Has Elon Musk become an existential threat to humanity?

TimBKK · January 19

He certainly grows more annoying by the day.

Will B Good · January 19

OMG...just been reading up his father Errol Musk.

Raised his step-daughter Jana from four years old until she was 16......then divorced her mother but later on had two kids with Jana...the daughter he raised.

This kind of thing doesn't even happen in Middlesbrough

RSD1 · January 19

31 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

OMG...just been reading up his father Errol Musk.

Raised his step-daughter Jana from four years old until she was 16......then divorced her mother but later on had two kids with Jana...the daughter he raised.

This kind of thing doesn't even happen in Middlesbrough

Pretty sickening. And as they say, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/elon-musk-father-kids-stepdaughter/

He also comes across as quite deluded:

patman30 · January 19

TLDR
but
The man has a lot of satellites capable of lots of things
he is currently manufacturing a droid army
he already has vehicles that require no humans
he has rockets that can reach any part of the earth within 30 mins
and he wants to put chips into peoples brains
and one of his recent comments on government issued visa's was....
"I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend"
yeh, sure, nothing to see here.

spidermike007 · January 19

He has certainly not worn his power and wealth lightly, he is becoming incredibly obnoxious, and he seems to be spectacularly ignorant when it comes to world affairs and politics.

So yes, I would agree that he is an existential hazard to humanity.

connda · January 19

4 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

If Elon Musk is an existential threat to anyone or anything, it is probably to himself and his business empire.

Yep - He looks like a business failure to me. :biggrin:

Will B Good · January 19

2 hours ago, RSD1 said:

Pretty sickening. And as they say, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree:

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/elon-musk-father-kids-stepdaughter/

He also comes across as quite deluded:

Mad as!!

RSD1 · January 19

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

He has certainly not worn his power and wealth lightly, he is becoming incredibly obnoxious, and he seems to be spectacularly ignorant when it comes to world affairs and politics.

So yes, I would agree that he is an existential hazard to humanity.

Around ten years ago, I was genuinely impressed by Elon Musk’s accomplishments and often praised him as someone making a positive impact on the world. Many of my friends were skeptical even then, dismissing him as just another dubious billionaire. At the time, I defended him, but looking back, I can see they were absolutely right. It wasn’t long after that my opinion of him began to shift dramatically.

Today, I see him in a completely different light; lacking integrity, emotionally unstable, spreading lies, misinformation, and conspiracy theories. He now comes across as totally greedy, self-serving, and self-absorbed, acting like an immature and disruptive politically motivated troublemaker that the world could do without. And his recreational drug use only seems to make him even more erratic and unstable.

jas007 · January 19

On 1/18/2025 at 5:50 PM, RSD1 said:

It's not only about his money that will shape the future but, as Sam Harris pointed out, it's all the platforming he does of misinformation, disinformation, conspiracies, hoaxes, and what seems to be his wholesale distorted view of reality.

Personally, I think there is a good chance that he could be remembered as a destructor and not a creator. Many people start out on the right course doing some seemingly great things, but then eventually turn to the dark side, which is what they are remembered for in the end.

Names like Julius Caesar, Joseph Stalin and Benito Mussolini come to mind. And let's of course not forget Anakin Skywalker.

Platforming? It's called free speech. An important right in America. Without that, we have nothing. The rest is just noise.

FriscoKid · January 19

3 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Platforming? It's called free speech. An important right in America. Without that, we have nothing. The rest is just noise.

False conspiracy theories, hate speech and disinformation is not free speech.

jas007 · January 19

16 minutes ago, FriscoKid said:

False conspiracy theories, hate speech and disinformation is not free speech.

You have been brainwashed. My condolences. You just don't understand.

People should be able to say whatever. If it's nut, the other people will figure that out. What's the alternative? A brainwashed fact checker?

soi3eddie · January 19

No.

rattlesnake · January 19

9 hours ago, connda said:

it's The End Of The World As We Know It.

Thank God.

rattlesnake · January 19

The minute he supports Trump, he become à supervillain. You guys are funny. :biggrin:

FriscoKid · January 19

36 minutes ago, jas007 said:

You have been brainwashed. My condolences. You just don't understand.

People should be able to say whatever. If it's nut, the other people will figure that out. What's the alternative? A brainwashed fact checker?

You just don’t fully understand; it’s much more than that. It is no longer so simple and this isn’t just about fake words in a newspaper anymore. We now live in an era of highly advanced technology, where AI and sophisticated spoofing capabilities can seamlessly combine audio, video, and doctored photos, often with images taken entirely out of context and combined with false words. For the average person, especially those who may not be tech-savvy or highly informed, distinguishing fact from fiction has become increasingly difficult in the face of such convincing disinformation.

jas007 · January 19

10 minutes ago, FriscoKid said:

You just don’t fully understand; it’s much more than that. It is no longer so simple and this isn’t just about fake words in a newspaper anymore. We now live in an era of highly advanced technology, where AI and sophisticated spoofing capabilities can seamlessly combine audio, video, and doctored photos, often with images taken entirely out of context and combined with false words. For the average person, especially those who may not be tech-savvy or highly informed, distinguishing fact from fiction has become increasingly difficult in the face of such convincing disinformation.

Even if you assume all that, what's the alternative? A brainwashed fact checker? People will figure it out. The town square. All sort of nuts, and yet life goes on. That's reality.

Have you ever lived in NYC? Ever been to the heart of Manhattan? All sorts of nuts, on every street corner. Some have microphones and amplifiers. They'll tell you about Jesus, or the end of the world, or the evils of capitalism. They spew nonsense 4/7. And yet most people pay no attention. They just walk on by. And life goes on. The crazy people are no danger to anyone. What's the real danger? People who want to shut down free speech because they think they know what's best. Those are the dangerous people.

GammaGlobulin · January 19

Elon's approach to China is what seems most worrisome.

This is, perhaps, just a self-serving approach which Elon has taken, presumably to protect his business interests in Red China.

But, is it best for the world?

Likely....not.

Taiwan cannot accept Elon's view of Red China, and neither can any thinking individual who respects freedom and rule of law.

oldcpu · January 19

On 1/18/2025 at 7:19 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

The bigger problem with him, with X and with people like Trump is that too many people listen to them and think they are the smart guys, and they must all know the truth and tell us the truth.

Exactly.

But rather than point a finger at the stupidity (?) those who listen to Trump's spins or lies, or point a finger at the stupidity of those who listen to Musk when Musk is trolling, ... no ... instead we read of many who ignore the stupidity of such blind followers.