Let's talk about Elon Musk launching his Tesla into space | Hacker News Reader

Let's talk about Elon Musk launching his Tesla into space

planetary.org

9 pointsJoeDaDude7 comments

Some of those twitter comments make me shake my head... Seems like a case of sour grapes to me.

The car is a bit Dadaist. Some people think it's a waste to send a car up into space --sure, from some perspectives it might be. He could have sent compacted garbage instead.

But he's an entrepreneur and also a showman (among other things) and this excites people (in multiple dimensions).

The Twitter stuff though, well, I think we've learned that there is this insidious aspect where largely average people people (people who otherwise have contributed around average to humanity, let's say) will try to one up each other into virtue-signaling who can think more virtuously.

All of that [outrage] Tweeting itself probably generates more waste (CPU cycles, network traffic, phone battery consumption, etc) than will be "wasted" by sending this roadster into space. But at least they'll get to feel smug.

You just lost major "StCred" points for not having any clue about orders of magnitude.

>Tweeting itself probably generates more waste (CPU cycles, network traffic, phone battery consumption, etc) than will be "wasted" by sending this roadster into space. But at least they'll get to feel smug.

What a bizarre and highly inaccurate thing to say.

You're right, it is exaggerated. I accept that. I'm reacting to the unnecessary negativity for the sake of "looking better" while what's being tested has enormous implications for human achievement. So, sure, he's wasting a roadster. There is so much other waste in the world, even by these concerned people. To focus on this is being self-important and petty.

There is an episode of Star Trek Voyager (The 37's) where they come across a Red Ford Pickup floating through space.

I can't find a YouTube version of the floating part but here it is in the cargo bay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD39p7cVS9g

Would be great to VFX the Tesla into the episode.

Is sending a car into space wasteful? I suppose it is, but then so are most art projects and publicity stunts. We're wasting far more resources on much stupider things than a single car (with Space Oddity on and a Hitchhiker's Guide on board) in space.

It's a statement, and I can appreciate it.

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