this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2023
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Elon literally came out and said it was to delay/sabotage the train project
https://twitter.com/parismarx/status/1571628269555826688?lang=en
Yea, it wasn’t an ocean of stupid so much as Elon dangling the idea of a better alternative like the esca of an angler fish with the intention to gobble up the plans for the train project.
A) I applaud you for your masterful continuation of the pelagic theme of this discussion about Elon porpoisely allowing this project to flounder into Davy Jone's locker.
B) TIL that an anglerfish lure is called an esca and that a sufficiently literate person can seamlessly weave such an unusual word into this net of fishy discourse.. Bravo!
Never be surprised at what you may catch sight of in the ocean that is called The Internet
It's not even like trains are his white whale, he's just trying to break any alternative to cars before they can catch on
He's trying to break any alternative to cars faster than his own cars break
"Better" he hyped up a stupid economically non viable shit so his car company can stay relevant
Looks like the jokes sailed over your head on this one. /c/woosh
This isn't Elon's hyperloop. It's a company called Hyperloop One, predominately funded by Richard Branson.
Distinction without a difference
This gets misquoted all the time.
The purpose wasn't to delay the high speed rail, in favor of the hyperloop.
It was to delay/stop the high speed rail for something better as he didn't think the existing plan was high speed enough or would be cost effective and on time. Faster high speed trains were already being built and with all the delays this would (and has) faced, it'd be even further back by the time it was finished.
The difference there is pretty important, unless you fall into the conspiracy camp of the intent was to delay it so he could sell more cars and he actually doesn't want anything made.
But the goal was to stop it so they'd make it better than planned, not make a hyperloop.
Edit: and before people reply, it's fast enough, it doesn't need to be the best etc etc. That's fine if that's your stance. I'm just saying what was actually going on, and you don't have to agree with him.
Just because his lie was technically a slightly different one makes no matter, it was still a lie and it was still stupid that all those government regulators and legislators fell for it.
It's only a lie if you think his goal was to sell more cars.
Maybe it was or wasn't.
And you think Elon Musk, the man who owns a car making company, wasn't trying to sell more cars?
Well, one implies malice, and the other pushing for a better more futuristic future.
And he has a history of pushing for an idealistic futuristic future, with pushing spacex to figure out how to land rockets or how to make a profitable EV, so ya, I'm willing to say there's a likely chance he was honest in thinking it was a bad idea and California, the home of silicon valley and advanced technology could maybe come up with something better.
But we'll never really know.
I want some of what you are having, because you have a warped perception of reality.
Tom Nicholas has really good essay on this topic. Musk is not a futurism proponent. He is an apocalyptic visionaire. His view is not preparing a better future for all humans, instead he's about using tech for rich people surviving the end of the world whilst retaining their privileges. His futurism is fake.
Yeah, he probably wasn't, but that means there's a chance he was. The person you're replying to isn't saying he was or wasn't. You want to start an argument over that, this is all you. All you're doing, without proof that Musk absolutely is fake in this one instance, is just changing the percentage, but not making it certain.