
whatabout Klaus
Ever since we watched the Netflix documentary about SpaceX, I’ve been fascinated and have read everything, including the Isaacson bio, I can find about Musk. My takeaways, aside from his life and career being akin to an Andy Weir novel on steroids: 1/ He may not be great at managing relationships with individuals, but he has a deep love for humanity and is committed to our long-term survival; 2/ He is among the most impactful humans the world has ever seen, using his prodigious talents to drive innovation in multiple hugely challenging areas key to that survival - but, in the process, is continuously “poking the bears” (the deep state, progressives, corporate media, automakers/unions, the military industrial complex, big tech, etc.) - which worries me and makes me feel, in the interests of humanity, we need to protect him and allow his genius to flourish to the maximum extent possible. The best way to do that, I think (and have to believe he realizes at some level), is, given his relentless transparency, keeping the lights shining brightly on his activities with a special focus on those who seek to restrain or impede him. I think the Free Press has a big role to play on that front (including keeping Musk accountable, as well - he is no god and it is a bit scary to think of one individual wielding that level of power).
Never Again.
Bari and team - thanks for continuing to give us the truth viz. Israeli war. Gazan's are starting to realize that Israel won't stop until northern Gaza is Hamas-free. That's a more palpable scenario than Israel being Juden-free.