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Comment by jay-barronville | Hacker News Reader

This is so silly. Reading comments like these, you’d think everyone on HN is a perfect human, without flaws and liked by everyone. I’m glad someone like Elon doesn’t spend his time reading stuff like this and instead spends most of his time kicking ass. In the long run, his results will continue to speak for him.

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Half the problem with Elon is that he does spend some of his time reading stuff like this and shitposting on the website formerly known as Twitter about it, instead of going to work or sitting on a beach reading something more useful.

Upon reflection this is also a problem with me, but I don't own SpaceX or Tesla, so fewer people are going to call me out on it.

That is the tiniest problem imaginable. If that's half the problem then is it even worth the gossip on HN?

Elon's propensity to say dumb shit and take a side in the culture war is not a tiny problem. It is devaluing the brand of every company he publicly contributes to, when the brand is the most valuable thing about many of them.

This is self-referential. It's a big problem because it's a big problem?

It's a big problem because it is devaluing the brand of his companies, which it is doing because investors and consumers aren't psychopathically logical actors and will refuse to buy from companies associated with men who breach their deeply held beliefs, which is why casually choosing a side is a dumb idea[0]. If you think this is self-referential, can you explain why?

[0] I will accept that choosing a side is fine if it aligns with your goals, but Elon's most ambitious goal appears to be going to Mars, and voicing his opinions about politics on Xwixxer appears to be hampering his efforts to achieve that goal

I mean, yes and no. In principle I agree with you but Musk very much does also spend his time reading stuff like this and getting into internet slap fights. Last time I checked he was tweeting 29.2 times a day, or roughly once every thirty minutes of wake time.

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