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Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

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Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#81

Post by kmfrk »

photorized wrote: post #66
Bud wrote: post #8

Now that Jobs is gone, Elon is probably the coolest guy in the world. Can't wait to see what he comes up with in the next 10-20 years.

What I personally like about Elon - he has demonstrated that he gambles with his own money. This makes him fairly unique among serial entrepreneurs who love to raise massive rounds for their next projects even after a prior successful "exit", using lame excuses about discipline, supervision, reality checks, second opinion, etc.

I don't know if "gambles" is he right word - he's not a complete idiot after all. He puts his money where his mouth is, because he really think his projects are that important. He's taken every chance to prove that he believes in his visions, which is truly inspiring.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#82

Post by kmfrk »

philhippus wrote: post #67

I wonder if the Hyperloop is a maglev propulsion system contained within a vacuum tube? That would essentially be space travel - on earth. It would also allow for efficient use of energy, as long as the vacuum could be easily maintained.

That's only until the TSA gets involved.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#83

Post by shasta »

psbp wrote: post #63
nitrogen wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need acid to say things like that, just Star Trek.

Coming to this conclusion on acid is much more gripping and powerful than while watching star trek.

In other words, acid doesn't produce profound thoughts, it just makes you think your thoughts are profound.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#85

Post by luriel »

marcoamorales wrote: post #17
Bud wrote: post #8

Now that Jobs is gone, Elon is probably the coolest guy in the world. Can't wait to see what he comes up with in the next 10-20 years.

Jobs was never a cool guy in my book. For me, Steve Jobs was an egocentric and self-centered. Elon is a visionary, just read this quote: “I came to the conclusion that we should aspire to increase the scope and scale of human consciousness in order to better understand what questions to ask. Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment.” Steve isn't even near to the impact…

And unlike Jobs, Elon is behind much of the engineering and research his companies work on.

And also unlike Jobs, you can sense a certain humility in how Elon talks both about himself and about others.

When Neil Armstrong spoke against private space companies, Elon didn't come out and demonize him, I remember watching him cry on camera when asked about it, and said he wished he'd come to Space X to see the work they were doing.

You don't see Elon going "thermonuclear" on his competition and trying to bury them, even when they are huge mega-corporations like Boeing that used all their government connections and lobbying to try to bury him.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#86

Post by wololo »

pork wrote: post #19
marcoamorales wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jobs was never a cool guy in my book. For me, Steve Jobs was an egocentric and self-centered. Elon is a visionary, just read this quote: “I came to the conclusion that we should aspire to increase the scope and scale of human consciousness in order to better understand what questions to ask. Really, the only thing that makes sense is to strive for greater collective enlightenment.” Steve isn't even near to the impact…

What you can surmise from that is that they've both probably taken some acid in their lifetimes. If Jobs were alive and younger, he too would probably have been at Burning Man, place of many a revelation to the technologically inclined.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3099574

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#87

Post by xal »

AYBABTME wrote: post #58

I recently discovered who Elon Musk was and I'm always astonished to read about him, and realize that he seems to have all the dreams that I have; plus the money, the wisdom and the experience to accomplish them. I never had a model or a 'hero' in my life, but I find it hard to deny Elon this role. He's kind of imposing himself to me. For some parts, he pisses me off. He doing it removes me the feeling that my dreams…

Instead, go work for him. Go help make it all come true.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#89

Post by damoncali »

ericd wrote: post #80
enraged_camel wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>The overall point is that he isn't just dreaming, he is clearly spending a lot of money on doing as well. Furthermore, he is putting his money where his mouth is, by spending his own money.

And finally, the results have been fucking great. The Tesla Roadster is absolutely unbelievable, it's more fun than most roller coasters. According to the reviews in car magazine, the Model S is similarly unbelievable in similar and other ways (fantastic ride/handling, absurd acceleration, great cargo capacity, seating for 5 comfortably, 7 with kids). And SpaceX is demolishing the other space launch companies in thei…

Musk's reality distortion field puts Jobs' to shame.

He said he's going to send people to Mars in 15 years. Here is one question. How often do you get a chance to launch a rocket to Mars? (Hint: it's not often). How many opportunities to send test missions and support gear will there be in the next 15 years? How long will it take to build all that stuff? A year? Two years? More? You just lost another mission.

Have they figured out how to get food there? Have they figured out how to breathe there? Have they even designed the vehicle or even the thermal system (for one example out of many) required to keep a human at a survivable temperature for the trip? Have they done anything to solve the incredibly difficult problems that we face in this area? The results here are not 'fucking great', they're non-existant.

And the claim of a VTOL supersonic jet that is a breakthrough in efficiency over traditional jets? Where are the results? There are none. zero. It's fantasy.

The results have been great for Paypal, impressive for Tesla, and SpaceX has proven a great contribution to the existing aerospace industry. Great for Musk - he has accomplished much and history will remember him as an influential industrialist and visionary. But BS is BS, no matter who spews it.

EDIT: This thread has gotten lots of downvotes, but not one substantive comment on what Musk has done that would indicate that these stories are anything but puffery aimed at gaining publicity for his much more mundane (but still rather impressive) efforts. When is the first Mars launch again? What will be the payload? Tick tock - that deadline will be here before you know it. The time has past for vision - the timetable Musk has outlined requires action now. Action that is conspicuously absent.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#90

Post by jk4930 »

xal wrote: post #87
AYBABTME wrote: post #58

I recently discovered who Elon Musk was and I'm always astonished to read about him, and realize that he seems to have all the dreams that I have; plus the money, the wisdom and the experience to accomplish them. I never had a model or a 'hero' in my life, but I find it hard to deny Elon this role. He's kind of imposing himself to me. For some parts, he pisses me off. He doing it removes me the feeling that my dreams…

Instead, go work for him. Go help make it all come true.

Or do a complementary business. Something SpaceX et al. could need.
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