It's very difficult to say that what Krzanich did was related to Spectre/Meltdown given what we now know was going on. It seems a lot more likely he was lining up his position to resign.

Elon Musk has an obvious technical competence that's very appealing to those who appreciate those skill sets. It's like Paul Graham -- when you listen to him speak, he's mostly soft-spoken and measured (I have no explanation for Musk's Twitter, which seems much more... hyperbolic). It's clear to me this isn't charisma exactly -- he doesn't strike me as charming, just like he cares a lot about understanding his businesses in tremendous detail.

You're absolutely right that this shouldn't matter. But since charisma _does_ matter, the SEC just has to paint him as an angry anorak trying to punish short sellers. I don't think that picture is hard to paint (I can't see into his mind, so obviously I have no idea if it has even the smallest element of truth).

Justice was never blind, but I do find it disturbing we've lost all pretense.