At this point, I fully expect a headline "Musk to receive the nuclear briefcase" and the article explaining in good faith that it's a cost cutting measure by DOGE, which will lead to the abolition of Income Tax.
If I weren't on vacation right now, I'd create a site to publicly catalog such posts, so that meaningful discussion could continue. We won't emerge from this crisis if we can't talk about it. It is not wholly political anymore.
I'm frankly baffled by all of this. I realize 90% my posts for the past 3 years are about Tesla / Musk - since what's happening now, has been long time in the making for those who were paying attention.
I just don't get why HN of all places, chooses to close the eyes in front of blantant corruption, lies and abuses.
This article mentions two possible reasons for briefing Musk. First, to allow DOGE to cut the Pentagon budget responsibly. Later in the article, however, Starlink is mentioned as a target of China's attention.
Tesla will collapse if there is conflict with China. China is the undisputed leader in battery tech and inventions. They are 10 years ahead of everyone else in anode technology for example.
Tesla's second largest market is China (before EU) Tesla's largest Gigafactory is in China. It's almost twice the size of second largest factory in the US. Tesla is also building new battery pack factory in China.
>Mr. Musk and Tesla, an electric vehicle company he controls, are heavily reliant on China, which houses one of the auto maker’s flagship factories in Shanghai. Unveiled in 2019, the state-of-the-art facility was built with special permission from the Chinese government, and now accounts for more than half of Tesla’s global deliveries. Last year, the company said in financial filings that it had a $2.8 billion loan agreement with lenders in China for production expenditures.
This article has since been updated significantly to include Pentagon officials' vehement denials that the briefing is related to China. Lest anyone else get the last word, Musk is reported to have responded himself:
> In his own post on social media early Friday, Mr. Musk said he looked forward to “the prosecutions of those at the Pentagon who are leaking maliciously false information to NYT.”
It's clear to me that he's adopted the vindictive style favored by Trump. I couldn't care less about his businesses, personally, but I worry deeply about what this means for governance in the US.
"Fueling" implies that Elon isn't doing this to himself through recreational drug abuse, political games and abysmal home-cooked PR. Musk's illiquid wealth is the fuel, the confidence in his leadership is the lighter. This is how every traded business in America operates and the scrutiny is not unique to him.
Remember the old Papa John's CEO? Shareholders aren't fond of risk-taking.
Well done America, well done.