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I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

businessinsider.com

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Re: I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

#31

Post by etblg »

danielodievich wrote: post #8

I think Elon Musk is trying to be Tony Stark. Tony Stark is a fun character to read about in comic books and see fly around in a movie but he'd be insufferable in the real world. I think he's going to lose his shirt at this dumb Twitter thing and maybe that will be a humble Tony Stark post-Thanos snap style rebirth...

In the comic books he's also an alcoholic. In the first movie he's a rich kid who inherited his wealth, is making a killing selling arms, and only changes his tune after the consequences of his actions lead him to being captured and nearly killed -- where he decides to change his tune and become a one man army, judge jury and executioner unbound by laws.

He's really a bizarre character to idolize in many ways, the real life analogue is a rich asshole who makes people around him's lives worse at the same rate he's making the world worse.

Re: I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

#32

Post by trentnix »

zero_shift wrote: post #25
Animats wrote: post #7

Is Musk bipolar?

No, but he is impulsive, careless, fraudulent and, when it comes to software, incompetent.

I find analysis of this type petty and stupid. It’s like arguing Doyle Brunson was just really lucky.

How much success, across multiple decades in so many different fields of business and technology, must someone acquire before meeting your standards?

I feel like I’m reading comments on Slashdot about Bill Gates in 1999. But in comparison, Elon Musk is wildly more successful than 1999 Bill Gates.

Re: I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

#33

Post by Waterluvian »

sandworm101 wrote: post #11
kenjackson wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one has a right to chew you out in a vicious way. As owner he has a right to fire you, but if I were a Twitter employee and he raised his voice to me, I'd be right in face at twice the volume. I'd have to get paid a lot more than a "competitive" salary to be viciously chewed out.

The guy has money and acolytes in high places. Quit if you want, but dont make an enemy of someone who can blacklist you. Just leave. Dont make a scene.

This sounds pragmatic. But it also sounds… I’m not sure but it set my alarm off.

Abusers and bullies need to be stood up to.

Re: I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

#34

Post by friendlyHornet »

sandworm101 wrote: post #11
kenjackson wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one has a right to chew you out in a vicious way. As owner he has a right to fire you, but if I were a Twitter employee and he raised his voice to me, I'd be right in face at twice the volume. I'd have to get paid a lot more than a "competitive" salary to be viciously chewed out.

The guy has money and acolytes in high places. Quit if you want, but dont make an enemy of someone who can blacklist you. Just leave. Dont make a scene.

This.

We're talking about a guy who publicly falsely accused a guy he was jealous of of being a pedo without evidence. Just imagine what he would do if he could get away with it without backlash

I wouldn't want to gez on his bad side because I think he has the power and pettiness to ruin my life

Re: I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

#35

Post by Madmallard »

kenjackson wrote: post #24
sandworm101 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The guy has money and acolytes in high places. Quit if you want, but dont make an enemy of someone who can blacklist you. Just leave. Dont make a scene.

That just feels like a cheap way to live. Maybe it's prudent, but I feel like I couldn't live with myself.

Acting out makes you look like a buffoon even if someone else started it.

Re: I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

#36

Post by akomtu »

woodruffw wrote: post #10
Animats wrote: post #7

Is Musk bipolar?

No, just a jackass. Edit: Yes, firing 3000 people with lives and families because you paid an obscene amount of money for a company that you didn’t actually want makes you a jackass.

It was the Twitter's board that forced Musk to buy it.

Re: I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

#37

Post by Alupis »

marricks wrote: post #28
Alupis wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We're all adults, don't like his style, don't work for him. It's that simple. Obviously enough people don't think his style is harsh or vicious, as described in the article, otherwise his numerous companies wouldn't have a line out the door of prospective employees. My take on the article was Musk drives you like a good highschool sports coach. Demanding, hard, unforgiving... and you either live up to the high expect…

> Musk drives you like a good highschool sports coach Which might be good to get results from traumatized teenagers for a few years but probably not adults. Also, child or adult, you shouldn’t have a tyrant able to abuse you at will until you quit.

You make it sound like you're a hostage or something at one of his companies.

Get a different job. Twitter/Musk doesn't owe you a thing. It's not Musk's responsibility to ensure you have food on your table... it's yours. Don't like your situation, move on.

If enough people found Musk intolerable then his companies would fail all on their own.

Re: I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

#38

Post by woodruffw »

Alupis wrote: post #30
woodruffw wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, just a jackass. Edit: Yes, firing 3000 people with lives and families because you paid an obscene amount of money for a company that you didn’t actually want makes you a jackass.

> Yes, firing 3000 people with lives and families Maybe we need to be more mature. Twitter was very clearly bloated. Laying off the bloat is pretty much status quo for major acquisitions. There is nothing unusual here. Are any of the other major tech companies laying off huge percentages of their workforce also "jackasses"???

It’s not “very clear” to this outsider that Twitter was bloated, not that the firings adhere to any particular “debloating” rationale.

Edit: The approach Musk has taken to layoffs also does not evoke maturity.

Re: I worked for Elon Musk in the early days of SpaceX

#39

Post by dclusin »

sandworm101 wrote: post #11
kenjackson wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No one has a right to chew you out in a vicious way. As owner he has a right to fire you, but if I were a Twitter employee and he raised his voice to me, I'd be right in face at twice the volume. I'd have to get paid a lot more than a "competitive" salary to be viciously chewed out.

The guy has money and acolytes in high places. Quit if you want, but dont make an enemy of someone who can blacklist you. Just leave. Dont make a scene.

I think the relevant aphorism is: you can be right or you can be happy, but usually not both.
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