“If people are going to dislike me, I’d prefer they do so for what I’ve actually done.” I reckon this stance is something like a decoder ring to Elon’s relationship with both the press and all those who’ve outsourced their judgment about him in that direction. Few individuals are written about as often, and almost none are less likely to escape that coverage unscathed. Some of that is deserved. Some isn’t. Which brings us here.
Nothing about this article actually refutes the claims made by the original article. At best, you elevate Elon's denial of his family benefiting from apartheid and his version of his origin-myth, while being unable to refute the claims made by his father. Somehow this is presented as dispelling some kind of myth when really you are begging the reader to believe one man's words over the other's.
What is perhaps worse is your downplaying of what kind of economic advantage $400k afforded those who yielded such wealth in apartheid era South Africa. This might just be a lack of familiarity with economic arguments — suggesting that $400k is "just a few Teslas" is downright laughable and ignores obvious issues like what kind of power $400k could yield in a country where income disparity between white-ruling class South Africans and black South Africans was incalculable. Making this claim is like suggesting that you aren't massively wealthy today if you possess $200,000 while living in the slums of Dharavi or Favelas of Brazil.
The rest of the article just reads as the regular hagiography we've come to expect from Musk apologists. Note how you question whether the words of Elon's father can be considered valid, but you present Elon's own claims about his origins as though they are true; Elon's claims about being given $2,000 and having no other support, his heroic rise against all odds — these are all published with deference, while all other claims are thrown out (could not be corroborated, and so on).
I'm going to ignore the apologism for the Paedo-Submarine fiasco because quite honestly, you do yourself a disservice attempting to engage in apologism for his behavior here. Not that you began the article with any semblance of neutrality (convinced of the myth from the outset) — but by the time we finish reading it's apparent that this is just blatant apologism masquerading as some kind of fact-based myth busting.
While I will admit your appreciation of Elon and his astounding rise to success is clear, this is a very well written article and the “Why this is important” passage at the end struck a chord with me. There is so much mis-information that is being actively propagated by the “mainstream” news outlets that it leads to huge polarization between the left and right(which is really, really bad. I.E. political horseshoe theory). It reminds me of the philosophical idea of the “banality of evil”
I like that you really did a deep dive and clarified the apartheid claim, I definitely don’t think that has any merit whatsoever and was used merely to generate revenue/social justice rabble on Twitter.I don’t think everyone should rally to Elon’s defense because there are some tangible, problematic things he has done or said, but I agree he deserves the same fairness that should be applied to any public figure.
The polarization between supporters or the “musketeers” and the denouncers demonstrates beautifully how often people forget to think critically and rely on bias consciously and unconsciously(on both sides).
Thanks for the great article; we need more REAL investigative journalism. How can we be a free society when the media is more interested in profits than the actual facts of the situation?
I’m glad I found this because since there was no snopes.com article or in depth fact check all I really knew was that it started with an anecdote from Errol and I already began to doubt that because it was not substantiated, probably never can be, and Errol is definitely not a “reliable narrator”.
He contradicts himself often in the few interviews or comments he has given over the years, as Elon has called him out for being a scumbag.
Bravo! I will definitely consider donating to the site but money is right now because of the pandemic.
"people who leave home early without looking back generally do so for a reason" - struck a chord for me. I ran away from home when I was 13. My younger brother followed when he was 15 and I helped him get on his feet.
Elon's early frugality is also a familiar trait. I am now 71 and still frugal with my lifestyle and my spending. Is Elon like that too?
Amazing article and the first of your pieces that I've read. I haven't searched any of your other articles, but what sacrifices are you making to make journalism like this possible? I don't mean the question to expect points to support martyrdom, but more along the lines of what temptations of wealth, convenience, having to defend your stance socially... etc do you have to overcome keep your integrity like this?
The author has no structurally sound arguments, no evidence, and he entirely relies on several glaring fallacies as the foundation for every single erroneous and wildly impartial claim made.
Having read quite a bit about Musk over the years including a book a number of years ago that went into this to a lesser degree, it’s great to finally see a journalist making an attempt to set the record straight
I do hope in time people will be kinder
He’s human after all and in my view one of the 42 very best!
Well done! If all articles were like this I'd actually like journalism. I think another one of the problems is people's shortening attention span which is adding fuel to the fire.
Fact remains Elon Musk benefits from white privilege regardless of his pedigree. Even if he failed, he still had a safety net of family/relatives who he could rely on in US/CAN/SA.
Once Musk achieved wealth, he took insane risks on ventures that most in the industry thought were crazy, if not outright irresponsible, considering he had other mouths to feed. Only those who have grown up in an environment where all there material needs are met have the luxury to take such high risks without fearing the consequences.
Thank you for publishing content worth reading. We need systems for incentivizing truth (or well intentioned efforts to uncover the truth) over clickbait. Switching topics, are you interested in meltdown proof designs for nuclear energy? https://www.peterwhelan.com/what-to-know-about-gen-iv-power/
I think the concept of what a good journalist is has changed a lot over the years. I remember a few years back I had the impression that a journalist (at least working at a large respectable newspaper) is somebody that does a deep dive into any story they publish, risking their lives at times to do so. These days it seems everybody has accepted that a good journalist is somebody that recounts what's trending on twitter and writes articles in line with the political (or otherwise) requirements of their sponsors.
I'm sorry, but the fact that this article was published 4 YEARS PRIOR and the fact that Elon seems very determined on discrediting Errol's claims are enough for me.
You don't deserve the title 'The Save Journalism Committee' as your title is shameful itself, "I Talked to Elon Musk about Journalism and the Blood Emeralds Story" . What do you expect to get in answer from him, the truth , or whatever he wants to make you believe. Are you a true embodiment of Hypocrisy .
Nothing about this article actually refutes the claims made by the original article. At best, you elevate Elon's denial of his family benefiting from apartheid and his version of his origin-myth, while being unable to refute the claims made by his father. Somehow this is presented as dispelling some kind of myth when really you are begging the reader to believe one man's words over the other's.
What is perhaps worse is your downplaying of what kind of economic advantage $400k afforded those who yielded such wealth in apartheid era South Africa. This might just be a lack of familiarity with economic arguments — suggesting that $400k is "just a few Teslas" is downright laughable and ignores obvious issues like what kind of power $400k could yield in a country where income disparity between white-ruling class South Africans and black South Africans was incalculable. Making this claim is like suggesting that you aren't massively wealthy today if you possess $200,000 while living in the slums of Dharavi or Favelas of Brazil.
The rest of the article just reads as the regular hagiography we've come to expect from Musk apologists. Note how you question whether the words of Elon's father can be considered valid, but you present Elon's own claims about his origins as though they are true; Elon's claims about being given $2,000 and having no other support, his heroic rise against all odds — these are all published with deference, while all other claims are thrown out (could not be corroborated, and so on).
I'm going to ignore the apologism for the Paedo-Submarine fiasco because quite honestly, you do yourself a disservice attempting to engage in apologism for his behavior here. Not that you began the article with any semblance of neutrality (convinced of the myth from the outset) — but by the time we finish reading it's apparent that this is just blatant apologism masquerading as some kind of fact-based myth busting.
While I will admit your appreciation of Elon and his astounding rise to success is clear, this is a very well written article and the “Why this is important” passage at the end struck a chord with me. There is so much mis-information that is being actively propagated by the “mainstream” news outlets that it leads to huge polarization between the left and right(which is really, really bad. I.E. political horseshoe theory). It reminds me of the philosophical idea of the “banality of evil”
I like that you really did a deep dive and clarified the apartheid claim, I definitely don’t think that has any merit whatsoever and was used merely to generate revenue/social justice rabble on Twitter.I don’t think everyone should rally to Elon’s defense because there are some tangible, problematic things he has done or said, but I agree he deserves the same fairness that should be applied to any public figure.
The polarization between supporters or the “musketeers” and the denouncers demonstrates beautifully how often people forget to think critically and rely on bias consciously and unconsciously(on both sides).
Thanks for the great article; we need more REAL investigative journalism. How can we be a free society when the media is more interested in profits than the actual facts of the situation?
I’m glad I found this because since there was no snopes.com article or in depth fact check all I really knew was that it started with an anecdote from Errol and I already began to doubt that because it was not substantiated, probably never can be, and Errol is definitely not a “reliable narrator”.
He contradicts himself often in the few interviews or comments he has given over the years, as Elon has called him out for being a scumbag.
Bravo! I will definitely consider donating to the site but money is right now because of the pandemic.
"people who leave home early without looking back generally do so for a reason" - struck a chord for me. I ran away from home when I was 13. My younger brother followed when he was 15 and I helped him get on his feet.
Elon's early frugality is also a familiar trait. I am now 71 and still frugal with my lifestyle and my spending. Is Elon like that too?
Wait, any elaboration on the safe story? Is your statement it's impractical just from the original BI story?
Amazing article and the first of your pieces that I've read. I haven't searched any of your other articles, but what sacrifices are you making to make journalism like this possible? I don't mean the question to expect points to support martyrdom, but more along the lines of what temptations of wealth, convenience, having to defend your stance socially... etc do you have to overcome keep your integrity like this?
The author has no structurally sound arguments, no evidence, and he entirely relies on several glaring fallacies as the foundation for every single erroneous and wildly impartial claim made.
Excellent article
Having read quite a bit about Musk over the years including a book a number of years ago that went into this to a lesser degree, it’s great to finally see a journalist making an attempt to set the record straight
I do hope in time people will be kinder
He’s human after all and in my view one of the 42 very best!
Well done! If all articles were like this I'd actually like journalism. I think another one of the problems is people's shortening attention span which is adding fuel to the fire.
Fact remains Elon Musk benefits from white privilege regardless of his pedigree. Even if he failed, he still had a safety net of family/relatives who he could rely on in US/CAN/SA.
Once Musk achieved wealth, he took insane risks on ventures that most in the industry thought were crazy, if not outright irresponsible, considering he had other mouths to feed. Only those who have grown up in an environment where all there material needs are met have the luxury to take such high risks without fearing the consequences.
Thank you for publishing content worth reading. We need systems for incentivizing truth (or well intentioned efforts to uncover the truth) over clickbait. Switching topics, are you interested in meltdown proof designs for nuclear energy? https://www.peterwhelan.com/what-to-know-about-gen-iv-power/
This is awesome. I had almost believed that apartheid story about Elon but seems it was bullshit
I think the concept of what a good journalist is has changed a lot over the years. I remember a few years back I had the impression that a journalist (at least working at a large respectable newspaper) is somebody that does a deep dive into any story they publish, risking their lives at times to do so. These days it seems everybody has accepted that a good journalist is somebody that recounts what's trending on twitter and writes articles in line with the political (or otherwise) requirements of their sponsors.
Re: corrections, it's "jibes", not "jives":
http://www.word-detective.com/122002.html
I'd hate to be a party pooper, especially on such a well-written article, but I'm afraid it Musk be done...
I really resonated with this specific part of your article:
"A colorful anecdote sourced to only the father (which, if it happened as described, you’d have expected the sons to have mentioned over the years)"
See, the thing is: I completely agree. If either Elon or Kimbal happened to mention this prior, it would very likely make Errol's claims true, right?
*clears throat*
Elon in an interview with Forbes in 2014: https://web.archive.org/web/20140802011449/http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2014/07/28/elon-musk-tells-me-his-secret-of-success-hint-it-aint-about-the-money/
I'm sorry, but the fact that this article was published 4 YEARS PRIOR and the fact that Elon seems very determined on discrediting Errol's claims are enough for me.
You don't deserve the title 'The Save Journalism Committee' as your title is shameful itself, "I Talked to Elon Musk about Journalism and the Blood Emeralds Story" . What do you expect to get in answer from him, the truth , or whatever he wants to make you believe. Are you a true embodiment of Hypocrisy .
Thank you for writing this. The amount of incorrect information out there makes it so, so hard to know what's actually true.