Did Elon Musk's son mouth to Trump to "STFU", & is Musk using his son as a shield?

[CreationNat1on]

Yesterday's press conference was very strange, Musk looked exhausted, threatened and stressed, unprofessional and out of his depth. I found it strange that his young son was with him, and found it odd that Musk placed the little boy on his shoulders mid press conference.

Why subject the little boy to an adult press conference? It's clearly a stressful, adult environment. Is the child an emotional support or shield for Musk?

I think Elon is starting to crack, and the son is being used as an emotional support person for the fragile parent.

Did the little boy, mouth to Trump, "Shut the fuck up"? If he did, surely Trump will start putting guardrails in place with Musk.

Who is the other parent of that child, why is he being paraded about, and placed in stressful situations, which are inappropriate for a child?

In all seriousness, I highly recommend this podcast on him

No, it's the history that can be proven by numerous witness accounts, paper trails etc. His universities have confirmed his attendance. The full details of his companies including who built them and how much they were sold for are obviously easily proven. The people who built them with him, who actually knew him and worked with him - and chose to merge companies with him, and appoint him CEO - attest to his contributions to those companies - why on earth would they give him credit where it wasn't due?! And why on earth do you think you know better than the likes of Peter Thiel, David Sacks etc?!! His own engineers have repeatedly said he is a very talented engineer who is very involved in the engineering process at both SpaceX and Tesla and that he knows every single detail of all of his products. He also used to do many in depth videos about the technology, and even live AMAs where he showed an extremely thorough understanding of the technology. This would have been before he became so famous; as I said, I have no idea how involved he still is, but he was certainly extremely hands-on in the early days. Did he build every product single-handedly? No, of course not. But neither did anyone else - that's not how engineering works... engineers work as a team to come up with solutions, and he has a vast talent for putting together astonishingly capable teams and motivating them to do the impossible. Which is a far rarer skill than pure engineering.

Oh, and of course - the famous 'family wealth'! His dad wasn't a Saudi prince, he was an engineer. The family was pretty solidly middle-class, although it seems he didn't get much from his father when he was first starting out; there are plenty of pictures of when the family (other than the dad) moved to Canada, and unless they were cos-playing poverty, they certainly didn't seem to be living in luxury. His mother was also demonstrably working as a dietician. It's also pretty certain that the money his dad gave him and his brother to start Zip2 (the first company) was fairly limited as they lived in their office and had to shower at the local gym. As claimed not just by him, but also by the people that knew him then - including his ex-wife.

I always think nowadays we know that genius is just an old fashioned word for autistic. Musk being being the obvious example.

He's not actually diagnosed. He self-diagnosed as having "Aspergers", of course the "genius" kind as he or some would think.

So you say I should feel silly for not agreeing musk is a genius and give me a lecture on how super intelligent and famous he is, then post this?

ok then.

i admit I don’t know the man but for ffs he called a diver rescuing those Thai boys a paedophile. I don’t care what university he went to (Stanford- what, like it’s hard*- to paraphrase- the 17th ranked uni in the US? Surely if he’s that bright he’d have been top 10 at least) but the man sounds like an idiot. Plus some of the crap he comes out with recently, really, that sounds like an intelligent person?

I wouldn't have thought calling him super famous would automatically make me a fan, surely it's just fact? I'm not sure I'd describe myself as a particular fan, I have just been following him for a long time as I'm very interested in his companies, particularly Space X. I do find him a fascinating character, though not necessarily in a good way. And I do get really annoyed at how so many people just make up random crap about him because they don't like him - there's so much true stuff about him one can vehemently criticise after all!

Obama awarded Tesla the loan because he believed it was a good company doing an important thing; he was right, just because the CEO turned out to be a knob it doesn't stop that being true. Tesla really did revolutionise the car market and make people start to really think about sustainable transport. I think the worst thing about the new Musk is the damage he's doing to his own projects. Sustainable transport is important, affordable space travel is important, a secure and reliable satellite network is important, brain implants that help paraplegics communicate are important... But now people are turning against all that because he behaves like a dick. I consider that something true that one can absolutely criticise him for, loudly and viciously.

*Apologies for university mix-up - I got the state right! Believe it or not, I've never even read a biography of him. I've just read articles and watched videos. That's why I get so annoyed when people have such strong opinions but know nothing about him, it's not hard to find information about him (other than the right uni...!)

Why do you assume I know nothing about him?

I’ve just come to a different conclusion.

@callmej it says volumes that you're discounting the numerous accounts from people who work at Tesla, SpaceX etc who say that when Musk turns up they groan and try to hide what's really going on because he comes round, makes fucking stupid suggestions about how to reduce costs to the minimum without understanding the technical reasons why things are designed the way they are, and then fucks off in a ketamine-scented haze. Or that the one Tesla product that is mostly Musk's design is the CyberTruck which is so spectacularly stupid it beggars belief.

Yes, he went to university (although there's debate about what awards he actually earned while there). But that doesn't make him an engineer. The closest he got was being a programmer. Fundamentally he's a neuro-atypical geek. Like many neuro-atypical geeks he thinks he's got some superior understanding of all technology that surpasses most other people. He thinks he's Tony Stark. It's a false belief, common to many neuro-atypical geeks. Where his skills actually lie in is persuading other people that his ideas will make money, and so getting them to invest. He's closer to Bill Gates than Tony Stark - a geek who's middle-of-the-road at tech but ruthlessly efficient at business.

Finally, while his father started as an electromechanical engineer he also really rose to financial and (anti-apartheid) political power as a businessman. He got his power from the wealth he accumulated from his property deals, not from soldering components together.

But keep on supping the Musk Kool-Aid. Maybe some day you'll find someone who'll believe the spin you're trying to put across.

The child said "shush your mouth" and "you're not the president...go away".

Kids at that age obviously parrot what they've heard so the only question I have is, does Elon just say this stuff behind closed doors or actually to Trump's face?

I meant to type Musk, not Elon.

Ugh

My point isn't about whether or not the Tesla bailout was a good idea. I actually own one that we're about to get rid of, but that's a topic for another thread. It was that back when he needed it, he sure believed in government funding projects 'for the greater good.' Now that he's firmly on the gravy train, knee deep in corruption (see contacts with Russia and China and his efforts to obfuscate or erase every investigation into him or his companies), he's all for cutting off every kind of aid to others, whether it's children that could be prevented from dying of starvation and disease or people trying to innovate further.

Editing to add - And Mr 'Freedom of Speech' doesn't exactly seem to want to extend the same option to others who might disagree with him. And that's not even getting into the parroting various Nazi tropes and streams of disinformation and supporting the AFD.

It's not a good look.

Again, I'd really recommend the podcast. She knows him quite well.

He didn't call the diver a paedophile, he said 'pedo guy'. That's not quite the same thing, he claimed it was a generic insult for a creepy old guy - in the same way someone might call a woman a 'whore', it wouldn't necessarily mean they believed she was actually selling her body... Importantly, it was also in response to the diver being extremely rude to him for seemingly no reason. Which was the verdict given by a judge and full jury who unanimously agreed that the diver had started it and that Musk did not defame him.

(Stanford- what, like it’s hard- to paraphrase- the 17th ranked uni in the US? Surely if he’s that bright he’d have been top 10 at least) *

I don't know what this means - Stanford is either the 2nd or 3rd best university in the world, depending on which ranking system you consult. You've really not heard of Stanford?! It's very closely linked with Silicon Valley, and is one of the very hardest universities to get into. Being admitted in a doctoral programme in material science would be a pretty clear indicator of a person's high intellect whatever the university; being admitted into one at Stanford is a pretty clear indicator that a person is one of the most intelligent people in the world. I was also mistaken about his first university, as I have clarified; he actually attending uPenn, which is currently the 11th best university in the world.

In the post you've quoted I was discussing the definition of 'genius' and my point is that I wouldn't personally use it as it is not an objective, measurable term. Musk is very clearly extraordinarily intelligent, to the extent that would certainly be considered genius if one accepts the term. The fact you don't understand this doesn't make it any less true.

*(Stanford- what, like it’s hard- to paraphrase- the 17th ranked uni in the US? Surely if he’s that bright he’d have been top 10 at least)
I don't know what this means - Stanford is either the 2nd or 3rd best university in the world, depending on which ranking system you consult. You've really not heard of Stanford?! It's very closely linked with Silicon Valley, and is one of the very hardest universities to get into. Being admitted in a doctoral programme in material science would be a pretty clear indicator of a person's high intellect whatever the university; being admitted into one at Stanford is a pretty clear indicator that a person is one of the most intelligent people in the world

oh love. Not only have I heard of Stanford, I collaborated with them for my own PhD, where they published my work as a co-researcher. I was then offered a post doctoral position there. You never seen Legally Blonde?

Musky is definitely a hypocrite, for sure. You couldn't get to where he is today without being one. I mean, the guy was standing in the oval office pontificating about 'unconstitutional agencies and unelected officials in power' while literally being an unelected president person making decisions in the white house. Talk about unconstitutional.

Also, he and Netanyahu have joked that he's the unofficial president of the US.

People say Elon bought that presidential election seat with his $200+ million 'donation' (the legal max) and no wonder he was so giddy at the inauguration.

Sadly he is skimming 8 million dollars off the USA government per day.

He definitely didn’t say it to Trump, it was to someone outside of the camera range, look at where Musk’s son is looking, his eye range is not at trump.

Some engineers have complained about him, others have said he was a vital part of the team. A large part of engineering is course coming up with ideas, some of which will work and some will not. He has a huge number of very vocal supporters who have actually worked with him, who have absolutely no reason at all to lie. Unlike his fired employees who've scuttled off to bluesky to bitch about him...

I've never heard of any of his engineers claiming he "fucks off in a ketamine-scented haze". Do you have a link? Preferably not from a disgruntled ex-employee!

There is no debate about what awards he achieved at university. Both universities were asked to confirm his claims for a court case, and both did. Martin Eberhard v. Elon Musk et al :: Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo :: State Civil Lawsuit No. CIV484400

the father continues to refer to himself as an engineer though he also had random investments, some more successful than others. At one point was even declared bankrupt. All evidence - including schools attended, financial records, photos of the family home etc - seems to point to a perfectly comfortable middle-class lifestyle. Which is better off than most, but certainly not stinking rich. It's also very important to remember that this was in Apartheid Africa where perfectly comfortable middle-class lifestyle would be materially far more luxurious than in the UK or USA, but this doesn't mean they were actually rich in real terms. (I'm pleased you've noted the family was actively anti-apartheid though, not a lot of people seem to know that!)

Using terms like 'Musk Kool-Aid' demeans your argument rather though unfortunately, maybe try using facts and reasoned debate rather than silly insults in future.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Yeah... no.

@callmej hey! You seem to know so much about the guy.
Can you confirm he's not letting Grimes see some of her children? Do you know why that is?
Has he really said things like smart people should have more children? Are all his kids ivf conceived?

Did you see the most recent news that a 'conservative influencer' has had his thirteen child and is announcing it on X to ask for privacy...

Interesting guy for sure. Wish he was just a Richard Branson type, who started with all this space travel talk... But this one is different, isn't he.

This is exactly how I see it. He’s saying to Trump “You think this is your territory, but I can trample all over it. I’m treating it as my home, dressing in my comfortable scruffy clothes, wandering around like a restless teenager, playing to the cameras, carrying my little kid about. You’re not in charge here”.

There were rumour that she removed the two youngest children from Japan overnight without his permission and took them back to California, though without spending more time investigating than I am willing, I'm not sure if this is true. Certainly there was a big bust up in Japan, and certainly soon afterwards she had moved the two youngest to California (the family had been living in Texas, I don't know why she left X). Musk filed for custody in Texas, and she then filed for custody in California and asked that the children remain in California whilst proceedings were ongoing. This was granted by the Californian courts and meant that if Musk had taken X to California, he would probably then have had difficulty taking him out of the state again, and even potentially risked having the child removed from him. I have no idea whether he offered for her to come visit X outside of California and she refused, or whether he refused to allow he access at all. But I can't really blame him for not taking him to California in the circumstances, and I do think it's a bit crappy to abscond with two of your kids to a different state without the father's permission and then whine that your not allowed to see the one you left behind!

He often says people should have more kids but I don't know if he's said smart people in particular. He has complained (light-heartedly) in interviews that many of his friends aren't having enough children, but I don't know if he's annoyed because they're smart people or just because he thinks everybody should have large litters of offspring.

I don't know for sure if his kids are IVF, but I think it's quite likely. His first child was naturally conceived, but his ex-wife said after he died they went for IVF. I don't know if X was, I think Grimes said he was also natural. Would guess all the others are IVF. I don't this is just some weird Elon Musk thing though, I suspect it's actually quite a normal means of conception for the uber-wealthy. There are certainly several clinics who offer it, they can't all just be working on his babies!

No, not seen anything about a 'conservative influencer' - seems a bit odd that she'd announce it on his platform to ask for privacy though! It doesn't sound very plausible.

If you wish he were more about 'space travel talk', look back at his earlier interviews; you'll find a very interesting guy who gets very excited talking about the chemical makeup of steel, or a new cooling system they've invented. He used to be a rather shy, awkward but seemingly quite sweet uber-geek. He's changed a lot in the past few years, and obviously very much not for the better. Whether that's the money, or the fame, or whether his mind is just breaking down, I have no idea.

@FictionalCharacter why is Trump going along with it though?
Elon likely has some dirt on Donny and is playing him like the puppet he is.

@callmej
Ok, I had the impression you want to stick to proven facts when talking about him.
A lot of the things you said are giving him the benefit of the doubt and your most generous interpretation, while admitting you don't know, and at the same time the women involved are whining, unreasonable, or odd.

Yes people are saying he has something on him because The Donald wouldn't just let anybody outshine or disrespect him this way.

Some people are saying he paid for him to win the election or some odd thing like that, and if The Donald doesn't stick to the agreed terms of him (Musky) being in charge, he'll sing like a canary.

I imagine Musky Man wouldn't want to get charged for a criminal offence either so buying the election sounds a bit iffy unless he's made sure to protect himself.

@HotTake it must be something really bad, because the man is already an actual convicted criminal. Like what could he be hiding that will make the MAGA crowd actually turn their back on him?!
Elon keeps citing the law - apparently it's censorship to ask him to post responsibly on his SM, as long as it's not illegal - so I'm sure he has covered himself and made use of every loophole available.

I agree @u3ername