Just like the Ballmer peak, i think there is an optimal peak for a CEO to be visible, Elon is way beyond that peak and full into "drunk" territory.
I thought he had a VERY short-lived period where he was popular in the media and everyone was raving about him (Developers, Developers, Developers - like 1 or 2 years after XP), and then after that he was a punching bag for like a decade.
Is this wrong?
While late-Gates Microsoft was the king of whole technology industry, by late Ballmer it was one of many players. While they haven't decayed into "enterprise" obscurity like IBM, they weren't driving the industry then.
They missed several "trends" like mobile phones, and only thanks to Nadella they've caught up in cloud with Azure.
Balmer was responsible for the One Microsoft reorganization which Nadella finished executing.
https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/11/4514160/steve-ballmers-re...
https://www.theverge.com/2013/7/11/4486730/microsoft-reorgan...
I dont think Ballmer get's enough credit for reflecting on his tenure, looking at what didnt work, and blowing it up for the future on his way out the door.
We fixed global warming?
Stop looking at the showmanship and look at the crude numbers.
Thanks in part to Elon Musk.
You honestly can't try and equate this with Elon almost single handedly bring the EV car market to the planet.
It either shows you are being disingenuous at best or ignorant in the subject matter at worse.
He's not emblematic of US problems but theres a trajectory that lines up with some of the political discord timeline wise and his change in perspectives going from center left to center right.
A great example of how far gone the misinformation campaign already is.
If he now regrets that, it’s his own fault.
> The number is hardly new: Twitter has been giving the same estimate for years, even though critics and experts have said they believe the company is lowballing the actual number of such accounts.
If Musk wanted the deal contingent on this very specific data point, he should've said so before he committed to the $1B cancellation fee and made it part of that agreement.
> "Musk tweeted on Tuesday that Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal has refused to show proof for his company's estimate and that the deal cannot move forward until he does. Twitter's proxy statement shows that in the run-up to the deal Musk made no effort to get information about the issue. "Mr. Musk did not ask to enter into a confidentiality agreement or seek from Twitter any non-public info regarding Twitter," Twitter said in its proxy statement."
https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/twitter-committed-elon...
There's a reason so many refer to him on a first-name basis that they don't with other tech CEOs, and it's not because of media coverage. It's because of his own cult of personality that makes his fans think he's one of them and overlook the countless shortfalls in his visions for the future.
Twitter is where he plays around, but his thoughtful personality comes through face to face in talks and interviews. That's what shows how Elon got to where he is. No other CEO talks with the clarity like he does (ironically in a stuttering fashion).
It's not because of a "cult". It's because of his insight into things I had never put that much thought into. He's broken a lot of my own assumptions about how things are supposed to work. He's literally changed how I think as an engineer.
Not saying it’s what you’re doing, but your comment reminded me of people like that.
And yes in his interviews of late he's been a quite clear communicator. Here's a couple within the last month or so that are quite good:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRvf00NooN8
Every year, Elon makes over 100 flights using private aircraft, which offsets the emissions savings of over 100k EVs. Most of these flights are for pleasure, not business.
"Fixing" global warming is just a marketing ploy for Musk, since he seems to be doing an incredible job of personally trying to make it worse. He doesn't get to freeride on the labor of others on this.
You deny that your admiration for Elon Musk is because of a "cult," but this sounds very cult-like. Have you considered that Elon Musk is not the only person who can make you a better engineer?
Seek help. I mean it. This is not healthy. You do not know him, you are infatuated with aspects of his public persona.
He's visible because of his neurosis. He doesn't do it to make money. He's never admitted to it, but it's been hinted at in the past that he also has some kind of bipolar condition as well.
Sure, the media reports on him a lot, but it’s because he gives them endless stuff to report on. He’s made himself the face of every company he owns, and gives ostentatious presentations of products that are often totally bananas (like the CyberTruck). He posts 2011-era memes on Twitter then randomly decides to talk about buying companies or taking companies private while tweeting questions about business strategy at their CEOs. He dated a pop star and they gave their child a name that sounds like a galaxy cluster.
For better or for worse, Elon’s intense visibility is his own doing, and the press is just along for the ride.