Just want to say that the amount of hate Elon gets on HN is really interesting.
It would be just as correct to say that Elon Musk's vision wouldn't go anywhere without his employees' vision and talents, many of which likely exceed his own in terms of technical or intellectual skill.
Obviously, he has his place, and credit where credit is due, but I think we've gotten a bit too obsessed with the cult of personality and "great man" model of thinking that creeps into history, business and science.
People are hating on Tesla because they don’t like Elon. A company that will literally benefit everyone, directly or indirectly.
It’s a human flaw, it seems.
No one has put more blood sweat and tears into Tesla than Musk.
I'm not one of the people negatively commenting but I personally think one's character is significantly more important than ones accomplishments and he doesn't really seem like a good person.
I admire that he is trying to do something about global warming. Nevertheless he seems like he's let his fame (or lack of sleep..) get to his head and I strongly disagree with the marketing of autopilot.
I understand why people would admire him though. He's done some amazing things and consistently.
As others have said, his accusing of someone to be pedophile is very low. I strongly disagree with the marketing and, in my humble opinion, reckless release of Autopilot.
I also really don't like how he handled the issue with the SEC. Whether he intended to or not, he did misled investors with his tweets about having funding secured and instead of just admitting he made a mistake acted like he could do no wrong. He's actually surprisingly similar to Trump in his inability to take criticism with grace.
Again, I don't think he's an evil person but my impression is that he's let his wealth and fame get to his head. I can't say I blame him, people idolize him like he's the second coming of Jesus. I'm sure that kind of admiration isn't healthy for anyone and I am sure it'd mess me up too.
He's very much like a real life Tony Stark, and I suppose a part of me resents that he has so much admiration. It has nothing to do with him but I hate the idea that people seem to place success above everything else, when that's really not what should be important and I'd argue that emphasis on success probably leads to a lot of unhappiness in modern society. But I digress.
What I like the most about the guy is that he shows that he’s pretty much a human like anyone else.