Elon Musk Shenanigans thread

[Scholar]

On 13/02/2025 at 0:03 AM, Paradoxed said:

I'm right there with you. It's one thing to try to regulate federal spending, it's another thing to actively try to dismantle government agencies, especially ones that exist to regulate him and his business, like the Financial Protection Bureau, FAA, IRS, etc. I'm sure there is corruption and fraud in some these agencies, but his approach is absolutely cut throat and insane lacking nuance.

 

Lacking nuance? If you still think Elon Musk is anything but attempting to create an techno-oligarchy which will put him at the top of the world's power hierarchy, you really need to pay more attention, lol.

The guy isn't doing this to actually fix any problems, he is 100% self-serving in this. It's not lacking nuance, it's actual, blatant corruption. 

[Paradoxed]

2 hours ago, Scholar said:

Lacking nuance? If you still think Elon Musk is anything but attempting to create an techno-oligarchy which will put him at the top of the world's power hierarchy, you really need to pay more attention, lol.

The guy isn't doing this to actually fix any problems, he is 100% self-serving in this. It's not lacking nuance, it's actual, blatant corruption. 

What lacks nuance is the getting rid of entire agencies. See my other comments. I am well aware of what he's doing. Elon can think what he's doing is right for society while still being self-serving. That's usually how it goes. The Pentagon cannot account for trillions of dollars. Two things can be true at once. Elon wouldn't do it if it stood in his way- that's obvious. Adjust this comically evil understanding you have and acknowledge that these individuals might actually think they are doing the right thing for society.

Edited Wednesday at 02:06 AM by Paradoxed

[Joshe]

6 hours ago, Paradoxed said:

Two things can be true at once. Elon wouldn't do it if it stood in his way- that's obvious. Adjust this comically evil understanding you have and acknowledge that these individuals might actually think they are doing the right thing for society.

It is fallacy to view "serving society" and "serving self" as true or false and then treating them as comparable forces. The intensity of the drivers is what's important. 

Claude helped me articulate this: "When one driver has the intensity of a thunderstorm and the other a whisper, weighing them equally is intellectually dishonest. The critical factor isn't their presence, but their power. The intensity of self-interest isn't just stronger – it's orders of magnitude more powerful in driving Elon"

So, if this is true... and it is... then is recognizing Elon's so-called service to society really an act of balancing one's perspective or is it something else? Maybe a desire to be yellow or a fanboy bias or groupthink or...??? IDK! Could be! 

It's interesting why people feel compelled to "balance" their perspective by acknowledging negligible factors. From what I've gathered, it usually points to a bias.

I just came here to vent that I can't even look for design inspiration on Dribbble without running into Elon's fanboys or propaganda. I'd wager money that this image exist because he paid for it to exist. Why in the fuck would this be on Dribbble? There is nothing special about this design...just words on a black background... so why does it have more likes and views than many awesome designs? Because some Chinese click farm was paid millions of dollars to flood this shit out. That's the person we're talking about here. Even intelligent people have ZERO idea of how they've been fooled. It's too conspiratorial and cynical for them to even entertain.

 

Edited Wednesday at 07:15 AM by Joshe

[Scholar]

11 hours ago, Paradoxed said:

What lacks nuance is the getting rid of entire agencies. See my other comments. I am well aware of what he's doing. Elon can think what he's doing is right for society while still being self-serving. That's usually how it goes. The Pentagon cannot account for trillions of dollars. Two things can be true at once. Elon wouldn't do it if it stood in his way- that's obvious. Adjust this comically evil understanding you have and acknowledge that these individuals might actually think they are doing the right thing for society.

But you are being too charitable, nothing he is doing is good for society, and his behavior does not indicate this in any way. He has been acting in bad faith for a very long time, he is just branding himself as the savior of mankind to be better able to consolidate power.

 

You have to realize that the move Elon did, by buying twitter and using it as a literal propaganda tool (he made it literally easier for bots to operate and removed labels on state-funded entities, which allows authoritiarian countries to freely propagandize the world), is comparable to the wave of propaganda in the early 20th century, which also was fueled by technology, that lead to the rise of fascism and communism. He is doing exactly the same, and you probably underestimate how bad this can get within one or two generations. What is currently going on in the US isn't merely comical, it is existential. And it must be treated this way.

 

Hitler was more genuine in his aspiration to do good for his people than Elon Musk is.

Edited Wednesday at 11:36 AM by Scholar

[Joshe]

4 hours ago, Scholar said:

Hitler was more genuine in his aspiration to do good for his people than Elon Musk is.

Good point.

At this point, I think it's too charitable to even think "Doing good for the people" is even a faint idea in his head, yet everyone acts like it's one of his primary drivers because of the tens or hundreds of thousands of propaganda pieces like this: 

[Paradoxed]

@Joshe @Scholar

Good replies. Yes Elon is primarily self-serving. I agree about Elon trying to dismantle the federal government and instill a tech-oligarchy. It's less about a need to balance my perspective and more about setting my bias aside and acknowledge we don't know what is a whisper or a thunderstorm in Elon's head. It's not a "need to balance perspective"- a balanced perspective is important. It's not fanboying- Elon could care little about humanity and just acts selfishly, but we don't know that. I'm the last thing from an Elon fanboy, that's just a silly assumption you are making. Just like other world leaders, spiritual gurus, genocidal maniacs throughout history, he most likely thinks what he's doing is best for humanity. I agree that he's selfishly trying to gain power, but he most likely believes this sort of restructuring is better than our current structure. I'm not saying he's right, I obviously don't agree, but acknowledging this does not mean I am biased or some Elon fanboy. In fact this is not a defense of Elon at all, actually more of a criticism of Elon, the rich, and other narcissistic leaders who justify their selfishness. It's simply acknowledging the way the mind works, and how most people can justify their actions from a warped perspective.

Edited Wednesday at 05:58 PM by Paradoxed

[Lyubov]

18 hours ago, Scholar said:

Lacking nuance? If you still think Elon Musk is anything but attempting to create an techno-oligarchy which will put him at the top of the world's power hierarchy, you really need to pay more attention, lol.

The guy isn't doing this to actually fix any problems, he is 100% self-serving in this. It's not lacking nuance, it's actual, blatant corruption. 

It’s blatant corruption but I do think Elon has some higher values compared to say an oil tycoon who just rapes the land. He helped create a EV car company and has spoken on climate change. He’s definitely corrupted but I would rank him above most Trump bureaucrats based on development. Much of the Trump camp is pure fundamentalist brain rot. Elon has stooped down to them but still serves some purpose. 

[puporing]

Elon is also a power hungry dictator narcissistic ego maniac at heart and has no shame with what he's doing. People are duped by him and his former rhetoric about "caring about humanity". In the end, he has proven to be far worse than even your Jeff Bezos by allying with the likes of Trump and Nazism.

People are still fooled by his "superficial charm" and accomplishments, and this is one the main ways he is able to "maintain power".

Edited Wednesday at 06:23 PM by puporing

[aurum]

Level-headed critique of Musk’s libertarian nonsense:

 

[Joshe]

5 hours ago, Paradoxed said:

we don't know what is a whisper or a thunderstorm in Elon's head. 

You could say this about anyone. I've seen this very logic used by MAGA to defend Trump. "You can't read his mind. You don't know what he's thinking". 

How come some people can see Trump for what he is and others can't? It comes down to your ability to assess reality accurately and impartially. We actually can know things about Elon by analyzing his history, words, actions, and psychology. Some people can see Elon for what he is, some can't. 

The perspective "Elon is power-hungry, self-serving, and self-deceived, yet cares about serving humanity" is flawed and largely exist because of the propaganda Elon flooded the zone with. 

For anyone who believes Elon cares about humanity, ask yourself:

Why do I believe this?  What evidence do I have? Where did those notions come from? Did they arise organically from my own observation or did I pick them up from others? Did I blindly believe him when he said he cares about humanity?  Did I conclude because he bought and grew Tesla that he cares about the earth and humanity? Is all this solid evidence? Could he have been bullshitting the entire time? 

Look at his actions! The richest man in the world trying to dominate the entire world in non-stop pursuit of ultimate power. I'm sure he does have a notion in his head, similar to Thanos, that the world would benefit by him getting his way, but that would just be a self-deception serving the purpose of justification for what REALLY matters to him... which is his little ego winning total control. That is the overpowering driver... he is not driven by serving humanity at all, and for anyone who thinks he is, I think is either foolish or biased or both.

Edited Wednesday at 11:36 PM by Joshe

[Joshe]

2 hours ago, puporing said:

Elon is also a power hungry dictator narcissistic ego maniac at heart and has no shame with what he's doing. People are duped by him and his former rhetoric about "caring about humanity". 

People are still fooled by his "superficial charm" and accomplishments, and this is one the main ways he is able to "maintain power".

This is true, but we'll be called biased for arriving at this. 😂

[Scholar]

4 hours ago, Lyubov said:

It’s blatant corruption but I do think Elon has some higher values compared to say an oil tycoon who just rapes the land. He helped create a EV car company and has spoken on climate change. He’s definitely corrupted but I would rank him above most Trump bureaucrats based on development. Much of the Trump camp is pure fundamentalist brain rot. Elon has stooped down to them but still serves some purpose. 

He stated in his last appearance on Joe Rogan that climate change is basically not a thing. Sure, 4 years ago I had the perception as well that Elon Musk was an ideologue, and maybe he was, or still is to some degree, but to continue lending him credence and charitability after the way he is acting is simply not rational, it makes no sense. The guy is a Göbbels in the making, his only purpose is to serve himself.

[integral]

Trump is speaking but its the stuff DOGE uncovered.

[Scholar]

7 hours ago, Paradoxed said:

@Joshe @Scholar

Good replies. Yes Elon is primarily self-serving. I agree about Elon trying to dismantle the federal government and instill a tech-oligarchy. It's less about a need to balance my perspective and more about setting my bias aside and acknowledge we don't know what is a whisper or a thunderstorm in Elon's head. It's not a "need to balance perspective"- a balanced perspective is important. It's not fanboying- Elon could care little about humanity and just acts selfishly, but we don't know that. I'm the last thing from an Elon fanboy, that's just a silly assumption you are making. Just like other world leaders, spiritual gurus, genocidal maniacs throughout history, he most likely thinks what he's doing is best for humanity. I agree that he's selfishly trying to gain power, but he most likely believes this sort of restructuring is better than our current structure. I'm not saying he's right, I obviously don't agree, but acknowledging this does not mean I am biased or some Elon fanboy. In fact this is not a defense of Elon at all, actually more of a criticism of Elon, the rich, and other narcissistic leaders who justify their selfishness. It's simply acknowledging the way the mind works, and how most people can justify their actions from a warped perspective.

But nobody is saying he doesn't self-delude himself into thinking this isnt a self-serving power grab. Like Hitler, he probably has amazing justifications for everything he does. Yes, we get the point, every human thinks what they do is justified.

How the fuck does that relate to ANYTHING any of us said? What is the point of bringing this obvious fact about human psychology up each time someone points out Elon's corruption and desire to entrench more of his power and consolidate as much wealth in his own hands? This isn't some sort of writing class on having empathy for the bad guys so you can write more compelling villains for your tragicomedy, this is real life, where we describe the relevant, politically functional dynamics. We don't need your 101 psychology class, jesus christ.

[Paradoxed]

31 minutes ago, Scholar said:

But nobody is saying he doesn't self-delude himself into thinking this isnt a self-serving power grab. Like Hitler, he probably has amazing justifications for everything he does. Yes, we get the point, every human thinks what they do is justified.

How the fuck does that relate to ANYTHING any of us said? What is the point of bringing this obvious fact about human psychology up each time someone points out Elon's corruption and desire to entrench more of his power and consolidate as much wealth in his own hands? This isn't some sort of writing class on having empathy for the bad guys so you can write more compelling villains for your tragicomedy, this is real life, where we describe the relevant, politically functional dynamics. We don't need your 101 psychology class, jesus christ.

Out of the few posts I've made all I've done is say what Elon is doing is wrong, criticize him, and acknowledge he is simply being self serving, and that he is too biased to oversee any federal agencies, etc, while also simply acknowledging he probably thinks what he's doing is best for the people. I don't really understand why you are so angry, lol. Perhaps I came off as too charitable to Elon for you.... even though I never really was charitable to him at all. You're like upset my brows aren't as furrowed as yours. I hope you have a better night.

[puporing]

It's hard to say how much Elon Musk is aware of his own selfishness. I think he does know. He's not so dumb and mentally retarded like some druggie for example.

I mean, of course he has to believe in his own justifications to some extent to still live with himself and believe that he is a "decent human being", but I sense that a lot of these types (like him), on the back of their mind knows what the hell they're doing and continue anyways. 

The other thing is that, the vast majority of people simply have no experience dealing with people like this. Most of us like to believe just about everyone is a "decent human being" and just making mistakes. 

Unfortunately that is a rather naive and incomplete view of what is out there.. Plenty of people will exploit as much as they can given the system we have for selfish reasons, while appearing as some "knight in shining armour". And you will not understand this until you truly see one through yourself.

This is reflected in the laws we have too. We massively under prosecute white collar criminals when compared to other types of crimes. White collar criminals are generally only given a "financial penalty" (as opposed to jail time) that may not even be felt in their wallet. Whereas your desperate person struggling with mental illness and lack of job/money can get stuck with the justice system for things like shoplifting.

Edited yesterday at 05:33 AM by puporing