Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by drzaiusapelord 4107 days ago
The problem is that you're not a visionary if you're selling yesterdays solutions just sexed up a bit. An electric car is like selling a robotic horse. Urban areas need public trans solutions, not more cars.

SpaceX's offerings are underwhelming unless your goal is to stick to LEO forever.

The problem is, people just keep thinking of yesterdays problems (better cars, more LEO theatrics) and think better versions of that is "visionary." Its not. Its practically archaic. His flip-flopping on AI just cements his reputation as marketing entity who only exists to provide PR for his companies, some of which are just trying to solve yeterday's problems instead of todays.
1 comments
matthewmacleod 4107 days ago
I'll repeat - SpaceX literally has a goal of colonising Mars. The technology to get there requires small steps, and I have to think of that goal as pretty visionary.

You seem to be defining 'visionary' in a way I don't quite understand. What's 'visionary' about better public transport solutions? There are comprehensive public transport networks across the world, for example. We could definitely improve them, but it would hardly be visionary to do so.

link
drzaiusapelord 4107 days ago
>I'll repeat - SpaceX literally has a goal of colonising Mars.

This is like saying that Facebook's goal is to give the 3rd world free internet. Its lofty PR speak. SpaceX only exist as a COTS beneficiary from NASA welfare to build rockets to LEO. It is literally incapable of doing anything else as it doesnt have the customers (who is paying $200 billion for that on way ticket to Mars exactly)?

Again, this is the marketing sci-fi smokescream Musk is good at. He fanservices what manboys wants to hear and they delightfully repeat his marketing for him as he sells luxury electric cars with poor range to the 1% and does the occasional LEO lift.

Years from now there will be a lot research into Muskmania. Why people bought into such a self-promoter and how well marketing works, especially on people who think they're immune to it is going to spill a lot of ink. It won't matter, we'll just move onto the next guy who promises things we refuse to cast a critical eye towards.

link
matthewmacleod 4107 days ago
You are really overstating the degree to which 'Muskmania' exists.

It's pretty much just that people are excited about someone who appears to be genuinely interested in putting his money into some long-term, pie-in-the-sky projects. In a rather short-term-focused world, that's a refreshing thing. It's totally understandable that people want to hear about that, and certainly it looks pretty encouraging to me (free nationwide network of car chargers? re-usable rockets? Hyperloop? All pretty cool. Maybe not the salvation of humanity, but a nice change.)

However, I can see you clearly have an intense dislike of Musk for some reason, and won't be convinced by that. Probably better to leave it at that.

link