Getting tired of Tesla and Elon hate

I'm 35.7% of the way through Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson and it has been enlightening. Some of what Elon has gone through I can relate.

Asperger syndrome, often described as "struggled to form friendships, did not understand others' gestures or feelings, engaged in one-sided conversations about their favorite interests, and were clumsy." Yes, that can describe pretty much anyone but I can relate. I was so disappointed that as an engineer we couldn't 'lock ourselves in the lab.' But I can easily see how much we must be a pain and seem strange to others as we pursue our visions.

I remember from Junior high school to Marine boot camp thinking that I must have committed a crime in a previous life that condemned me to 'life on earth' surrounded by you' all. Some sort of Hindu reincarnation into a purgatory on Earth. The Marines taught to let God sort them out.

I'm now in the part of the book that describes Elon's business and science efforts. It is Elon being Elon and his dedication to life long goals. You are either on the path or 'bye bye.' So I worked 48 hours each week following the rule of 3:

1. In discussing a problem, if there was someone who blocked my solution. I would hold my peace.
2. A week or so later, I would approach that individual privately to reopen the discussion. Usually they would dig in their heels. The brighter ones' eyes would glaze over and we would pursue our seperate paths.
3. I would silently work like heck to make the fix. Then when 'reality' occurred, I would offer my solution as 'something I've been playing with.'

Elon has a different approach. He listens and either agrees, suggests improvements, or insist doing it his way. If you don't, you will be happier at your next likely more boring job.

Bob Wilson

 

At pp 306, 44.5%, I'm taking a break. The last hundred pages transitioned into the Elon I had first followed in corporate reports and news. Nothing really new other than some quoted conversations, details that haven't change my impression of Elon. But these pages have shown Elon learning how to manufacture ... learning the lessons I learned from readings of W. Edwards Deming.

Elon learns by immersion and then infuses his employees with these lessons. Better than the calcified practices taught to MBAs, Elon's work is light on the feet and quick to adopt better practices. Deming studied and tried to institutionalize what Elon applies. Sad to say, Deming's work has been prostituted by lessor people. For example, ISO 9001-2001 was and is a real road map to quality production. Today ISO 9000 has become writing, time wasting essays that have no material effect.

The first 1/3d of the Elon Musk biography gave background on where he came from and his personality. This has been followed by his apprenticeship ... paying tuition in the school of hard knocks. I'll finish the rest of the book soon enough but I have learned clues about why some people I admire who are strangers to Elon, have become personally hostile to him.

Bob Wilson

 

I'm at pp 336, 48.8%, and we're into some of Elon's most innovative and creative period. Here the book by necessity summarizes new efforts like 'The Boring Company' and Starship in easy to digest, 5-6 page chapters.

These solve especially hard technical problems. But I realize how difficult it would be for lay people to appreciate the technical skills needed. Walter Isaacson writes a skillful summary, a 'Reader's Digest," of Elon's creations without falling into the trap of trying to educate the reader to Elon level of understanding. Well written, these pages overlaps when I became aware of Elon's drive and genius.

For a biography, well written for a large audience. For me, technical details are missing but who wants a 4-5 volume set?

Late thought, chapter 56 "Family Life", pp 340-346, answered some of my questions about his relationships with his kids. I'm the oldest of five boys and though we share many traits in common, we too are different from each other without rancor. His family of kids is also a microcosm of how many strangers see Elon.

Later thought, pp 407, 59.2%, the last paragraphs describe the problem with automotive radar. Ebay had a listing for a Tesla radar that included enough to identify the Continental Automotive part. Then I read the specs and was instantly appalled by the low angular resolution. You might as well use a notebook and crayons compared to the optics on you smart phone. No wonder it needed to go. My favorite quote, "... he's just against bad radar."

Bob Wilson

 

At pp. 440, 64.0% and some things about Elon are coming clear:

• Shake it (hurt) off - growing up, he was bullied and beat up in S. Africa by peers and an abusive father. Pain can be lived through and Elon works at a maniac pace.
• Live for the future - his reading and enjoyment of science fiction, he wants to live there but no one is making it happen faster. He has to build science fiction future into today's reality.
• Aspergers - he doesn't dwell or feel anything after separation from someone or thing. But there is no malice as much as 'are you working as hard as I am?'
• Betrayal is unforgivable - if you work with him and then work against him, 'never forget and never surrender.'
• Idiocy index - the ratio of the purchase price to the cost of what it is made from. The higher the purchase price, the more idiotic it is ... kill it and do it yourself ... or delete it.
• Loves game playing - I gave up chess when I realized it was making me into something else. But Elon takes energy and joy from games, especially strategic ones.

I can start to classify those who hate him:

1. Rich envy - knowing how much stock wealth he has, lessor mortals want to take it away like Warren and Bernie.
2. You're not being ostentatious enough - there is an expectation in some that the wealthy have to own 'nice things'. They don't understand why Elon rents his modest home, sleeps in office, and his jet is just a short cut from point A to B.
3. NO, you're not doing it like I want you to - from cave rescuer through Gates ... and Lucid, Fisker, and Biden. They want Elon to conform to their 'solution' and don't understand what Elon is doing. This includes those who have become self proclaimed enemies like Dan O'Dowd and MBAs.

I have been wrestling a hard problem for a month, how to mount wheel covers on my Tesla. Then I applied Elon's engineering principles and SHAZAM ... an exceptionally nice solution. I'll share it after I test it and document the results.

Late update: What makes Elon Musk tick? I spent months following the same people as him to find out who fuels his curious worldview | Elon Musk | The Guardian

Found but my eyes glaze over:

. . . what he [Elon rjw] really resembles is an over-stimulated child: the endlessly questioning, often infuriating schoolboy who has started to read for himself and no longer believes what the teachers are telling him, without quite knowing what he believes instead.​

I tried to finish the article but soon realized the author started with a set of prejudicial opinions and then wrote his article to let him express his point of view. The author has a clever approach of following those accounts Elon follows. But then he wraps his observations with anti-Elon bias. Yes, I am a fan of Elon but sometimes the treacle is too strong.

Bob Wilson

 

I was curious about what happened to the California politician who said something like 'Fork you Elon."
https://thecoastnews.com/commentary-9th-circuit-issues-scathing-rebuke-of-lorena-gonzalez/

The case has now been sent back to the lower court for reconsideration. In its decision, the 9thCircuit cited Gonzalez no less than 14 times by name. The judges expressed dismay at the arbitrary exemptions bestowed to favored sectors by Gonzalez herself with the help of the bill’s sponsor, the California Labor Federation, which represents 1,200 unions in the state.
...
Because of Gonzalez’s blatant “animus not based in reason” directed at the plaintiffs, the Ninth Circuit also concluded that AB 5 plausibly violates the equal protection clause under the 14th Amendment.

The court’s brutal indictment of AB 5 hinged on Gonzalez’s “shocking statements,” tweets, and disparaging remarks against Uber, et al. One such statement (cited in the plaintiff’s complaint) was when Gonzalez called Uber’s chief legal officer Tony West (aka Kamala Harris’s brother-in-law) “full of shit” on September 18, 2019 — the same day Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 5 into law.
...
The potential departure of Lorena Gonzalez from California politics would be welcome news to the millions of independent professionals and small- and medium-sized businesses hurt by her scorched-earth policymaking.​

Bob Wilson

 

At page 581, 84%, I'm skimming through the Twitter 'noise' pretty fast. I remember past software projects in General Electric and Boeing that had similar problems. Different singers but a familiar, tiresome melody. I really have no interest in reading about firing of mediocre coders. But this caught my eye, pp 587:

... When Elon brought it [Twitter rjw] up, Kimbal (his brother) refused to talk about it "I really don't give a sh*t about Twitter" he said. "It's just a pimple on the nice person of what should be your impact on the world." Elon disagreed but they didn't argue about it.​

Kimbal and I have the same opinion about Twitter. I'd rather be at PriusChat because of the better company.

The last pages were current and gave me happy insights. Elon's AI goals are especially interesting:

1. Writing code - like the 1970s-80s, we had 'code wars' with different languages making dubious claims. But an AI coder or code assistant would be awesome. Coding an iPhone App is way too complicated!
2. Compete with ChatAI - there are two mentioned including ChatGPI but they may suffer from latent defects that makes them potentially hazardous. Elon is very committed to safety and his AI will be designed for that.
3. AI general intelligence - like "Deep Thought" from the Hitchhiker's Guide.

There parts of the biography I didn't care for, especially the Twitter mess. Elon stepped on a stinking pile of poo. He has probably done a reasonable job 'weeding the garden,' but I am not Twitter tempted.

The book first 1/3d covered what he learned growing up and starting his adult life. The middle third was useful but more tedious about how he grew his businesses. The Twitter section could be edited down to get rid of the fluff. But the last pages, the current stuff and plans, are well worth it and makes sense.

Bob Wilson

 

FYI, I do not drag Elon attacks here. No need to give a fool a forum.

Bob Wilson

 

The Gaza and Israel war has triggered a lot of hyperventilating over Musk-X/Twitter: Rachel Meadow, Keith Olbermann, Margaret Sullivan, et al. But one consistent theme is the absence of quoted Musk X/Tweets. It is like blaming car accidents on Ford, GM, Toyota or overweight on supermarkets.

Bob Wilson

 

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Just finished listening to the PBS Frontline:

• Another 1:53 (hh:mm) lost - I'd already heard and seen this before by those who should have known better.
• So on Twitter, I pissed this into the wind:
  • "The Gaza-Israel war increased criticism of Musk for X/Twitter. Not citing Musk quotes but blaming him for selected posts by others. His critics then inflate X/Twitter into a balloon Godzilla. What a waste of time."

Bob Wilson