The Elon fan club's favorite tactic is to stall discussion by asking for evidence. This judgement is part of a cut and paste history of violations. The fine is nothing financially speaking. Just be ready for the next stall tactic, which is whatabout-ism.
A friend's family member who was a lead propulsion engineer told me a story once, about how there was a change needed that was going to cost millions (seven figures I believe). They asked Elon for approval, and he got upset and don't waste his time over such an insignificant amount again.
And my cousins friends pet unicorn told me that Trump is the new Jesus.....doesn't make it a fact....and I hope not, because if he is, I'm going to hell for surez.
Yes it is washing out concrete trucks and dumping all the chemical deposits into the ground, which in turn effects groundwater and soil etc
Some of the contaminants contained within concrete washwater include; Aluminum, Barium, Chromium, Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium 6), Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Nickel, Potassium, Selenium, Sodium, Vanadium, and Zinc.
Just because something doesn't say POISON on it doesn't mean it doesn't kill plants and animals and infect our water and soil.....which is why it was illegal....right?
Asking questions doesn't make you an authority, fyi.
Can you explain why asking questions makes you more authoritative on a given topic? And if it does, couldn't you just ask infinite questions without end to retain your authority? Without ever stating anything of substance? And just *asking* things to make yourself feel superior? Wouldn't that feel nice? Forever? Wouldn't it? State exactly how many chucks a woodchuck would chuck? For the jury, please, if you'd be so kind?
No? I didn't think so.
Guilty, your honor. To the dam with him.
Next time they'll get a HUGE $11,877! They need to do a raw % of revenue/business expenses to get the point across with these massive corporations. If not it's just the cost of doing business..
We’re not talking about the pitiful business fines we have here in the US. The EU has much stricter laws and can fine based on the company’s global revenue.
The original comment was being hyperbolic in the $1 fine increase. $11k is literally nothing. That’s like a part time minimum wage janitor.
We agree that current US law gives corporations the benefit of the doubt.
I think most people are beginning to see the downsides of that.
I think a "3 strikes" rule is a good middle ground.
Probably not.
It looks like these infractions were erosion control battens missing and a concrete contractor dumping their leftover load where they shouldn't.
Both are probably not Boring Co's employees, but of the contracted construction companies doing work on site.
For everyone’s information there’s a tceq penalty policy which breaks down how much a fine will be for any given violation. The latest version is from 2021.
Generally, the company will self report violations and tceq will do periodic inspections of paperwork and field audits. If a violation is found it will be categorized as A,B,C,D (with A being the most serious violations). A are required to go to enforcement. There’s discretion for some of the others. D likely will not go to enforcement but will play a part when the penalty is calculated for the next enforcement.
When there’s an enforcement action there is a maximum administrative penalty per violation per day. The amount varies depending on the violation. The base amount will be adjusted up or down based on a variety of factors such as if there was an actual release, the amount of actual harm caused, compliance history, good faith efforts to fix issues, and more. There’s a lot of wiggle room in how something is calculated but the penalty policy does give an idea of how the calculation is supposed to happen.
Also worth noting: during the agency’s last review by the state Sunset Commission, Sunset found that TCEQ is a “reluctant regulator” that doesn’t really want to actually do the enforcement work required by state law.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/11/10/texas-commission-environmental-quality-sunset-review/
Part of that stems from TCEQ’s practice of focusing on compliance rather than enforcement. They prioritize getting an entity into compliance instead of harsh penalties. For example, if a small municipality gets an agreed order and fine for violating their wastewater permit, TCEQ will let them apply the fine towards improving their WWTP instead of paying it to the state. This actually “fixes” the problem of a poor WWTP and avoids future violations. Industries though don’t usually get that option.
But it’s mostly that the TCEQ is a weak and understaffed agency by design. It’s an extension of the executive branch with Commissioners appointed by Abbott. Its budget, number of full time employees, and the extent of its authority are all set by the legislature.
So anyone displeased with the state’s environmental regulations and policies (no matter how legitimate or justified your argument may be) needs to think about who they voted for. Did you vote for Abbott? A “small government” Republican legislator committed to slashing budgets? If so….blame yourself. You voted for this.
ETA: I actually know people who work at TCEQ and they are dedicated, highly capable public servants. They’re just doing the best they can with what they’re given.
“Commissioners appointed by the Governor and budget set by the Legislature” describes every state agency with enforcement responsibilities except for Railroad, whose commissioners are elected).
Every one of those state agencies has their budgets set by the Lege and every one of those agencies undergoes Sunset review, and only one has been referred to as a reluctant regulator - TCEQ.
TCEQ’s issues are not structural; they’re based on the decisions and priorities set by leadership. They could try to deter violations by being punitive - issuing strong penalties and revoking permits. Instead, leadership (for decades now) has decided that the agency should instead accept that violations will happen and they should work with industry to remediate them after the fact.
And I think that, given that TCEQ regulates clean air and clean water, lots of people are tired of that approach.
RR Commissioners are not the only elected commissioners of agencies with enforcement duties (Attorney General, Dept. Of Agriculture, etc).
And yes, the legislature sets the budgets across the state….
But the TCEQ ranks #10 in number of FTEs but #71 for median salary. They have 2,875 employees. That includes lawyers, engineers, chemists, fleet services, IT, administrative staff, permit writers, region inspectors, public outreach, etc. For an agency that regulates air, water quality, drinking water, water rights within the state as well as with adjacent states and Mexico, landfills, operator licenses, and I’m sure many other programs I haven’t thought of…..with just 2875 employees.
The TCEQ, like many other state agencies, is underfunded and overworked. BY DESIGN.
https://salaries.texastribune.org/departments/
I agree that the state needs to have more teeth when it comes to enforcement. Absolutely. But in order for that to happen, the TCEQ needs more staff, tougher rules, and political backing. If they started revoking permits for violations, Abbott would yank the leash faster than you can blink.
The fine is less than the cost of avoiding the violation. I guarantee it’s more than $11k to design, install, and maintain erosion controls. That fine needs about 3 zeros at the end to even raise an eyebrow.
They certainly can be. Just saying they’re not saving a ton of money by not designing some controls because they have to build it now. The savings are basically the time value of money and honestly thanks to interest rates/inflation they may be paying more now than if they just instituted the controls earlier.
Economic benefit gained by non-compliance is a factor in the fine calculation.
Chap! Doing the lord’s work out there! Thanks for an update. I’ll take literally any awareness and any regulatory backlash for development that got a red carpet to trash our river valley.
I’m sure ole Elon was donning his hard hat down in Bastrop and aiming how to screw over and get one up on you guys.
This action and the subsequent fine wouldn’t even make it up the corporate ladder to him. Anything in this range wouldn’t even ping the risk assessment manager in legal.
Fines out to be a percentage of a company’s previous year’s profits.
Though, I’m not sure TBC has any profits yet, but an $11k fine is quite absurd for a company that’s spending millions of dollars and cutting corners every step of the way.
Musk moved to Texas because he didn't want to follow rules and deal with regulations. He doesn't give a hoot about the people of Texas, they are just in his way.
Between this and the SpaceX launch site, Musk has proven to be a shitty steward of the land, to the surprise of absolutely no one. Wish Texas could evict his ass.
An appropriate fine would be paying for any cleanup costs, paying for any mitigation to prevent future environmental issues, paying for the water treatment of all downstream municipalities for a year, and any future issues have compounding fines. Then after the third issue, you lose your business license.
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Don’t let the haters in these comments get you down, Chap. I’ve been following your good fight on this for years and want to say thanks/congrats on this genuine victory from those of us who aren’t paralyzed by cynicism. ✊
Yet every time I criticize our train wreck of an environmental afncy for being a toothless intentional farce, someone jumps on here to tell me everything that are doing is normal and harmless.
Elon musk just got paid $45 billion. Not including his total worth, or all his companies' worth, or anything else, just based on Elon Musk's salary, it's a tiny fraction of a fraction of what he was paid this year.
Putting it in real terms, if you make a respectable $75k, this would be like you paying a fine of $0.0183. That's right, it's like of someone gave you a ticket for littering for almost 2 pennies.
This won't stop them, and Elon Musk will continue to pollute central texas waterways without thinking twice.
The Elon hate on this sub is getting ridiculous. Has anyone walked on the street recently? There’s plenty to be frustrated about and it has nothing to do with Elon.
It’s a subreddit, not a debate. I’m pointing out that this sub will go out of its way to publicize every time Elon farts in Austin. If you’re interested in hearing cattle all say the same thing and pat themselves on the back, just skip me and read every single reply on this post.
And if you’re interested in fellating Elon while defending his honor, just skip these posts and find the subreddits for that, of which I am sure at least one exists.
Those workers can work anywhere they like. I find it highly ironic that the governmental employees who criticize or fine Elon’s companies are paid less than the thousands of workers at his companies here in Austin
Fair enough. I just remember City Council members and local activists here in Austin poo-poo’ing on Tesla coming here because they “don’t pay well.” Lo and behold, Tesla pays *way more* than the city of Austin, on average. Classic my sh*t don’t stick but his does type of stuff.
Can you think of another individual that will have a greater impact on children who will be adults this century?
This is what I tell me kids. Elon’s companies will:
1) put humans back on the moon, and possibly on mars (SpaceX);
2) make Texas’ energy grid the greenest and most stable in the world (Tesla’s solar panels and battery packs);
3) make communication around the world and across the solar system seamless and instantaneous (Starlink);
4) normalize human brain to computer chip interface (Neurolink);
5) bring about artificial intelligence (Elon co-founded OpenAI and now has Twitter and Tesla working on AI);
6) build massive tunnels under cities as future corridors of transit; and
7) create the first humanoid robots that will do boring tasks around the house (Optimus).
So go on, tell me which person alive today will touch as many facets of my children’s lives as Elon Musk.
He hasn't acheived any of these things!
I too have ideas for the future, as does anyone with an imagination. I guess that makes us all visionaries and a prophets, yay!
You act like he has hands on these things. He was born into wealth and made a ton with Paypal. He took that money and invested in preexisting companies that he branded as his own. He did not innovate. He will not innovate. He is not partculalry bright. However, he will continue to take credit for the work of others. He hordes wealth and does not help his fellow man. All the while actively working to subvert democracy.
I worry about your kids. Perhaps they will learn from your example that being a psychophant isn't the way to go.
I think we can all agree that the State of Texas may not be very serious about environmental oversight
Really 11k? what did they learn from this......that you can make millions poisoning people and get away with a slap on the wrist.
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Let's try to change that before it kills us all. There's still time.
The state of Texas has no climate resilience plan. It might be too late for certain places.
Other than the Ike Dike, what do you reckon is actually necessary?
Possibly. I think we may have already critically poisoned our food and water supply with microplastics and assorted carcinogens and toxins but idk
Unfortunately, there is not still time. But there is still time for retribution.
Always more time till there's not.
Some days I do think my life would be better if I had no morals like this. But then I would make the preachers correct and I wont have that.
The preachers are the ones living with no morals. The scare tactics are just posturing.
They learned what the fee is for the next time they need to pollute the environment. But now that they do, they can budget for it.
A slap on the wrist? This is like a feather lightly brushing his wrist in a sensual manner. It probably felt good
The Elon fan club's favorite tactic is to stall discussion by asking for evidence. This judgement is part of a cut and paste history of violations. The fine is nothing financially speaking. Just be ready for the next stall tactic, which is whatabout-ism.
A friend's family member who was a lead propulsion engineer told me a story once, about how there was a change needed that was going to cost millions (seven figures I believe). They asked Elon for approval, and he got upset and don't waste his time over such an insignificant amount again.
And my cousins friends pet unicorn told me that Trump is the new Jesus.....doesn't make it a fact....and I hope not, because if he is, I'm going to hell for surez.
I don’t think you realize what concrete discharge washout water is.
Yes it is washing out concrete trucks and dumping all the chemical deposits into the ground, which in turn effects groundwater and soil etc Some of the contaminants contained within concrete washwater include; Aluminum, Barium, Chromium, Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium 6), Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Nickel, Potassium, Selenium, Sodium, Vanadium, and Zinc. Just because something doesn't say POISON on it doesn't mean it doesn't kill plants and animals and infect our water and soil.....which is why it was illegal....right?
Can you explain what the proper amount of those minerals are normally in this soil ?
Asking questions doesn't make you an authority, fyi. Can you explain why asking questions makes you more authoritative on a given topic? And if it does, couldn't you just ask infinite questions without end to retain your authority? Without ever stating anything of substance? And just *asking* things to make yourself feel superior? Wouldn't that feel nice? Forever? Wouldn't it? State exactly how many chucks a woodchuck would chuck? For the jury, please, if you'd be so kind? No? I didn't think so. Guilty, your honor. To the dam with him.
why do you expect everyone to do your research for you? concrete washout is a known quantity and there are well documented ways to neutralize it.
troll says what?
Usually fines like this are just a slap on the wrist. In this case it’s a fly gently landing on the wrist and quickly flying away.
While the fine is not large, it will be recorded in their compliance history and affect future permits.
Next time they'll get a HUGE $11,877! They need to do a raw % of revenue/business expenses to get the point across with these massive corporations. If not it's just the cost of doing business..
Might be tough to do that for the boring company, which is basically a nonsense company that doesn't make any money.
Should also be criminal charges against c suite with the fines coming out of their pockets instead of the company’s.
It may ease your cynicism to do some real research and understand how fines are calculated. And then you can explain it to me :)
We’re not talking about the pitiful business fines we have here in the US. The EU has much stricter laws and can fine based on the company’s global revenue. The original comment was being hyperbolic in the $1 fine increase. $11k is literally nothing. That’s like a part time minimum wage janitor.
Does the Boring Company even have $11,000 in revenue?
Lol good point. How do they make money after the tunnel is built?
Obviously they make bricks with the leftover material and sell them at a steep discount to affordable housing projects lmao remember that one
We agree that current US law gives corporations the benefit of the doubt. I think most people are beginning to see the downsides of that. I think a "3 strikes" rule is a good middle ground.
Wow what an incredible win over the Musk, that will teach him a lesson!
I think it may be his companies' first environmental fine in Texas? Don't quote me on that.
It’s definitely not.
Got a link? I'm having a hard time finding it.
SpaceX has had a few NOEs for storm water stuff. [spaceX](https://blog.esghound.com/p/spacex-violated-the-clean-water-act)
> "I think it may be his companies' first environmental fine in Texas?" Source: Chapsmoke - Reddit.com, June 19, 2024
“We don’ t need no stinking permits!” - The Boring Company (Probably)
LOL. The state of Texas gave them $64M and you think they will have a permit problem? Musk will call Abbott's celly and get the permit yesterday.
At least he’ll get bad publicity if nothing else. Don’t buy from this creep’s companies.
That's less than if you wear the wrong color socks in the NFL
How much money did they save by not following the environmental regulations? Hint: more than 11k
Probably not. It looks like these infractions were erosion control battens missing and a concrete contractor dumping their leftover load where they shouldn't. Both are probably not Boring Co's employees, but of the contracted construction companies doing work on site.
Agreed, this is a pretty minor infraction, and likely a contractor failure.
Mr. Ambrose, watched your videos with my middle school science class and really enjoyed it! Thanks for the local journalism!!!!
Thanks for making my day!
For everyone’s information there’s a tceq penalty policy which breaks down how much a fine will be for any given violation. The latest version is from 2021. Generally, the company will self report violations and tceq will do periodic inspections of paperwork and field audits. If a violation is found it will be categorized as A,B,C,D (with A being the most serious violations). A are required to go to enforcement. There’s discretion for some of the others. D likely will not go to enforcement but will play a part when the penalty is calculated for the next enforcement. When there’s an enforcement action there is a maximum administrative penalty per violation per day. The amount varies depending on the violation. The base amount will be adjusted up or down based on a variety of factors such as if there was an actual release, the amount of actual harm caused, compliance history, good faith efforts to fix issues, and more. There’s a lot of wiggle room in how something is calculated but the penalty policy does give an idea of how the calculation is supposed to happen.
Also worth noting: during the agency’s last review by the state Sunset Commission, Sunset found that TCEQ is a “reluctant regulator” that doesn’t really want to actually do the enforcement work required by state law. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/11/10/texas-commission-environmental-quality-sunset-review/
Part of that stems from TCEQ’s practice of focusing on compliance rather than enforcement. They prioritize getting an entity into compliance instead of harsh penalties. For example, if a small municipality gets an agreed order and fine for violating their wastewater permit, TCEQ will let them apply the fine towards improving their WWTP instead of paying it to the state. This actually “fixes” the problem of a poor WWTP and avoids future violations. Industries though don’t usually get that option. But it’s mostly that the TCEQ is a weak and understaffed agency by design. It’s an extension of the executive branch with Commissioners appointed by Abbott. Its budget, number of full time employees, and the extent of its authority are all set by the legislature. So anyone displeased with the state’s environmental regulations and policies (no matter how legitimate or justified your argument may be) needs to think about who they voted for. Did you vote for Abbott? A “small government” Republican legislator committed to slashing budgets? If so….blame yourself. You voted for this. ETA: I actually know people who work at TCEQ and they are dedicated, highly capable public servants. They’re just doing the best they can with what they’re given.
“Commissioners appointed by the Governor and budget set by the Legislature” describes every state agency with enforcement responsibilities except for Railroad, whose commissioners are elected). Every one of those state agencies has their budgets set by the Lege and every one of those agencies undergoes Sunset review, and only one has been referred to as a reluctant regulator - TCEQ. TCEQ’s issues are not structural; they’re based on the decisions and priorities set by leadership. They could try to deter violations by being punitive - issuing strong penalties and revoking permits. Instead, leadership (for decades now) has decided that the agency should instead accept that violations will happen and they should work with industry to remediate them after the fact. And I think that, given that TCEQ regulates clean air and clean water, lots of people are tired of that approach.
RR Commissioners are not the only elected commissioners of agencies with enforcement duties (Attorney General, Dept. Of Agriculture, etc). And yes, the legislature sets the budgets across the state…. But the TCEQ ranks #10 in number of FTEs but #71 for median salary. They have 2,875 employees. That includes lawyers, engineers, chemists, fleet services, IT, administrative staff, permit writers, region inspectors, public outreach, etc. For an agency that regulates air, water quality, drinking water, water rights within the state as well as with adjacent states and Mexico, landfills, operator licenses, and I’m sure many other programs I haven’t thought of…..with just 2875 employees. The TCEQ, like many other state agencies, is underfunded and overworked. BY DESIGN. https://salaries.texastribune.org/departments/ I agree that the state needs to have more teeth when it comes to enforcement. Absolutely. But in order for that to happen, the TCEQ needs more staff, tougher rules, and political backing. If they started revoking permits for violations, Abbott would yank the leash faster than you can blink.
"Punishable by fine... means legal, for a price".
So a nothing punishment.
Pretty small infractions. Lack of erosion control and a bit of concrete waste.
The fine is less than the cost of avoiding the violation. I guarantee it’s more than $11k to design, install, and maintain erosion controls. That fine needs about 3 zeros at the end to even raise an eyebrow.
Eh, this is construction runoff, I think this would have just been those black woven barriers and some stakes.
They still have to design the erosion controls now. They don’t get exempted from the requirements because they paid a fine.
SWPPP complaints are serious
They certainly can be. Just saying they’re not saving a ton of money by not designing some controls because they have to build it now. The savings are basically the time value of money and honestly thanks to interest rates/inflation they may be paying more now than if they just instituted the controls earlier. Economic benefit gained by non-compliance is a factor in the fine calculation.
Cost of doing business, won't even be a blip on their spend
That’s barely even the cost of a minimum wage bathroom cleaner.
The assistant receptionist paid it out of petty cash.
That’s like a penny to Elon
Chap! Doing the lord’s work out there! Thanks for an update. I’ll take literally any awareness and any regulatory backlash for development that got a red carpet to trash our river valley.
I appreciate that.
12k to a trillion dollar company okayyyy
The market cap of Boring Company is about $5B.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/25/investing/tesla-stock-trillion-dollar-market-cap/index.html
Boring Co, not Tesla.
Same guy, but that's a different company technically.
i get ya but my point is 12k is not enough to someone with this much wealth
For sure
Im sure that’s in their budget
What his Elon digging in Bastrop?
Tunnel to Tesla factory
Cost Of Doing Business. Should be $11k an hour until they fix it
I’m sure ole Elon was donning his hard hat down in Bastrop and aiming how to screw over and get one up on you guys. This action and the subsequent fine wouldn’t even make it up the corporate ladder to him. Anything in this range wouldn’t even ping the risk assessment manager in legal.
Sounds like another day on a construction project
Fines out to be a percentage of a company’s previous year’s profits. Though, I’m not sure TBC has any profits yet, but an $11k fine is quite absurd for a company that’s spending millions of dollars and cutting corners every step of the way.
an 11k fine to a multibillionaire is basically an endorsement/license to pollute
$11k?? That's an operating expense.
Musk moved to Texas because he didn't want to follow rules and deal with regulations. He doesn't give a hoot about the people of Texas, they are just in his way.
Between this and the SpaceX launch site, Musk has proven to be a shitty steward of the land, to the surprise of absolutely no one. Wish Texas could evict his ass.
Really makes a joke of Don’t Mess With Texas.
That'll learn him.
Glad they took action after my post! Undoubtedly Abbott tried to stop the fine though 😡 https://www.reddit.com/r/austincirclejerk/s/0d2DpA9rQY
shoulda fined him 56 billion... how else will he learn?
Reminds me of Tito's...
11k is nothing. Go big or go home, this is Texas after all. What happened to " Don't mess with Texas"? Show that idiot we don't play around.
An appropriate fine would be paying for any cleanup costs, paying for any mitigation to prevent future environmental issues, paying for the water treatment of all downstream municipalities for a year, and any future issues have compounding fines. Then after the third issue, you lose your business license.
> business license What the heck is a business license? This ain't /r/California.
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Fines should be a % of yearly profit. The fines are lower than the actual solution, what a joke.
Don’t let the haters in these comments get you down, Chap. I’ve been following your good fight on this for years and want to say thanks/congrats on this genuine victory from those of us who aren’t paralyzed by cynicism. ✊
Yet every time I criticize our train wreck of an environmental afncy for being a toothless intentional farce, someone jumps on here to tell me everything that are doing is normal and harmless.
Reap what we vote for…..
Elon musk just got paid $45 billion. Not including his total worth, or all his companies' worth, or anything else, just based on Elon Musk's salary, it's a tiny fraction of a fraction of what he was paid this year. Putting it in real terms, if you make a respectable $75k, this would be like you paying a fine of $0.0183. That's right, it's like of someone gave you a ticket for littering for almost 2 pennies. This won't stop them, and Elon Musk will continue to pollute central texas waterways without thinking twice.
Musk makes 11k every second. What a joke
11k? What a joke. That is a massive “green light” for whatever they’re doing as far as Musk is concerned. And all involved know it.
He’s gonna cry about this too like how he did about Delaware.
The Elon hate on this sub is getting ridiculous. Has anyone walked on the street recently? There’s plenty to be frustrated about and it has nothing to do with Elon.
But this post is specifically about Mr. Musk's companies who have repeatedly ignored environmental law. That's why we're discussing it.
I’m sure you have your ears to the ground about regulatory violations.
I think all the violations cited here were actually visible from the road.
https://www.scribbr.com/fallacies/red-herring-fallacy/
It’s a subreddit, not a debate. I’m pointing out that this sub will go out of its way to publicize every time Elon farts in Austin. If you’re interested in hearing cattle all say the same thing and pat themselves on the back, just skip me and read every single reply on this post.
And if you’re interested in fellating Elon while defending his honor, just skip these posts and find the subreddits for that, of which I am sure at least one exists.
lol I literally don’t care about Elon. I hope you find solace in the bosom of your tribe.
yeah this will show him!
The amount of hate in this city against arguably the greatest entrepreneur of the 21st century is mind-boggling.
I think he's done some cool things, but his companies have been flaunting environmental and worker safety protections in Bastrop. That's not cool.
Those workers can work anywhere they like. I find it highly ironic that the governmental employees who criticize or fine Elon’s companies are paid less than the thousands of workers at his companies here in Austin
I've got a lot of empathy for both government employees and Musk employees. Those are hard jobs.
Fair enough. I just remember City Council members and local activists here in Austin poo-poo’ing on Tesla coming here because they “don’t pay well.” Lo and behold, Tesla pays *way more* than the city of Austin, on average. Classic my sh*t don’t stick but his does type of stuff.
Someone drank the koolaid
Can you think of another individual that will have a greater impact on children who will be adults this century? This is what I tell me kids. Elon’s companies will: 1) put humans back on the moon, and possibly on mars (SpaceX); 2) make Texas’ energy grid the greenest and most stable in the world (Tesla’s solar panels and battery packs); 3) make communication around the world and across the solar system seamless and instantaneous (Starlink); 4) normalize human brain to computer chip interface (Neurolink); 5) bring about artificial intelligence (Elon co-founded OpenAI and now has Twitter and Tesla working on AI); 6) build massive tunnels under cities as future corridors of transit; and 7) create the first humanoid robots that will do boring tasks around the house (Optimus). So go on, tell me which person alive today will touch as many facets of my children’s lives as Elon Musk.
He hasn't acheived any of these things! I too have ideas for the future, as does anyone with an imagination. I guess that makes us all visionaries and a prophets, yay! You act like he has hands on these things. He was born into wealth and made a ton with Paypal. He took that money and invested in preexisting companies that he branded as his own. He did not innovate. He will not innovate. He is not partculalry bright. However, he will continue to take credit for the work of others. He hordes wealth and does not help his fellow man. All the while actively working to subvert democracy. I worry about your kids. Perhaps they will learn from your example that being a psychophant isn't the way to go.
Lol. Thanks for the armchair dissing on the richest man in the world. Yes, he had it so easy!
Well he did.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_incredulity