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Comment by hanklazard | Hacker News Reader

“Then there are other people reading who think he's the commensurate con-man”

Does anyone actually think this about Elon? Think what you will about the guy’s persona, but it seems undeniable that he is doing big things in the world (and outside of it).

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I think "con man" is a bit too strong, but he does have a history of making promises that either slip significantly (misses deadlines by years) or end up not playing out at all. There are various reasons I can imagine for that, from naive optimism, to marketing or wanting to motivate people.

Elon isn't a con man because he actually delivers but there is a streak running through him that doesn't seem to care if he deceives people as long as he reaches his higher goals.

He's not a 'nice guy' in my book.

There are definitely a lot of people who think this. Go on twitter and search for "TSLAQ". There are people deluding themselves that Tesla isn't actually shipping the number of cars they claim.

Maybe 7+ years ago you could try to make that claim and not be a laughing stock, but it's very odd at this point.

Tesla constantly lies about its numbers. Even this week there was news from Australia, about inflated number.

But there is proof of at least one instance of them claiming to deliver more cars than reality.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/tesla-australia-admits-it-sale...

There is no doubt Elon has haters that will loudly proclaim that everything he does is a scam. Just read any Youtube comment section where he appears.

Are they as prevalent as the people who think his feet can't touch the ground because they are too holy? I don't know, but I do know they exist.

OT: does this use of "commensurate" make sense, or did the author mean "consummate"?

commensurate: corresponding in size or degree; in proportion.

consummate: showing a high degree of skill and flair; complete or perfect.

Well, it did seem to be the popular perception before the first Tesla came out and the first SpaceX rocket landed again...

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