He's playing the 'long game' of integrating his business interests with the state, like literally anyone with wealth and power in this country, what a genius!
So is this thread about the valuation of Twitter or the issue of homelessness and the root causes of it? SanFran spends about $1.1B per year on the homeless which works out to about $57k per homeless person. I need to go back and check to see if that includes non-profits and their spending. If they are spending that much per person, why is the situation not getting any better?
Really not a debate. He has done more in a lifetime equivalent to many captains of industry. However, the likely reason for many people pushing back on him is he is in a unique position from a wealth and influence level to make a dent in the problem. However, he is frankly a eugenics believer and doesn’t view all human capacity as being equal. Perhaps he is right, but it is a dangerous place to stratify humanity and create untouchable classes.
Has anyone observed that we blame almost all of our interminable problems on "mental illness?" Gun violence, homelessness, poverty ... even political polarization. Weird!
Good reason why billionaires shouldnt exist, they get high on their own supply. I mean, why shouldn't he believe this given what society has allowed him to get away with? He doesnt have need for society anymore! Also, I cant really think of one useful contribution to humanity or civilization from Elon Musk. Seems debatable to me.
Even though it's been up since the election it wasn't Twitter that was responsible for the massive increase in Musk's net worth, it was much more so the increase in the stock price of Tesla and to a less extent SpaceX.
of course the our resident Che Guevara groupie would have absurd ice cold take. ……..Viva la revolucion.
He’s a the world’s boggest welfare queen, getting rich on tax payer funded car subsidies and government contracts.
I wouldn’t say “turns to shit” as Tesla and SpaceX are definitely legit companies, if not tech leaders. That happened under Musk’s leadership. But i would also say “revolutionized” is a stretch. Obviously he did turn Tesla into a leading product in its category, which helped make EV’s more mainstream. But I tend to think other players were going to fill that inevitable void and competition will continue in the future. I also don’t think I’ve ever used a Musk product. So he’s had exactly zero impact on the way I live.
The car purchaser gets the tax credit, not Tesla. Did all EV car sales increase because of the subsidy, no doubt. Wasn't that the purpose of the tax credit?
Funny. If Napier wins the NC next year does that mean he didn't make any bad calls over the last 3 years? I mean, at the macro level everything led him there.
His description of the issue is simply disgusting. Period full stop. Anyone with an alcoholic or addict in the family realizes that it is a disease. That is nearly every extended family in America since 10.2% of people in the US are alcoholics (before counting in other substances and other mental health issues). Mind boggling that anyone would think a homeless crack addict / alcoholic / whatever simply wants to wake up and spend their entire day chasing drugs or booze. Even more mind boggling to say it is a lack of will power or work ethic. Hear me out, but nobody works harder than someone that wakes up without a penny in their pockets and needs to find a way to $20 to get a substance so they don’t feel violently ill by noon. Their mental energy is just spent on something that helps society in no way whatsoever. Musk needs to focus on the CFPB because if anyone saw what that department does, without Congressional approval of their budget, it would be gone the next day. Rant over…
By himself, no. With his engineering team and talent, yes. He’s certainly monetized enhanced manufacturing process and efficiencies with SpaceX and Tesla. Tesla has generated many multi-millionaires in addition to Musk. We all would like altruistic business owners and leaders. There are many in this world. I think there is not enough media coverage on those who treat their employees well.
Tesla has received a massive amount of funding from the government outside of car purchase tax credits. In 2015, the Los Angeles Times reported that Musk's growing Tesla empire separately benefited from about $4.9 billion in government subsidies. That figure, according to the newspaper, was estimated using a compilation of grants, tax breaks, factory construction, discounted loans and environmental credits the company can't sell, as well as Tesla buyer tax credits and rebates. How Tesla and SpaceX benefit from government spending
Modern day wealth as a function of equity market valuation is very different than the Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and Carnegie days.
Come on, man, you know this thread is about "the least among us". What has a man worth $400+ BILLION done to help those people? Perhaps he has, quietly, but since doing things humbly and quietly don't seem to be his style, I doubt he's done little beyond belittling them. The man is a genius, but a sorry human if the quote in the OP is any indication of his character
Are there some people (maybe even a significant portion) that are homeless as a conscious decision? Sure. But Musk is wrong here. All you have to do is look at the battered women's shelters, need for Habitat for Humanity and other homeless initiatives out there. I'm working on one right now for homeless veterans.