Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts • Hacker News Board

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#61

Post by amanaplanacanal » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:18 PM UTC

CamperBob2 wrote: post #30

jmyeet wrote: post #18

It's wild to me how many conspiracy theories I've seen about how this is all staged, like it's a distraction or it's just Elon repairing his image and trying to rescue Tesla (whose sales are cratering). Psychologically, I think this is reflective of cognitive dissonance. The two conflicting ideas are that two people with much to lose would get in the dumbest fight imaginable and the myth of meritocracy [1]. You see,…

There's nothing invalid about meritocracy, but that's not what we have. We have some other kind of "ocracy": government by the lucky. I lack the Greek literacy to name the phenomenon correctly but that's what it would translate to in English. Neither Trump nor Musk has any business running anything more impactful than a used car lot or a corner Starbucks franchise, but their competition was permanently out to lunch i…

Meritocracy is like perfect communism, in that it's never been tried (and never will).

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#62

Post by krick » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:20 PM UTC

bgwalter wrote: post #45

There is so much theater and reality TV in the Trump administration that it's hard to conclude anything. Most of the theater is there to play to his MAGA base. First there was the (staged?) row with Zelensky. A couple of months later nothing has really changed. Now Musk left as planned (he couldn't stay longer than 130 days in that position). Time for another public row to show that Trump is tough on subsidies for el…

That's a really good take, and I personally missed that his departure was pre-planned all along (you are the first I saw to mention 130 days). But, again. "So, thank you, Elon, as you are leaving your role anyway, how about making a little performance for the public? Be my friend, post on Twitter that I didn't release Epstein files because I'm in them…"

…Really?

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#63

Post by mindslight » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:21 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #21

fullshark wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The public doesn't need elaborate schemes to be distracted, no one actually cares about that stuff. Republicans don't even really care about massive deficit spending in the budget which is out in the open.

Correct. Republicans voted to close the border and deport illegal aliens, not cut the budget deficit. The fiscally responsible republican party hasn’t existed since the 1920s. Trump has been consistent on this since 2016: he considers Medicare and Social Security untouchable. (The other republicans weren’t going to cut those either, but they were going to talk about reforming them.)

One has to love this chameleon of a Republican "platform" where values and ideals are championed to browbeat support for a particular action, but then written off as irrelevant when they're awkward for analyzing other actions - while other values and ideals are dragged out in support.

A week ago, "the debt" was really important. Now that Dear Leader has declared otherwise, apparently it's not. Right into the memory hole it goes.

The reality is there is no platform beyond anger (the base), and naked autocratic power (the politicians). Everything else is post-hoc rationalization.

(and just to clarify so I'm not written off as some progressive partisan: I'm a libertarian who was unaligned, understood and saw merit in both camps' ideals - until the Republican party turned its back on conservatism in favor of cult of personality reactionaryism)

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#64

Post by someothherguyy » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:22 PM UTC

the_af wrote: post #58

someothherguyy wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> an absolutely insane thing to do Is it? The statement itself doesn't seem to imply anything other than Musk seems to think he is in those files. Trump is in some of the JE "files" that were already released (flight logs). I think the cultural obsession with the unknown surrounding Jeffery Epstein informs what people infer from statements like that. There are many less-than-flattering ways that Trump could be associ…

But Musk is not implying any of those less-than-flattering things. Nobody knows what Musk actually thinks , but what he implied is pretty clear. He calls it "a bomb", and we all know what that means. And this matters, because Musk was a major campaign contributor and advisor to someone he has now implied to be a pedophile. What does this say about Musk ?

> we all know what that means

Personally, I don't jump to conclusions based on vague statements or evidence.

> What does this say about Musk?

Who knows? Musk has thin associations with Epstein and Maxwell as well, he is a proven liar, is at times visibly manic, and has been reported to drop relationships at a whim when challenged.

There could be plenty of things driving his behavior, but I don't think this informs anything new about his character.

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#65

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:24 PM UTC

hsnewman wrote: post #15

Neil44 wrote: post #2

This feud is just a pantomime for the crowd in my opinion. There's a bigger play here.

Both use deception and disruption to get to their goals. Now they both are at the receiving end. This will not end well for either.

[deleted]

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#66

Post by jmyeet » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:25 PM UTC

the_af wrote: post #58

someothherguyy wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> an absolutely insane thing to do Is it? The statement itself doesn't seem to imply anything other than Musk seems to think he is in those files. Trump is in some of the JE "files" that were already released (flight logs). I think the cultural obsession with the unknown surrounding Jeffery Epstein informs what people infer from statements like that. There are many less-than-flattering ways that Trump could be associ…

But Musk is not implying any of those less-than-flattering things. Nobody knows what Musk actually thinks , but what he implied is pretty clear. He calls it "a bomb", and we all know what that means. And this matters, because Musk was a major campaign contributor and advisor to someone he has now implied to be a pedophile. What does this say about Musk ?

As per usual, every accusation from a narcissist is a confession.

You know who absolutely is connected to Epstein? Elon's brother, Kimbal (allgedly) [1].

And while not related to Epstein but is just gross and in a similar ballpark, Elon's father Errol, had a stepdaughter from his wife's first marriage, Jana Bezuidenhout, who grew up in his house from age 4. He later went on to father two children with Jana (the first when she was 30, I believe) [2]. It's unclear when the relationship began. The only public statements are after Jana had a break-up.

[1]: https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epsteins-ex-girlfrie...

[2]: https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/31886...

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#67

Post by mindslight » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:28 PM UTC

the_af wrote: post #60

mindslight wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It was Elon who heavily implied that Trump was a pedophile, which is an absolutely insane thing to do. How is it insane to repeat what everyone already knows? The only novelty here is Musk himself saying it to his legions of followers, who would have been otherwise inclined to downplay the significance of it.

It's insane because of the implications: Musk was a major contributor to Trump's campaign, and a major advisor, and at the last minute he implies Trump is a pedophile? This means Musk knowingly contributed to get a pedophile elected! He couldn't have learned this at the last minute, he obviously held this ace in his sleeve. This already should "impeach" Musk (informally) in the eyes of his supporters: this is a guy w…

Wow, that is some amazing threading of the mental needle to focus blame on Musk. Doesn't this indictment apply to every single person who voted for Trump in 2024? Those pictures of Epstein, Trump, and Maxwell having themselves some grand old times have been popularly circulating for like a decade at this point.

If the indictment doesn't apply, then why can't Musk play the same card of "I didn't know/believe/accept" while he was supporting, but only recently has he "now come to know" ?

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#68

Post by the_af » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:31 PM UTC

someothherguyy wrote: post #64

the_af wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But Musk is not implying any of those less-than-flattering things. Nobody knows what Musk actually thinks , but what he implied is pretty clear. He calls it "a bomb", and we all know what that means. And this matters, because Musk was a major campaign contributor and advisor to someone he has now implied to be a pedophile. What does this say about Musk ?

> we all know what that means Personally, I don't jump to conclusions based on vague statements or evidence. > What does this say about Musk? Who knows? Musk has thin associations with Epstein and Maxwell as well, he is a proven liar, is at times visibly manic, and has been reported to drop relationships at a whim when challenged. There could be plenty of things driving his behavior, but I don't think this informs an…

You got me wrong: I'm not talking about the veracity of the accusation, I'm asking about what it says about Musk (regardless of its truth).

Especially in the eyes of Musk fans.

This guy is now effectively claiming he helped get someone elected president whom he knew was a pedophile. Musk claims Trump got elected thanks to his support (again, Musk claims this). He also claims Trump is a pedophile.

So what do Musk fans think about Musk (not Trump) in light of this?

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#69

Post by safety1st » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:32 PM UTC

the_af wrote: post #60

mindslight wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It was Elon who heavily implied that Trump was a pedophile, which is an absolutely insane thing to do. How is it insane to repeat what everyone already knows? The only novelty here is Musk himself saying it to his legions of followers, who would have been otherwise inclined to downplay the significance of it.

It's insane because of the implications: Musk was a major contributor to Trump's campaign, and a major advisor, and at the last minute he implies Trump is a pedophile? This means Musk knowingly contributed to get a pedophile elected! He couldn't have learned this at the last minute, he obviously held this ace in his sleeve. This already should "impeach" Musk (informally) in the eyes of his supporters: this is a guy w…

This isn't the first time Musk has baselessly accused someone of pedophilia on social media.

He did it randomly to some guy he didn't like in Thailand who saved some kids trapped in a cave. He's probably done it other times.

It's just an Elon Musk thing. Go totally unhinged on social media and defame people without evidence. He does it all the time.

The only guy more famous than Musk for saying absolute nonsense on social media, is Trump.

It is all fake, lame, and nonsense.

What's shocking is that the people running our country are behaving like absolute children. I feel like they wouldn't be able to hold down a job at my company because they're so unhinged, they would have been fired long ago, and yet here they are, billionaires, deciding the fate of 350M people.

Re: Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts

#70

Post by the_af » Sat, Jun 07, 2025, 3:34 PM UTC

safety1st wrote: post #69

the_af wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's insane because of the implications: Musk was a major contributor to Trump's campaign, and a major advisor, and at the last minute he implies Trump is a pedophile? This means Musk knowingly contributed to get a pedophile elected! He couldn't have learned this at the last minute, he obviously held this ace in his sleeve. This already should "impeach" Musk (informally) in the eyes of his supporters: this is a guy w…

This isn't the first time Musk has baselessly accused someone of pedophilia on social media. He did it randomly to some guy he didn't like in Thailand who saved some kids trapped in a cave. He's probably done it other times. It's just an Elon Musk thing. Go totally unhinged on social media and defame people without evidence. He does it all the time. The only guy more famous than Musk for saying absolute nonsense on s…

Yeah, I remember that other accusation.

To be clear, I'm not debating the veracity of the accusation, I'm asking what it says about Musk that he claims to have knowingly helped elect president someone he knew to be a pedophile.