By: Shawn Alli
Posted on Steemit: September 12, 2018
The question of who is more unstable, Elon Musk or US President Trump...is anyone’s guess. Leaning conservative I like most of Trump’s policies. But that doesn’t mean that I or the American public who voted him into office, actually like him as a person.
I’ll just come out and say it.
I’ve never seen a more unstable president in my short existence on this planet. Watching the Trump administration is like watching a bratty child having a temper tantrum but still allowed to wield significant power over others.
Trump’s character is indefensible. The amount of resignations and firings in the executive office is appalling. If someone could be kicked out of the white house for disgraceful conduct, President Trump would fit the bill. Even staunch conservatives/Republicans would agree with that statement (even if they won’t admit it publicly, out of fear or loyalty).
Again, I support Trump’s hard line policies on immigration, trade, and abortion (and I’m a visible minority).
The separation of art from the artist is always debatable.
But the man himself (Trump) is a train wreck. I ask people who enjoy talking about politics how this man acquired so much power prior to running for president. They mention his parents’ money and tv shows, but even that isn’t enough to explain his rise to power. Lots of people have family money and popularity from tv shows and didn’t have the kind of power that Trump had prior to his presidential nomination.
Most of his casino deals were junk. The only thing that kept him in power was his licensing deals and real estate deals. That’s it. But with his crybaby type of character, how the fuck did he negotiate all those deals? That is the mystery.
Just so we’re clear, if Trump was a visible minority, no amount of licensing deals, real estate deals, or tv shows would be enough to get elected as President and have the kind of popularity that Trump has today.
Of course, his popularity is understandable. Most of the American public was completely disenfranchised with the previous Obama administration. The healthcare boondoogle, the shilling to Big Pharma and Big Oil, the continued occupation of Middle Eastern countries. And don’t forget, the Occupy Movement and the Black Lives Matter movement was created during Obama’s terms. That means that he failed to address the issues and regular people decided to take action.
But enough about Trump. Let’s swing to the other side and try to pick up the pieces of the man called Elon Musk whose star is rapidly fading from burnout coupled with massive losses from his numerous ventures, top executives jumping ship, and numerous lawsuits.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/27/business/tesla-elon-musk.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45031982
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/utah-driver-sues-tesla-after-crashing-autopilot-mode-n906831
http://fortune.com/2018/05/14/elon-musk-tesla-executives-leaving-short-sellers/
While the pressures are always high for visionaries, many visionaries actually achieve their goals.
Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) did it.
Steve Jobs (Apple) did it.
Bill Gates (Microsoft) did it.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google) did it.
Howard Schultz (Starbucks) did it.
Sam Walton (Walmart) did it.
Ray Kroc (McDonalds) did it.
Jeff Bezos (Amazon) did it.
So the question remains. Why can’t Elon Musk do it? Why can’t he succeed in his vision of a fossil free future when he has the complete support of the progressive movement?
Like Trump, the problem isn’t his vision, it’s his character. Generally speaking, visionaries have a difficult time delegating actions/processes to other people (though Trump has no problem in this area).
While brilliant in their vision of the world, Trump and Musk’s character is below par in how they interact and view other people. And both view other people in general as hindrances to success. Both don’t know how to be part of/take care of a loving family. Both don’t know how to deal with people in a respectful manner. Both see people as slaves that should do as they’re told b/c rich white people know better than everyone.
If Musk or Trump ever received divine power, they would most likely implant nanotech into people’s brain and turn them into happy slaves that do as they’re told.
Of course, none of this matters to Musk’s cult followers. The cult of Elon Musk is powerfully disturbing. People see him as the greatest thing since sliced bread. In reality, his accomplishments as of September 2018 is minuscule. At best, some actions are significant but nothing to write home about.
People actively glorify Elon Musk when I mention his name and I try to bring them down to Earth. They start off with his great success with Paypal. Sorry, but Peter Thiel deserves the credit for Paypal, not Musk. Musk bought X.com and merged it with Thiel’s Confinity. A few months after the merger he was replaced as CEO by Thiel.
“Oh, but he created Solar City.” Sorry, but solar power in the past and present is still an intermittent source of energy with low absorption rates. Solar City was burning so much money that Musk had to acquire it otherwise it would have gone bankrupt.
“Oh but he created the concept of the hyperloop.” Sorry, but the concept of hyperloop is still just that, a concept. As of September 2018 there are no commercial applications of the technology. And if you talk to a physicist or engineer, the problems are numerous: maintaining a near vacuum state, pressure against the steel rails, centrifugal forces and such.
While these problems are obstacles to be overcome, at what cost should we do it? Instead of business executives and cargo going 700 mph, maybe creating a free, infinite, and safe source of energy for people around the world would be a more prudent first step. Maybe creating desalination water plants for everyone in the world should take priority.
The most significant success story for Musk is Space X. Creating reusable rockets is a breakthrough and Musk deserves recognition for that. However, Space X is just another private aerospace company bidding on government contracts. And reusable rockets are still based on oil as fuel. Fuel based technology was invented in the 1880s. Sending the first rocket into space occurred almost 75 years ago. We still haven’t pioneered a new method for space travel but vasimr technology is a possible solution.
https://steemit.com/space/@shawnalli/mars-one-vs-nasa-innovation-vs-the-19th-century
“Oh, but he created the electric car.” No, the electric car was created in the 1830s and popularized in the 1870s-90s. But the genius visionary Henry Ford introduced the Model T and the mass production process was born. Electric cars are more than 150 years old. Yes, Mush has popularized it and changed out the batteries, but it can barely compete with the best fuel efficient gasoline/diesel car.
“Oh, but electric cars are better for the environment.” Sorry, but that’s a relative statement. Regions that have long winters, cloudy days, and long stretches of road can’t utilize electric cars and solar power to its full (but still limited) potential. In other areas, electricity is being generated by nuclear power or natural gas. Not exactly environmentally friendly. And while hydroelectricity still has room to grow, the vision and infrastructure is lacking.
Of course, none of this takes humanity’s insatiable desire for electricity into account.
Like it or not, both Trump and Musk are embarrassments to humanity and have little worth in carving humanity’s destiny. In reality, it’s the average person and how they treat the most vulnerable that are significant to humanity moving forward in its development.
Technology is not, and never will be the answer to humanity’s problems.
On a macro level, only a compassionate heart is capable of moving humanity forward.