Comment by onetrickwolf
1 day ago
It's a cool demo and all but I can't help but feel like it's not that impressive considering these companies control such an absurd amount of capital and this is all they can do with it. A stunt for a launch showing off features that obviously won't be in any real product.
A lot of public funds go into these companies and it just feels like they are playing around with toys instead advancing humanity. I sometimes wonder if we are not allocating resources very efficiently.
> it's not that impressive co
you have to be pretty jaded to think a car that can fly through the air is not impressive.
I mean if I saw this at a monster truck derby I would think it was cool. When it's companies that represent trillions of dollars it feels a little underwhelming I was expecting more. It's also clearly a gimmick it's not like this is a real product. Even from their own marketing it's obvious.
If it was like "we figured out this technology and it will be available to the public and we will be working with regulators to usher in a new age of flying cars!" I would be pretty stoked. But it's pretty obviously just a stunt for the launch.
I don't know I just...I feel crazy but I feel like these resources could be doing something amazing and we getting like stunt tricks.
They do happen to build the number one selling electric vehicle in the world.
I mean Chinese EVs have already surpassed Tesla in global volume sales and their CEO helped elect the man who gut the EV industry in America. But I guess it's cool we are doing cool tricks while that happens?
Would you the same thing if it wasn't Elon Musk at the helm of this company? I'm not a big fan of him either, but I get the feeling some don't want to like this demo.
Also the public government funds being received are in the form of contracts. It's not like they can just use the money anywhere. Both Tesla and SpaceX are likely using private money (that is to say, funds not from the government) to fund this.
If it was a smaller scrappier company I would think it was neat, but this company and associated companies represents so much of the market and so many resources. And I don't know it just seems like they are doing like...monster truck derby stunts?? It's just kind of underwhelming to see this is what they are spending their time on for me. I was expecting a lot more.
> It's not like they can just use the money anywhere
I mean SpaceX was literally caught buying Cybertrucks it's clear there's some corruption. But aside from that, they also just represent such a large chunk of the market that it's hard to argue that they aren't just siphoning funds from other ventures somewhat even outside of public misappropriation. I wouldn't even mind that if I felt like they earned it, but it just feels like the stock was pumped as a meme or something. The engineering is impressive but not impressive IMO for what they are worth.
SpaceX doesn't exclusively fund itself through government money. They have plenty of private investors, and they used private money to buy those Cybertrucks. This purcahse is not the clear sign of corruption you present it to be; there is zero evidence that money from government contracts was used.
Government contracts are not grants. There are specific appropriations for where that money is allowed to be used.
And as for your point about the funds going to other ventures, sure I guess. You're free to think whatever you want about which private companies deserve funding, but it's not like it's unfair to anyone when two private agents get together and agree to do something. That is the case even if the private investor funds the private company to do something considered phony and pointless.
> it just feels like they are playing around with toys instead advancing humanity
You don't think electric vehicles and battery storage advance humanity?
On the contrary I would rather my big companies didn't try so hard to advance humanity. Elon has a lot of takes around creating a Utopian society which do not sit right with me. Really it's not the advancement that's the problem, it's the requisite power and resources necessary to achieve the elaborate visions. Humanity should be advanced by a collective, not by a few gifted individuals, even if that means more bureaucracy and less efficiency.
> Humanity should be advanced by a collective, not by a few gifted individuals, even if that means more bureaucracy and less efficiency.
In other words, you are advocating for communism.
Hah! It sounds exactly like that, except that's not what I meant at all. I see all of humanity as a collective. We work together to achieve things without any single power dictating our decisions. So in my mind I'm actually thinking more libertarian. And maybe a more accurate replacement for "bureaucracy" would be logistical friction or something like that. The lure of highly concentrated leadership is the elimination of this friction, at whatever cost the leadership decides, irrespective of your wishes. When all power is concentrated in the hands of the few, personal liberty doesn't stand much of a chance.