I think Farrow's larger takeaway is that there are things that the US gov't has been weak on or dropped the ball altogether - rockets and reducing carbon emissions - and Musk stepped up to do something meaningful on both of those fronts - SpaceX and Tesla. Gov't weakness created a space for Musk to move in and a significant portion of some policy fronts are now somewhat at the whim of Musk, who after a fairly "normal" run in the 2010s has become an erratic figure in his own right, and the levers that the gov't can use to move policy are limited with respect to him.
In 2015, this wasn't a big deal, as Musk acted as a reasonable partner. In 2023, the situation is a lot trickier as Elon has shed whatever political neutrality he previously cultivated, and is acting a lot more erratic than he did eight years ago. Whether that's due to the stress dealing with Tesla short sellers a few years back, using ketamine to manage his mood, or dealing with the stress from the absolute clusterf*ck that has been his Twitter takeover, 2023 Elon is a trickier partner to manage than 2015 Elon was.
He is definitely a trickier partner. Musk plus Twitter/X is not a stabilizing influence in his life, and he should get out while he can for his mental health.
And FWIW, if anyone is looking for a BIG defense of Elon on the space front, Lori Garver, former Deputy Administrator at NASA, wrote a memoir / defense[1] of her time at NASA trying to fix a broken agency after the Columbia disaster, and Elon was a key part of breaking the chokehold legacy aerospace companies had over our space ambitions and blowing a hole in those cozy relationships that ultimately freed us from our dependency on Russian RD-180 rocket engines.
Definitely worth a read if these topics interest you.
Disclosure: I'm a former Musk retail investor (made a great return on TSLA between 2011 and the "pedo-guy" episode) and a current investor in companies competing with Musk (Rocket Lab and Astra).
He was weighed by Sherriff's employees. Don't know if was publicly reported but it probably is a public record. I'm guessing he weighs about 265 but it's not worth the trouble to find out.
I think Farrow's larger takeaway is that there are things that the US gov't has been weak on or dropped the ball altogether - rockets and reducing carbon emissions - and Musk stepped up to do something meaningful on both of those fronts - SpaceX and Tesla. Gov't weakness created a space for Musk to move in and a significant portion of some policy fronts are now somewhat at the whim of Musk, who after a fairly "normal" run in the 2010s has become an erratic figure in his own right, and the levers that the gov't can use to move policy are limited with respect to him.
In 2015, this wasn't a big deal, as Musk acted as a reasonable partner. In 2023, the situation is a lot trickier as Elon has shed whatever political neutrality he previously cultivated, and is acting a lot more erratic than he did eight years ago. Whether that's due to the stress dealing with Tesla short sellers a few years back, using ketamine to manage his mood, or dealing with the stress from the absolute clusterf*ck that has been his Twitter takeover, 2023 Elon is a trickier partner to manage than 2015 Elon was.
He is definitely a trickier partner. Musk plus Twitter/X is not a stabilizing influence in his life, and he should get out while he can for his mental health.
Also I noticed that Trump posted his mugshot on Twitter. His first tweet since January 8, 2021.
Probably gave X a decent boost with Wednesday's Tucker interview as well.
And FWIW, if anyone is looking for a BIG defense of Elon on the space front, Lori Garver, former Deputy Administrator at NASA, wrote a memoir / defense[1] of her time at NASA trying to fix a broken agency after the Columbia disaster, and Elon was a key part of breaking the chokehold legacy aerospace companies had over our space ambitions and blowing a hole in those cozy relationships that ultimately freed us from our dependency on Russian RD-180 rocket engines.
Definitely worth a read if these topics interest you.
[1] https://www.space.com/escaping-gravity-nasa-lori-garver-space-book
Disclosure: I'm a former Musk retail investor (made a great return on TSLA between 2011 and the "pedo-guy" episode) and a current investor in companies competing with Musk (Rocket Lab and Astra).
What I don't get: why did Trump get such a large motorcade? Who signed off on that spectacle?
And: why was he allowed to self report his height and weight?
More special treatment.
Yeah when I saw the weight 215 I laughed and said if he’s 215 I weigh 100lbs.
Two-tiered justice system.
He was weighed by Sherriff's employees. Don't know if was publicly reported but it probably is a public record. I'm guessing he weighs about 265 but it's not worth the trouble to find out.
They allowed him and his team to self-report ahead of time. Dunno if they weighed him otherwise.