Yeah, Musk has done some great things, but he seems the sort of person best admired from a distance with some vaseline on the lens... looking too closely reveals something rather less admirable.
[e.g. his "I'm the alpha in this relationship" quote,† at his wedding... I mean, that's downright creepy...]
My god, that journalist should write for soap operas. Based on my firsthand experience with journalists, I would not be at all surprised to learn that what you quoted was something reported second hand, was said ironically, taken out of context, etc. Suggesting equivalence between the nature of his romantic relationships and the nature of the SpaceX relationship with NASA? Methinks the pendulum has swung a bit far.
> Based on my firsthand experience with journalists, I would not be at all surprised to learn that what you quoted was something reported second hand, was said ironically, taken out of context, etc.
Journalists shouldn't get a free pass simply by virtue of their profession, but neither should they be vilified for it.
I am not particularly familiar with this issue, but a google search turned up the following op-ed, written by Musk's ex-wife [1] :
Still, there were warning signs. As we danced at our
wedding reception, Elon told me, "I am the alpha in this
relationship." I shrugged it off, just as I would later
shrug off signing the postnuptial agreement, but as time
went on, I learned that he was serious. He had grown up
in the male-dominated culture of South Africa, and the
will to compete and dominate that made him so successful
in business did not magically shut off when he came
home. This, and the vast economic imbalance between us,
meant that in the months following our wedding, a
certain dynamic began to take hold. Elon's judgment
overruled mine, and he was constantly remarking on the
ways he found me lacking.
"I am your wife," I told him repeatedly, "not your employee."
"If you were my employee," he said just as often, "I would fire you."
The worst thing about that quote is the sense that it will make Elon Musk even more of a role model to the thousand or so insecure boys who seem to show up to every internet discussion about gender roles. Mr. Musk may be admirable in the ad astra per aspera sense, but that doesn't mean he is an earthly saint and shouldn't be called on his BS from time to time.
Aping your heroes worst qualities is not good for you or your hero.
I'm criticizing the journalist for writing drivel. I am perfectly willing to believe Elon is a jackass in his personal life. But does any of this have a bearing on the matter at hand?