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Comment by wuest | Hacker News Reader

> I'm not sure what Musk is trying to accomplish at this point, his "spin" is transparent and it feels condescending.

Musk has apparently decided after Top Gear that negative press is going to be an issue which he will fight to the death. It certainly feels like he's digging his way out of this particular PR hole.

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> he's digging his way out of this particular PR hole

Out of? Or into?

I have to admit I like Musk a lot more when he keeps his mouth shut. With this and his ludicrous Boeing grandstanding, he is sounding less like a mature, visionary CEO with every word he says.

Yeah, Musk has done some great things, but he seems the sort of person best admired from a distance with some vaseline on the lens... looking too closely reveals something rather less admirable.

[e.g. his "I'm the alpha in this relationship" quote,† at his wedding... I mean, that's downright creepy...]

† http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/relationship-issues/mill...

[note: I originally cited http://www.esquire.com/features/americans-2012/elon-musk-int... as a source for the quote, and some replies refer to it, not the Marie Claire op-ed (which is a more direct source).]

My god, that journalist should write for soap operas. Based on my firsthand experience with journalists, I would not be at all surprised to learn that what you quoted was something reported second hand, was said ironically, taken out of context, etc. Suggesting equivalence between the nature of his romantic relationships and the nature of the SpaceX relationship with NASA? Methinks the pendulum has swung a bit far.

> Based on my firsthand experience with journalists, I would not be at all surprised to learn that what you quoted was something reported second hand, was said ironically, taken out of context, etc.

Journalists shouldn't get a free pass simply by virtue of their profession, but neither should they be vilified for it.

I am not particularly familiar with this issue, but a google search turned up the following op-ed, written by Musk's ex-wife [1] :

    Still, there were warning signs. As we danced at our 
    wedding reception, Elon told me, "I am the alpha in this 
    relationship." I shrugged it off, just as I would later
    shrug off signing the postnuptial agreement, but as time 
    went on, I learned that he was serious. He had grown up 
    in the male-dominated culture of South Africa, and the 
    will to compete and dominate that made him so successful 
    in business did not magically shut off when he came 
    home. This, and the vast economic imbalance between us, 
    meant that in the months following our wedding, a 
    certain dynamic began to take hold. Elon's judgment 
    overruled mine, and he was constantly remarking on the 
    ways he found me lacking. 

    "I am your wife," I told him repeatedly, "not your employee."

    "If you were my employee," he said just as often, "I would fire you."

[1] http://www.marieclaire.com/sex-love/relationship-issues/mill...

The worst thing about that quote is the sense that it will make Elon Musk even more of a role model to the thousand or so insecure boys who seem to show up to every internet discussion about gender roles. Mr. Musk may be admirable in the ad astra per aspera sense, but that doesn't mean he is an earthly saint and shouldn't be called on his BS from time to time.

Aping your heroes worst qualities is not good for you or your hero.

Thanks, that's a better citation for this quote; I've changed my comment to use it.

I'm criticizing the journalist for writing drivel. I am perfectly willing to believe Elon is a jackass in his personal life. But does any of this have a bearing on the matter at hand?

>But does any of this have a bearing on the matter at hand?

Yes. You made incorrect assumptions about the source of the quote.

Regardless of whether she [Musk's ex wife] may be biased, it's certainly a first hand account of the event in question.

Marie Claire? Really? Even US Magazine would be a step up from that rag.

It's an op-ed, and the author is Musk's wife [first hand account of the quote in question]. The publication is irrelevant in this context.

> Out of? Or into?

I'd argue into. He appears to think he's digging his way out.

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