Elon Musk dominates space launch. Rivals are calling foul on SpaceX | Hacker News Reader

Elon Musk dominates space launch. Rivals are calling foul on SpaceX

nytimes.com

12 pointsTMWNN14 comments

It's not like SpaceX has protected itself with a patent moat. This is a "them" problem, not a "him" problem.

So, anticompetitive behavior is illegal… “Every single funding round that was done once we started to become a larger company, and every single customer deal we have signed, has been followed with a swift and large number of outreach calls from SpaceX to all of those entities berating them for doing things with us”

Gosh. They berated them? How terrible! Next you'll tell me they did something dastardly like scowling at them.

When "the richest man in the world," who also happens to personally control the largest tastemaker media platform berates you.. it might be a thing to worry about.

Or, you just need to grow a pair. "Hurting your feelings" is not a legally actionable here, I think.

What does this mean in actual planning/behavior?

It means that business is tough, that expressing displeasure means nothing. This is the real world, not kindergarten.

If SpaceX did something real, or threatened to do something real, you might have a case. And I suspect the "berating" part is overstated as well.

> largest tastemaker media platform

You are vastly overrating twitter.

SpaceX, a company which Musk actually founded is a crazy success. I am a huge fan of SpaceX.

At the same time, this is my main issue as a US citizen, patriot, and supporter of democracy:

> He has nurtured relationships with right-wing leaders around the world. And he has publicly stated that Russia will not lose its war against Ukraine, endorsing an argument that the United States should not have provided Kyiv with additional military assistance.

> “Elon Musk’s rhetoric and behavior undermines his credibility and reliability on a global scale,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Democrat of New Hampshire, who this spring questioned Pentagon officials about Mr. Musk. “Commercial services, including SpaceX, that do business with the U.S. government need to be thoroughly vetted to ensure that the U.S. military can depend on them in times of crisis.”

This is a big problem in an industry where NatSec is a major issue. This is a huge Musk foot gun.

We should be throwing money and SpaceX monopoly protections at Rocket Lab. Peter Beck is more rocket-smart than Musk. He is a combo of Musk and Tom Mueller, and appears to be much less foot gun prone than Musk.

> This is a big problem in an industry where NatSec is a major issue. This is a huge Musk foot gun.

All Ukrainians ought to be on their knees thanking God that Musk was born. Starlink is that vital to Ukraine, and he had zero obligation to provide it (let alone for free) when the Ukrainian government asked for his help early in the war. The US-funded Starlink subscriptions and Starshield have only increased the value Musk's enterprise provides to Ukraine, of course, but it all began for free.

Let me repeat: Zero obligation. Musk is not Ukrainian. The United States is, contrary to what you and many Redditors seem to believe, not actually at war with Russia. Ukraine is not a member of NATO or EU. He can say whatever he wants whenever he wants about anything—including which side he thinks is winning in a war that, again, the US is not fighting in—thanks to freedoms that exist in the US but not in Russia (or Ukraine). Musk is a lot more entitled to do so than you or me or every bleater on Reddit whose collective actions have saved fewer Ukrainian lives than the results of Musk's capital and innovation and risk-taking.

he did a bait and switch on the usa gov just like your phone company do with poor people all the time. have at low initial subscription cost for the first month then pointed out at auto renewal the real astronomical price, and is now swimming in money.

"had no obligation" give me a break. this was the ideal profit scenario

All Ukrainians ought to be on their knees

The one thing that Musk, Putin, and the above commenter all seem to agree on.

It's one thing to defend Musk's unilateral decision to provide Starlink early in the war. But another matter entirely (and profoundly obnoxious in fact) to presume that one knows enough to tell the Ukrainians (even rhretorically) what they should think or do in regard to the situation that they're facing.

I wonder whether Putin is directly blackmailing Musk with Russia's satellite killer weapons.

Not much is needed to make the whole Starlink orbit unusable for a few years.

https://archive.ph/1A1mv

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