I really don't understand some people on HN's desire to shield Musk from any criticism.

When I started in tech as a career nearly 20 years ago I was really excited because I wanted to make the world a better place through technology.

In some ways Musk embodies the kind of person a younger me would have considered a hero. Now increasingly I question his propensity to make outlandish claims on all sorts of topics and then get defensive when he can't substantiate them. The worst outcome of this kind of behaviour is Theranos.

Musk and his companies have achieved a lot. He should focus more on that (and improving ethics in the manner in which they get their results), and less on his appearance.