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Elon Musk on How to Build the Future

(www.ycombinator.com)
1106 points sama | 3 comments | 15 Sep 16 18:05 UTC | HN request time: 0.49s | source
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djcooley ◴[15 Sep 16 21:09 UTC] No.12509856[source]▶
I have all the respect in the world for what Mr. Musk has accomplished, but it has come at an amazing cost to the people around him.

He is worshiped from afar but reviled by many the closer you get to his inner circle. Go read "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future."

The question I always ask myself with the people who move mountains is what cost did that progress come at? What would someone's spouse, kids, friends, etc. say about the person?

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nichochar ◴[15 Sep 16 22:27 UTC] No.12510363[source]▶
This is true throughout history. Publicly selfless heroes (Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Elon Musk) often have to "sacrifice" (is it conscious?) their private selves, to be able to be the incarnation of what their work is.

It bothers a lot of people, personally I am fine with it and would make the same decision. I think it's a personality thing.

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1. kareemsabri ◴[15 Sep 16 22:33 UTC] No.12510410[source]▶
Elon Musk is worth $12B. He's a businessman. He lives in a giant mansion. Ghandi owned like 5 things. I'm not knocking Musk, but this is a strange interpretation of a very successful capitalist.
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2. unexistance ◴[15 Sep 16 23:20 UTC] No.12510676[source]▶
I'd say impactful, since apparently success only means rich to some people :D
3. Calist0 ◴[16 Sep 16 04:10 UTC] No.12511761[source]▶
More like he lives at work. I'm sure his giant mansion means very little to him.