i don't really know if we are disagreeing all that much. irrelevant was the wrong word to use
Im not like saying he's like a benevolent force.
i would literally love it if the government subsidized tunnelling fibre to my house and put starlink out of business.
tbh I think it's stupid that we don't.
all im saying is other rational economic actors had access to basically the same set of information
and they decided either
a. do nothing.
b. charge me 150 bucks a month for dial up internet speeds.
to me as an end user, government subsidy doesn't diminish the quality of life upgrade.
so pointing just seems like pointing out the obvious.
**** government is out her subsidizing 5G internet as the future of rural broadband, and that has so far been total dud.
it's just created a new conspiracy for weirdos to freak out about.
-From their point of view, it is completely rational.
Incumbent companies, especially publicly traded one doesn't like to invest in tech they feel can cannibalize products they already have. If they can profit maximize by serving fewer customers in a market they will. This oftentimes bits them in the ***, but it is natural for people/businesses to be risk-averse and not think that long term.
The most famous example of this was how phone companies could have invented the internet and come upon one of the biggest technological advancements in history. But they fear that such an invention will lead to market entry from other firms into their phone business, using the internet, and cut into their profits.
The government had to subsidize a lot of the R&D.
New companies don't have that issue. They see unserved customers were eager to enter after they see the government invest in something.
And I feel that is where Musk's really shines. He is really good at identifying technological problems and trying to address that. Comes at things as an engineer, trying to build a good to meet the need of customers other firms are unwilling to do.
-But Elon is not immune to falling into the same thinking that other firms fall into
Look at Hyperloop, look at how an asinine idea is built on identifying a real problem. High-speed ground transportation is very needed in America. The easy solution is building bullet trains.
Besides all the issues with getting them built (the cost be the main thing) it is clearly the best idea.
Instead, Elon wants people to get into pods so they can be shot through a tube and the speed of a bullet.
-The Boring company's idea is another example. Elon correctly identifies the problem with the lack of tunnels under cities. Tunnels that could elevate road congestion.
So instead of making actual usual tunnels, you can have trains or even express busses drive through (the Boring Company is specifically against buses being put in the tunnels they want to put in Vegas). This fool wanted people to drive their cars onto moving platforms and then have cars move on motorized platforms
Mans built a tunnel near the Vegas convention center and it is one of the most unimpressive things ever. They had to abandon the moving platforms, now it is just someone driving you in a Tesla. It is Uber with exclusive roads.
And of course, Elon will not be a big pusher to mass and public transportation projects that are actually functional because his is selling people cars, mass transit hurts his bottom line so he doesn't want to go down that path, and cannibalize his very profitable business.
And that's what motivates all his hypocrisy on government subsidies. He is all for it once it benefits him, but against it when he sees them as a threat to his market power. He is a plain ole rent-seeking economic actor just like the CEOs of all the companies he ****s on for not being forward-thinking enough. Elon doesn't want the next Elon to exist.
All of Elon's brilliance is when he can act as the entrant to the market. Pointing out the deficiencies and looking to solve them. Outside of that lane, his hypocrisy and self-serving nature gets exposed really quickly. Just like the people would not go all-in on Starlink
I would agree that to the consumer, to the end-user, all that matters is quality of life improvement. But once the conversation expands to crediting Elon for it, I feel there should be space to discuss his decision in a broader context.
But generally, I think we agree on a lot about Elon. While falling on either side of the like-dislike line
Honest if he would treat his workers with some damn respect I would not dislike the dude so much. That is really inexcusable to me
