How Elon Musk Got Rich: The $230 Billion Myth | The Class Room ft. Second Thought

Elon Musk spent decades building something big: himself. Musk managed to sell the world on a persona: the visionary genius billionaire working his hardest to save the the world. And it’s worked: the myth of Elon Musk has made him a lot of money.
But what did it cost to get him there? And what does it mean that the richest man in the world build that wealth purely on an image of himself?
We took a deep look into Musk’s entire career: court documents, SEC filings, and interviews to break down the story Elon tells about himself and how he leveraged it to accumulate wealth and power.
#elonmusk #billionaire #tesla
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[@conansglasses2645]

" Tesla's value is based on the myth of Elon " hits even truer seeing how the stock is crashing right now now that public opinion of him took a 180°

[@jensenraylight8011]

here the thing, you can do what he did too, paid someone to spread a rumors about you being "the real life iron man" or something absurd like being "superintelligent", having "photographic memory". as long as it didn't come out straight from his mouth, nobody could debunk him or accuse him anything. also, if you want an illusion of being a genius, here are some tips for you, Hire the best people you can hire, there are over 1.000 of smartest people in his companies, he can talk to them one by one, steal what they said, their thought. and when you're talking with other people or in media, use their ideas as if it's yours. by doing that, people will mistake you as a genius, when in reality what you did was quoting your employees ideas. because there are 1.000 people in your company, nobody will be able to figure it out whose ideas it was. your new hires and intern will also mistaken you as a genius. when caught red handed, create a story where the guy who caught you is the villain and you're the hero. make fun of them, make them into meme, and rally your supporter to attack them. this is the Masterclass of being a Toxic Sociopath like Elon

[@yourelawyered]

And now it’s back up, looks like it’s not all public opinion

[@chillbeatz6805]

60-80% increase since your comment what next

[@KingHalbatorix]

comments that aged like fine whine tslaq stooges are the best clowns, the whole entire world is their circus

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

Yep. I think his stupid behavior is finally catching up with him. People are seeing that it's unhinged and deranged, not the "cool, edgy, and funny" that people were thinking before. The failure of Hyperloop and the horrible performance of Tesla cars over a cold holiday-weekend in Chicago is also hitting home, not to mention the fact that he is running Twitter into the ground and it can't be spun any other way. It's been a rough couple of months for Elon and the media is finally not sugarcoating it. Oh, one more thing. His "awesome" Starship can't get out of the atmosphere without exploding. We're all supposed to forget that the last Starship launch was supposed to end with a full orbit and a re-entry vehicle parachuting to a nice soft landing in the Atlantic. In reality, it didn't hit 1/4 of its mission milestones before exploding like a nuclear bomb. If this was a NASA project, it would be dead and Congress would be furious at the waste of time and money (Starship has been in development since 2013). The Elon-simps poo-poo the fact that Artemis went to the moon and back, and landed its capsule in the Pacific on-target and in perfect shape ON ITS FIRST LAUNCH.

[@GleefulNihilism]

I always giggle when he tried to claim that the whole thing about his family owned Emerald Mines in Apartheid-Era South Africa was just something his critics made up - then his own dad popped into the conversation with "not only is it true but your sister is sitting right next to me wearing some of our emeralds right now, lol".

[@OTROHIJO]

yeah , his dad said it was a bump on the ground with some emeralds in it. Didn't last long

[@ericschmitz03]

his dad is mentally ill dude. he makes shit up all the time

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

And there are also articles where Elon admits it.

[@GleefulNihilism]

@@TellusJD lol, sure thing Muskie.

[@GleefulNihilism]

@@TellusJD I do get reject shit by throwing the tribal ball when - A.) You buy it because you picked up the tribal ball. -AND- B.) You'd done absolutely nothing that points to the idea that I should take your opinion seriously. This is all public record, you alt-right sad boi. I'm only mentioning his dad first because it's the funniest. Are you going to cry about it? Is someone going to need to call the Wa'ambulance?

[@rickys7883]

Didn't Elon also call for an end to all government subsidies after taking billions in government subsidies? An estimated 4.9 billion back in 2015 per the Los Angeles Times.

[@Skank_and_Gutterboy]

He also got billions in transportation subsidies in the last couple years and a nice piece of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill for his fraudulent Hyperloop project. Now that Hyperloop is dead, he has to pay that back, right? {crickets}

[@jgunther3398]

he's done everything bad any socialist joker can think up, same as donald trump. so yeah, he did that

[@RyjDen]

He in the end at 54 less then whas before - snow cliner , no pension and No even Food Stamps now ! Life gives back what sombody deserves.

[@lnsflare1]

Not "after," "while."

[@Madasin_Paine]

A list actor as Welfare Warfare King Dumps waste on Natives. Let them manage it for 7 generations and called IT Philanthropy See nuke waste by the 10 dump on Australian AbOriginals Seems THEY don't want them talking EITHER. LIKE HOW THEY SURVIVED ON AUSTRALIA SO WELL WITH SO MANY ANIMALS AND HABITAT IN THEIR STATE? CLOWN COLON Ism Any ISM shall do.

[@nightowl6260]

The U.S gave him grant money -- no strings attached. Every taxpayer should be getting money back.

[@zenboy1612]

It’s all corruption, the corporations and the politicians are the same class

[@nth7273]

especially from GM and Chrysler.

[@lorrainemarez9965]

Totally agree….. As Shareholders! 💰

[@coryturke7336]

Tesla paid every cent back, with interest. This video is ridiculous, and a hit piece like all other media looking to shut down an individual that has created electric transportation, reusable rockets, put American astronauts on ISS without having to catch a ride on a Russian rocket, which the states has had to do now for decades, is boring tunnels to alleviate life sucking traffic, developing technology to help people walk again, see again, hear again and get their lives back. Oh, and that whole multiplanetary species thing. You know, no biggie. Here is the guy who started a handful of companies that are collectively trying to pay gunshot forward to a better place, and everyone is sh!tting on the only places not corrupt to their core that are trying to DESTROY your country! I've always known the effects of propaganda given the resign of Hitler, Stalin, et al, but to watch it happen in my lifetime, in real-time, right in front of me, is mortifying to the core. You know how you all say, and agree, that the government can't be trusted, and how they're out to make your life worse? Well why do you think they're putting out an ENDLESS barrage of negativity about someone actually trying to DO something about it? Elon has been tapped to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. Do you even know what that means!? It's the VERY thing that's going to make your life, and the country, what it CAN be. Please, for the love of all things wonderful, look at how many industries, including government, are being disrupted by Elon and Co. and ask yourself why there's such a huge target on him. This is NOT the time to not think. You MUST look at the ACTUAL truth. It's so important right now. Please. I'm begging you to look. Your country is about to be destroyed, and you can't even see it. If north America is destroyed, the world is destroyed. And it will be too late by the time you realize what you just did by being ignorant, and then you'll live in a hell on earth.

[@justinfowler2857]

Elon Musk is just another modern Thomas Edison. He takes credit for all the work other people do.

[@88mphDrBrown]

Thomas Edison was levels above Musk.

[@therev6689]

Edison never made a rocket land the same way it took off lol

[@88mphDrBrown]

@@therev6689 musk never did that either 😆 🤣 😂. VTVL rockets were around for 20 years before SpaceX did anything with them.

[@kayallen7603]

NO, he's FAR WORSE than Edison ever was.

[@acerimmer8338]

@@therev6689 Ahahahaha, you think Elon did the engineering. That's cute.

[@scottabc72]

When Elon talks about just 'getting' investors with phone calls it really helps a lot if you are already part of a family worth almost a Billion $ (30 years ago too). His father helped much more than with $20000 loan while Elon was slumming it for a couple years to avoid South African military service.

[@nitawealand3629]

sooooo😂

[@pysq8]

1:36 it was 200k

[@MFSCraft]

@@pysq8 but it says "10% of 200k"

[@pysq8]

@@MFSCraft ahhhhh thx

[@knyghtryder3599]

Yeah , a back up billion or so really comes in handy

[@billymorgan4611]

It would be worth mentioning that he went to the most prestigious schools in South Africa, Canada and the US. So 'calling a few investors' is quite easy when you already have the connections.

[@lukazupie7220]

Like millions of others around the world yet 99% of them are totally unimportant. It is so pathetic to think like that.

[@lukazupie7220]

Also, what investors are we talking about? 200k for zip2? 200k? Really? Many middle class parents buy apartment for their kids that is more costly lol. Millions of people have 200k in their bank account. And they buy apartment and rent it out - and nothing wrong with that, i am doing the same, we are not all meant for great things.

[@mnomadvfx]

That's like saying "yes I went to Harvard and I talked to every rich person there and they all gave me their numbers and liked me". That's maybe exaggerating the issue a bit but it's not that easy - you don't just know who has what.

[@ringedplanet]

Connections is only part of the secret sauce. Intelligence, Vision and hard work is the other part. Read the Book David and Goliath by Malcom Gladwell

[@glormoparch5154]

He made a Tesla out of wood in the African jungles he's an engineering genius

[@TheGingerDivine]

“I only took some of my fathers money; the rest I got from the network I have because of my father”

[@hrhtreeoflife4815]

Q 😂 Thanks for the 😂 True 👍 isn't it Q❤

[@Ang.0910]

Like trump 😅

[@michaelmiranda8670]

​@@Ang.0910 EXACTLY! Buy existing and rebrand, take all credit and self promote

[@TimJohnson-x1o]

His mother is a multi millionaire, he came here from Canada not SA. He left SA after Apartheid ended. went to his millionaire mommy in Canada, then came to the US.

[@Ang.0910]

@@TimJohnson-x1o does it really matter. He’s doing more for humanity than u r

[@hidesertroamer]

No one gets that rich doing the “right thing”.

[@mikehunt8375]

NO ONE! Just like no one becomes President without being part of the psychopath elite...

[@danielg.w5733]

Successful authors? Musicians?

[@lmp9256]

Yawn. Analysis of a 3 yr old.

[@j.j.hosenfeld4955]

Of course not. If you're rich, you're a bad person. If you're super rich, you're just evil. You can't get money without taking it from somebody else and stepping on them. That's just how it works, right? No further thought need be given on the subject. It's simple. Elon Musk is super rich because he's evil, and he does evil things to hurt people. That's the only thing that matters, and you shouldn't believe all of the sycophants who like to spin things to make him look like he's doing something good. Because he is evil, everything he does is evil. Period.

[@janchristian514]

@@j.j.hosenfeld4955Your satire actually sounds like just the opposite of what you mean. I hope you are just kidding!

[@jedw8753]

This man really is the definition of "failing upwards". When you come from money and have connections - how do you even fail? Just get investments, build something that half works, claim it's revolutionary, sell that business to dumb money (absolutely no shortage of this). What aspect of any of this is difficult? The hardest part is the initial money and connections. If you're born with that you can be a fool and succeed. Happens all the time.

[@oscars411]

There have been significantly richer people throughout history and none of them have launched multiple multi-billion dollar companies. Heck most rich kids don't amount to anything. Build something that half works; say the best selling car model in the world or a company that deploys more payloads to space than all other entities combined or the largest battery storage supply in the world. Yeah that's really easy that's why no one else has done it. But hey as long as you have connections you can achieve anything!

[@raghavkaushal7561]

@@oscars411 yeah okay. we get it. Elon did something not many rich kids would do. But is he actually an honorable person?

[@dh9030]

@@raghavkaushal7561 What kind of stupid question is this? How would any of us know if he's an honorable person. We see what the media wants us to see. Do you know him? Of course you don't. Are you honorable? Bashing people in KZbin comments isn't a characteristic I would attribute to an honorable person.

[@dh9030]

There is so much dumb in this comment it's not even worth breaking down. You should've aborted it.

[@jermaineayivoh8263]

@@dh9030 If you actually do a bit of research, anyone with a rational mind and the ability to think critically will have no other choice but to come to the conclusion that Elon Musk is anything but an honorable man. Elon has often lied about his accomplishments in the past and has taken credit for things he didn't actually do himself, and concepts that he claims were his "original" ideas that have in some cases been around for 100 years. There is irrefutable evidence of this! You say that we only get to see of Elon Musk what the media want us to see, ironically you are somewhat right in that statement but not in the way that you might think that you are. You see Elon has worked hard over the years of crafting the image of the "genius" billionaire philanthropist that just wants to make the world a better place. This is an image Elon has been quite happy to feed to the media and has helped them continually perpetuate it, because Elon has a very fragile ego that needs constant validation. Yet the truth about Elon is that he is not even close to being a genius, and also not close to being a philanthropist either. What he is however is a ruthless business man, who has time and again proved that he is not above stepping on others to futher his own success.

[@minaryeon9259]

What I learnt so far, any billionaire saying they are doing good things and they don't need money is a liar. Their ego is over their head, they want praises and attention.

[@gwarlow]

Luckily, you will never have to deal with any of their “problems”.

[@myman8336]

Yea well you'll keep crying while living off the revolutionary products they keep producing from that vast wealth.. 😆

[@lmp9256]

What you should have learnt is that you are not a very good judge of what is true and should try harder. Just because you are told things as if they were true does not make them true.

[@heikos4264]

'saying they are doing good things and they don't need money is a liar. Their ego is over their head, they want praises and attention.' you mean like the guys that made this video?

[@darrenk7163]

So what who cares

[@montegrifo]

Is it just me or was Musk expressing himself much more coherently years ago? I hardly understand what he is brambling these days.

[@kalef1234]

Well right now he is trapped in X/Twitter literally all he's doing. Guy has lost his mind

[@elsyee3457]

Brainworms

[@smileandlaughs]

What's unfair is Tesla wasn't built by Musk but his engineers. Unfortunately they will never get the recognition.

[@richardscathouse]

Kinda like Tesla himself. Westinghouse stole him blind and dumped him on the streets 😮

[@Shiftheads]

I mean they actually do get recognition and have been on several interviews as a group of engineers. Same with spacex. I don't see gm, bmw, Ford engineers sitting for interviews and talking about how they developed different parts of the car. Nor do I see any of their CEOs sleeping on the floor and changing the assembly line based on what they see.

[@CJ-xg4wl]

How the heck they got Tesla papers and documents ? he got millions in subs for Tesla see why he left California man is just a crook like DT

[@fcog9525]

And they are very rich actually, but that doesn't seem to matter...

[@andyhughes1776]

Without Musk's direction, the engineers can't do shit!

[@zackthomas1031]

This "good billionaire" grift is the oldest trick in the book. He has a very hard working PR team and a lot of people are gullible enough to eat it right up like good little sheeple.

[@digital.frenchy]

Can see you really know the guy... lol

[@SeanMetellus]

@@digital.frenchy on he said PR team 😂… Elon is famously known not to have a PR team, lobbyists or advertising. He is all of those in 1

[@createusername6421]

@@SeanMetellus Yeah.. right you can't possibly shell out all this bs without a few shills

[@aalvarez2914]

@@SeanMetellus doubtful. He lies a lot, so why would you believe a claim that he doesn’t have a PR team? He’s sure managed to rewrite history, and his money talks.

[@kevinfinnegan310]

I bought it until two years ago… I’m guilty of being Sheeple on this one

[@darinherrick9224]

Sounds like Elon well understood the way to success as a car manufacturer in the U.S. is to get government handouts.

[@123axel123]

Yes, and? Handouts are bad, but they were available. Entrepreneurs take them. I would prefer a government that does not give handouts.

[@rickb3650]

@@123axel123 You don't even know what entrepreneur means. Musk is the antithesis of an entrepreneur. He's a rich kid who used his money and position to get away with being a criminal.

[@page8301]

@@123axel123 And it means that the myth of "self made billionaire" that these scumbags are proliferating are nothing but complete and utter lies.

[@gregmiller3523]

@@123axel123 I think the irony here is that Elon has spoken out about how only lazy people take handouts, he has bashed philanthropy and social programs, all the while he got a lot of handouts. So its more about Elon the hypocrite than anything else.

[@Nupish_AF]

Yeah but most people have ire towards poor people who they think abuse handouts, meanwhile the people who really impact the world evade criticism/ire for taking advantage of handouts for personal gain.

[@nex-ex5100]

I am so sick of seeing billionaires be bailed out by working class people, while most can't even afford healthcare for our children. Eat the rich.

[@DipayanPyne94]

U mean, Ultra Rich. Many rich people have earned their money via honest means

[@JeiBeeBee]

Musk, above all, is a performer. He plays this “nice pal to have a beer with and happens to be a visionary” role almost to perfection. That’s how I always saw him: a performer focused on his own image; practically no credit to all the others he needs for doing the actual job.

[@williamcook1342]

So you NEVER listen to his presentations at the various gigafactories, where he praises his employees to the skies?

[@stephenmoore1541]

@@williamcook1342 did you not see how he's fired a ton of people recently or how despite his black employees being the targets of harassment and hate crimes, he did nothing to stop them. Not even a company memo. Considering he grew up in South Africa during Apartheid, was born into wealth thanks to his dad's emerald mine. He wants to sell this image of "I'm just like you, except I did it. I became a billionaire." When he is nothing like normal people. He's nothing but a racist con artist. The most successful con artist in the world, but that's like being the best smelling pile of crap in the world.

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

@@williamcook1342 It's really easy to stand in front of a podium and say that you provide for your workers. The information however says otherwise. While he talks a good game, he doesn't actually show any appreciation for his workers.

[@OriginBullet]

​@@williamcook1342Why are you boot licking so hard? It baffles me how people are so easily fooled into thinking Elon is smart.

[@stuiley424]

Real life Tony Stark.

[@johnwright9372]

All billionnaires make their wealth on the backs of others.

[@velocityacoustics]

Free hand outs from the government and taxpayers money. Our money went to make him rich, if you think that's ok.

[@hermanshim8948]

But not all billionaires lie about it.

[@vorpalinferno9711]

Stop discrediting an African persons talent.

[@AlexdaCunha]

That's not fair! Elon's fortune is entirely based on the BS he is selling

[@black_sheep_nation]

The irony of the man who names his company after the man who died penniless from having all his inventions and ideas stolen from him, particularly by Thomas Edison.

[@lancesabin4114]

Yes, the name comes from an absolute genius! Iam a huge fan of N Tesla, I’ve studied him & have read or watched anything I can find on him. The greed of the people that stole from him is unforgivable. N Tesla wanted everyone to have free energy & basically all of his great ground breaking ideas! N Tesla was far from greedy & taken Advantage of. Imagine how different the world would be if he had been able to share his ideas? The problem was greedy people couldn’t find a way to make money with N Tesla’s ideas, he wanted everyone to have them for free. Greed & Power runs the world! What a shame???

[@lancesabin4114]

N Tesla~

[@lancesabin4114]

N Tesla

[@lancesabin4114]

Strange how I wrote his name 2 more times to get it to say replies yet it doesn’t???

[@zenboy1612]

Capitalism summed up

[@furball8967]

Bernie made a direct jab at Musk saying...” why should rich people get tax credits for their pet projects?” Referring to Musk trying to get government handouts for SpaceX.

[@johngalt0096]

SpaceX just cut off key links for Ukrainians. I will therefore never buy a Tesla; it is written.

[@IonorRea]

The government provided money to Elon's projects because they saw it as a good investment into the nation's own industrial independence and job creation, if they didn't do so, both Tesla and SpaceX would likely die, but in the same manner as the government subsidies in South Korea helped companies like Samsung become a major player in electronics and job provider with large positive economical impact on the nation, even (some) Elon's projects are seen as a way to compete with fast-paced competition which also receives support like many successful companies in Asia. Without supporting promising US companies whatever through tax breaks or direct investment from the government, the US would be unable to compete with other nations doing exactly the same, as many promising companies like Tesla or SpaceX would die before achieving self-sufficiency which would leave the US economy even weaker and dependent on foreign goods and services in strategically important sectors like transportation,whatever terrestrial or extraterrestrial...

[@Mike-jv8bv]

bernie is a grifter as well.

[@johngalt0096]

@@Mike-jv8bv You’re out of your mind… or a 🤖 bot.

[@Mike-jv8bv]

@@johngalt0096 actually i'm not out of my mind. you are simply disconnected. they are all grifters my dude. bernie, mitch, graham, all of them. the republicans and democrats are all controlled by the same multibillionaires banking apparatuses, and NGO's. Bernie sold out a long time ago. you've been psyoped.

[@Tetsuo618]

Elon: “I don’t wanna take my abusive fathers money” Also Elon: *takes $20,000 of his father’s money

[@lukazupie7220]

Maybe his bro asked him😁

[@laurenconrad1799]

And becomes a neglectful father, which can be a form of abuse.

[@donparkison4617]

One part that they didnt mention is that a lot of the other investors only joined because if his father's lobbying and influence.

[@jacquelinebeharry978]

Elon has made many many millionaires of the little guy by manipulating the stock. He has crushed many a hedge fund and big investers shorting it with his timely tweets

[@patriciarouse2801]

Polluting, pollution profit & space littering is convenient genius.

[@duprog]

I like the part where he came to start college with only $2000 ( It use to be $10 but with inflation, the story is the same ) and then when he needed more he just tap his fathers fortune. It always make for a better story when you start from nothing. Just like all other self made billionaires, it doesn't do you any good to look to far behind the official story.

[@michaelcaspi6476]

not truth. as Elon musk well aware his life will end way before connecting the dots : that most of his investment and super hard work will show any final outcome or as claims like you fall to see rather sad how such amazing picture ppl missing so much when all they can see is the frame only and massing with such tiny cognitive narrow thinking bigger picture and you focus over shape of outside frame wen long after he die - will be only the beginning GUYSthanksdocthanksdocthanksdocthanksdoc

[@davidgoosen1633]

Yeah same story Trump told another lie

[@foxymetroid]

Some companies "start out" in a garage not because it's cheaper or easier, but because they know it makes for better PR.

[@cynthiahutchins5790]

It reminds of one interview of a millionaire (the story is from many years back when being a “millionaire” was a big deal) when asked where he made his first million…….the answer……in- heritance. At least he was honest.

[@lukazupie7220]

@duprog may i ask how do you know that? What is your source? Can you give us any more details? How much money? When?

[@leiag201]

He's another Elizabeth Holmes. Robo taxi's, Hyperloop, Solar tiles. Those are just three of his ideas that never happened. There's a dozen more, and everyone just believes him. Elon has never had ONE original idea, and he's never used any of his own money

[@sdd6528]

Strange how Elon timed his move out of South Africa with the age of mandatory service in the military. It is almost as if Elon was dodging the draft just like rich people here did during the Vietnam War....

[@bwm_72]

@@GeraintDafis You're missing the point. Rich people have the privilege to do so. Few others have that luxury- and the rich and privileged will again benefit on the backs of those who fight the wars, do the hard work, and the heavy lifting.

[@bobfg3130]

Right.

[@sdd6528]

@@GeraintDafis But does draft dodging fit his narrative or is it just another lie in his story?

[@lucasgrey9794]

Draft dodging is good actually. I've more respect for draft dodgers of Vietnam, Korean War and WW2 than the shitheads who agreed to kill for Wallstreet and City of London. Musk is a con artist though.

[@ali_kazmi]

He said he did so intentionally because he didn't want to spend two years oppressing black people: kzbin.info4m4Y-zxGluU

[@bccsivxx-xxivvii]

I always like to highlight that he was fired from PayPal (before it was actually PayPal) on his day off. He was on vacation. Not that it necessarily implies anything more, but it's a call back to the movie Friday. "Damn Craig, how the hell you gonna get fired on your day off?" It is kind of funny that he found out he was fired when his flight landed in Australia, and he hopped on the next plane back to Cali. So he got off one 18+ hour flight just to turn around and get on another back to where he came from. And I like to bring up his move to Canada was partly to avoid mandatory military service in South Africa. I don't have a problem with that personally, but it's a jab at his right wing fan boys who do.

[@ChristopherRadoff]

Yes, his plan was to revolutionize banking and his business partners just wanted to see money coming in so they got rid of him. This is why he likes to have control over his companies, so that they don't get distracted by quarterly profits and work toward solving much bigger problems

[@gaminggeckos4388]

@@ChristopherRadoff So how is that “solving much bigger problems” thing going so far?

[@TheDarthbinky]

"He was on vacation. " Not just on vacation... he was on his honeymoon for his first marriage. This is probably why he doesn't go on honeymoons anymore. "Yes, his plan was to revolutionize banking and his business partners just wanted to see money coming in so they got rid of him. " The video covers it. Musk was a narcissistic shitgibbon who was reportedly difficult to work with. In addition to what JT correctly says in the video, he insisted that the company be named after his old "X" company, even though consumer surveys consistently showed that "X" was seen as associated with pornography, making it a terrible name for a bank. Additionally, he insisted on using Windows framework when the rest of the board preferred the more stable Linux framework. Things like this add up, and the board fired him while he was on a plane heading to his honeymoon. I mean, come on, at what point has he ever actually revolutionized anything? SpaceX is just building old NASA gear and renting it back to NASA. He didn't invent the Tesla cars, Eberhart and Tarpenning did. The Boring stuff is just old crackpot ideas from the 1800s. The closest he's ever come to actually inventing something useful was when he made Zip2 with his brother in the mid-90s- and even that was super flawed and required outside help to make work.

[@kushagraraghav381]

@@gaminggeckos4388 well reusable rockets is something I would consider a bigger problem.

[@Pyrolonn]

All good points. He was fired for incompetence, given stock as severance, and then the company went gangbusters because they took out the trash, and then his severance in stock made him rich.

[@God_is_love_believe]

It is outrageous that people get away with this level of deception.

[@richardscathouse]

People are so stupid these days.

[@serafinacosta7118]

There aes plenty out there. 😊 Bernie Madoff did far worse. They are out there.

[@patriciaherlevi6217]

It's because people see only what they want to see and worship the guy. I find it disturbing that so many people worship billionaires who are not trustworthy.

[@JayDee-b5u]

The only conclusion I can come to is that the gov is in on it. They keep propping him up with dollars and closing eyes to obviously shady/illegal wrongdoing, the news idolizes him him some more etc.

[@silentgreen0058]

Welcome to the era of social media…truth?…who’s truth?

[@glenbateman5960]

Given what he's been doing with Twitter, I am forced to conclude a large portion of his wealth has been amassed by simply never paying a bill. You'd be surprised what being a deadbeat can do for your finances.

[@bera0014]

I can't get my head around how people think that a billionaire cares for anyone else other than themselves.

[@barbarjinx3802]

That’s because you choose to be close minded. It’s not elons fault he knows how to build profitable businesses with unimaginable potential. It’s your fault you refuse to see it.

[@Brandon_388]

Elon is amazing

[@danieltodorov7753]

@@Brandon_388 No he isn't, not even slightly.

[@jeremygregorio7472]

So the more interesting story is how Musk could raise all that money with just a few phone calls. I'm sure it's just a coincidence he had a wealthy well connected father and family. Anyone can just pick up the phone and raise 22 million right?

[@NankitaBR]

Definitely. I'm sure if you make some calls tomorrow you can get 22 million easily.

[@TheCommonS3Nse]

It’s really not that difficult. You just have to find a phone book somewhere and start making calls. You definitely need the phone book though. Most of the people with their numbers in the phone book are going to be elderly. Then you just have to convince them that you’re their grandson and you’re in some legal trouble, and that the only way out of it is for them to transfer you whatever money they have. Then you promise those “investors” that you will pay them back once your legal case has been sorted out. This is where the elderly thing comes in again, because hopefully they’re not around long enough to realize that you’re not their grandson. By the time their children come for the money, you’ve already shut down that business and moved on. It’s just too bad for them that their parents invested their life savings into a failed tech startup, but whatever, you’re rich now so who cares.

[@Vhlathanosh]

@@TheCommonS3Nse " You just have to find a phone book" And a bunch of unguarded banks.

[@matteomiracolo1467]

“Just work more bro, like 100 hours in a week”

[@arceyominyin]

@Jo Jo "Howd you convince them to give you millions of dollars?" Elon: "Listen Im gonna need you to get ALLLL the way off my back about that."

[@UnrelatedAntonym]

Elon: "I'm the real life Ironman." Reality: "Nope, you're Phony Stark."

[@piotrd.4850]

Justin Hammer - after all SpaceX played Hammer Industries in Iron Man 2.

[@shefalichandra8625]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 This should be pinned! 😂

[@futureDrNLB]

OMG, I remember that Blackberry ad smh. This reminds me of the Mac Donald's story. How the founders were pushed out and the original home of the company was named to be in Chicago and not California. I knew he was not a founder of Telesa years ago and in fact, I had to educate a couple of his fans I work with and show them he is just an investor. Being a great investor is something to be proud of. But after this story, I see this man clearly used government loans and other loans as the main part of his cash flow. But everyday Americans can't get housing loans, cars, or business loans without scrutiny smh.

[@gmalady1ify]

@@futureDrNLB he is a liar. He stays up late at night, and he said he earned every penny. He earned every penny that he works for that’s not true. He steals money from people last night saying he’s going to invest in bitcoin for them, and he lied to me and said I own 7 1/2% of stock in tesla sent me an email and it was a lie and he stole thousands of dollars for me and I’m elderly saying he was investing in bitcoin on cash app and cash app so I will listen following the policy and close my account and I talk to them and told them what happened and they investigate it and I hope they shut down all of his address. He stays up late at night and have people send money to me to put into bitcoin strangers I didn’t even know and that is why cash app shut me down and I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong, it’s a liar and a thief don’t give me your money. He said he lives on millions of dollars of cash for himself because he hast to pay his ex to take care of his kids and his company. His employees have to be paid so he lives off of millions of dollars in cash that’s why he’s stealing money from people late at night in the coin for his own self. Don’t trust him don’t give me your money whoever you are.

[@TheBHAitken]

I knew he wasn't a "genius", and you've definitely shown me how he scammed his way to the top.

[@russell4527]

I also have a conviction he is not all that

[@dwightsmith5174]

Like B. Gates!

[@ryans756]

There's a channel called Common Sense Skeptic worth a browse. In particular, his debunking of SpaceX. Really eye-opening. The uploader seems to have a bug up his ass for Musk, that's for sure, but he uses Musk's own words and data (and basic mathematics) to absolutely destroy the notion of any kind of settlement on Mars. Overall, it left me with the impression that Musk might well be a visionary, but not a smart one, not a man who's ever said "Here's my idea, shoot it down so we can refine it into something workable". Ever. And his more recent antics on Twitter just plop neatly beside that, revealing Musk to be stunningly narcissistic and quite possibly dangerous! At the very least, he's a total douchebag. I mean look at the names he gives his kids. Who tf does that? "Say, what's your name, little girl?" "My name is X134YD23 Musk." "No but seriously."

[@pabs5270]

no, he is a genius. ever heard of SpaceX?

[@grahamstrouse1165]

He probably does have a very high IQ. He’s got bachelor degrees in physics & business from a very good school. But there’s a difference between being ordinary smart and being a genius. Musk is able to keep ahead of the rubes because he knows just enough math & science to sound like he knows a lot more than he actual does. He’s a little like Star Trek that way. He spouts a bunch of gobbledygook using real science words & people can’t tell the difference.

[@dkweamer7547]

Enormous wealth can not exist without exploitation!

[@ogzombieblunt4626]

Tfw individuals in liberal economies consent to economic transactions

[@rohankurian5641]

Musk got #nazi blood

[@millenialmusings8451]

@@ogzombieblunt4626 be a wage slave or be homeless. that's called coercion, not consent.

[@ogzombieblunt4626]

@@millenialmusings8451 Existing how humans always existed is coercion? You always had to work to put a shelter up and provide food for your family, we have a more sophisticated economy but the bare minimums are still required lmao. Go ahead and live in the bush in Canada if you want.

[@d_e_a_n]

I’m curious how you think musk got enormous wealth? The last 95% of his wealth came as INVESTORS bought Tesla stock, causing it to go up 10x in one year. And in the last year he lost $150 billion as INVESTORS sold Tesla stock. The investors that were buying and then selling, were they the ones exploiting? Or how does that work?

[@anneinsf5194]

The narrator of THIS video is the same guy who creates amazing videos (like this one) and uploads them every Friday morning on his Second Thought KZbin channel. I have no idea what his name is, so I do wish More Perfect Union had given viewers his name and a link to th Second Thought channel.

[@bovinityleak2066]

Me too. Never heard of that channel til I read the comments. Thx for at least explaining what second thought is. I wasnt sure if it was the guy or a project or what.

[@ahogg5960]

@@bovinityleak2066 Second Thought has over 1 million subs.

[@coolioso808]

Recommend Second Thought, Our Changing Climate and TZMChannel for all those who are critical thinkers and care about the sustainability of the planet and humanity going forward.

[@kumar01234]

They literally name him the first time they show his face lol JT Chapman and Second Thought See 1:03

[@morgydee]

Yall are missing out

[@kennethkossan5547]

Thunderf00t has been covering Elon Musk in-depth for years. I'm glad you're finally getting on board.

[@pw6002]

I'm curious what Thunderfoot's opinion on Musk is today, now that they are both openly right-wing.

[@merryhunt9153]

I've been skeptical for a long time that a person can be a billionaire. If a billionaire's wealth is based on shaky corporations, family businesses and un-transparent partnerships, his net worth may look good on paper, but if he tried to sell it all and get real money, the worth will plummet.

[@luckydannumber2]

You and I are both thinking incorrectly, I'm just a guilty as you for doing this but you just said it. Rich people have a different concept on how to use money. That saving money as money is true wealth this isn't correct. If you take money out of the system you are rich and the worth will plummet but that just money, it would never increase or decrease in worth. That billion dollars you have in actual money will be a billion dollar 100 years later and that's why we are thinking incorrectly in this. If you tie it up in stocks or products, it's still money but it can increase or decrease depending on the stocks and the dividends will eventually make you money. It's the same think what Elon is doing but in companies instead. Take a really poor example logan paul and pokemon cards they were worth say $100 dollars and then Logan pushed it out to $1000 dollars making it 10 times the worth sure you got to find someone to buy it and transfer it into stocks or actual money but that's where the value changes in assets.

[@lesp315]

So what? He will still have 1000000x more than you. Assuming you have a $1000 to your name.

[@6mtcruiser]

wow, it’s almost as if net worth is the accumulation of value of someone’s assets and investments, and not how much money they have…😐

[@SRMoore1178]

@@lesp315 LOL... Look, one of Elon's simps.

[@garethbaus5471]

You mean that you don't think a person can ethically earn enough money and influence to become a billionaire, but plenty of people actually can access that value in liquid assets. Elon Musk definitely isn't the richest person by the amount of liquidity he can access (he probably isn't even the richest by net worth if you include people who actually try to hide their wealth or people who effectively own countries) but he definitely can turn a large chunk of his net worth into liquid assets fairly quickly.

[@ShirleyTimple]

Become rich? You mean other than being born into a south African blood emerald family?

[@theburnix]

Blood emeralds

[@salender4683]

@@theburnix darn I was about to say it

[@ShirleyTimple]

@@theburnix my fault, good catch👍

[@Toddzmom01]

Something about Musk makes my skin crawl, my gut says "if you ever meet him, don't trust him".. Same feeling I get with Zuckerberg.. Ugh.. Just ugh.

[@Soulrollsdeep]

Yes, and there's nothing quite like spending your life going off feelings and emotions, eh? Ever thought the people behind this channel have a vested interest in knocking his public image? Much like the government do now that he's snatched away their overly large sounding board? Stop falling for the first thing you see.

[@republica7337]

@@Soulrollsdeep so the only thing we should know is how super amazing he is. The real facts are irrelevant. Not buying the cult of personality business.

[@monikacognomen1096]

They ain't human. Probably androids. Like they told us in the Terminator movie, you can tell them by their skin. I'd like to see how dogs react to them, probably similar to you but they wouldn't doubt their instincts and go for the throat.

[@carolhart9812]

Me too!!!!

[@chironjo]

News out are about how he is pushing for a more productive and efficient Twitter, essentially harassing and rolling over employees in the process. Assuming these are not fake news, he is as despicable as they say he is. Probably his knowledge and intentions are as fake as his hair.

[@josephcafariello365]

Musk is completely in love with himself. He hires writers to write books about how brilliant he is. He hires Joe Rogan to interview people who praise Musk as "the next step in human evolution". (Yeah, that's exactly how Joe Rogan described Musk.) Musk pays for all of these glowing accolades, projecting an image of himself as some super genious. Remember his supposed design for a travel tube for cars in California? He claimed to have invented the idea of travel tubes, even though they were depicted in science fiction TV shows like Buck Rogers decades ago. Musk hides how his father pulled strings for him, helping him meet with high-power and influencial people. Then he claims he did all these things all by himself. Musk is just full of himself.

[@genericamerican7574]

The tube was supposed to be in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was a great movie called Logan’s Run with a tube transport in it. They even had a strange LE chase scene with it. Great sci-fi movie 🍿

[@halbellows8578]

The real Tesla would be turning in his grave over the crap Elon builds, nothing like Nikola Tesla's vision and life's work as far as I can tell. All Elon doe's is what all ego maniacs do - regurgitate the same shit over and over in a different disguise and surround themselves with people that love to stroke their ego's.

[@dontbugme7362]

Maybe so. But is it a coincidence that once Elon announced the purchase of Twadder that these “truth about Elon” exposes started popping up?

[@delpierok2011]

And so what?

[@brianallen2392]

Sounds like Trump. lol

[@Boomhauersdad]

I think his choice of a wife, unhinged attitude online, and hair transplant is an indicator of the type of person he is

[@TStephen-s3l]

What does his hair transplant got to do with him 😂😂

[@TerreHauteRemoteGoat]

​@@TStephen-s3lIt's a little -known fact that the "hair transplant" is actually a rare species of spineless echidna. At night it crawls off his head and digs for grubs.

[@TStephen-s3l]

@@TerreHauteRemoteGoat ohh

[@Hybridog]

@@TStephen-s3l a sign of crippling vanity

[@angelozachos8777]

@@TStephen-s3l We all know his hair is fake , but go on pretending and eventually FORGETTING it’s fake . Which is exactly what we do regarding his fictional backstory and his supposed “self-made man” portrayal. The man has been subsidized his entire career and involved in countless government classified contracts . But 🤫….

[@wvu05]

Hearing this, I can't help but think that the biggest parallel to Elon Musk is Ray Kroc, especially insisting on being called "the founder" of a company other people built and eventually pushing out the actual founders. As much as he talks about wanting to be this futuristic visionary, I wonder if he got a copy of a book about McDonald's and decided to copy that method.

[@sk-sm9sh]

Watching McDonald movie on netflix I must agree that he was much more the founder than the original 2 guys who apart from founding a single restaurant had management style that would simply not scale beyond their one single restaurant. Being engineer myself I don't have problem with it. Engineer is hardly ever a perfect founder. A good manager more often is. And great engineers usually know it. It's typically only bad engineers or low level average joe workers who envy succesful managerial founders who take their idea and manage to upscale it. It's Ray Kroc who made McDonald's into millionaires - without him - they'd be failed businessmen struggling to pay hospital debts.

[@barbarjinx3802]

Tell us what those “founders” ever did after mean Elon forced them out and turned it into the biggest car company in the history of the world?

[@barbarjinx3802]

@@The_Real_Grand_Nagus uh they didn’t “invent the Roadster.” I’ve been invested in tesla long before you ever heard of Elon musk or tesla. In fact they invented nothing and contributed nothing other than the original pre-Tesla proof of concept vehicle. One of us made millions off our knowledge of what’s actually happening at tesla. How much you want to bet that person is you? I wouldn’t bet on it personally only because I know better. Before this twitter nonsense my $400k investment had an u realized gain of $5m. Even though it’s down a lot this year I’m still up more than you ever will be, because you believe fake news. Move along child.

[@barbarjinx3802]

@@The_Real_Grand_Nagus ok.

[@h.u.schubert3740]

@@barbarjinx3802 - watch the video again and again, until you get it: Elon Musk does nothing but total self-promoting on the propaganda circuit - NOTHING of real value. An evil asshole as so many employees can attest to. Maybe you will get it one day...

[@NankitaBR]

As someone that is from a country less developed than the US, when I saw Elon say that he went to the US with just his ticket and 2000 dollars my question is: where did this money come from? I know I could never afford a ticket to the US and an extra 2000 dollars on my pocket when I was fresh out of high-school, even of I had worked my a** off, so where did his money come from? How can we know it didn't come from his dad? Also, growing up with money already changed his life, he definitely wouldn't be able to do 1/10 of all the things he did if he hadn't grown up rich. I know my parents were not rich, but the fact we were at least middle class and my parents lived in a house owned by my grandparents (aka, no rent) and were therefore able to afford good private schools for me and my sister gave us both opportunities and knowledge we definitely wouldn't have if our parents had to pay rent and we had to go to a public school or even a worse private school. I know that for a fact because some of my friends that lived nearby were not so lucky and now we are in completely different positions in life today, even though we literally lived in the exact same apartment (the buildings were exactly the same, and so were all the apartments).

[@neb6304]

I dont know where you come from, but here in germany you can collect 2k Dollars easily in 4 months as a Student, not even working full time...

[@NankitaBR]

@@neb6304 In a developed country yeah, I live in the South of the world, just like Elon did. Edit: Specially because all of the money from everywhere but the EU and Britain is worth less than the dollar, so to get 2k in dollars I need to make 5x times that in my currency, just like in most countries in the South too, including South Africa (actually, in most countries it is even worse than that, my countryis one of themost developed in the South)

[@neb6304]

@@NankitaBR oh, i have always thought that south africas income levels were very comparable to european ones, appearently im wrong, i apologize

[@SgtLion]

Of course it was. His company funding came from his Dad, his jobs were secured by his Dad, he only got anywhere because he worked with contacts of his Dad. I daresay the pompousness that comes from owning an apartheid mine taught him how to gloat to investors too.

[@kappadarwin9476]

@@SgtLion Yeah he tries to down play generational wealth because he knew how bad it would make him look. To acknowledge that he came from wealth would break the illusion that he has been trying to craft for himself and other billionaires.

[@jasonjacksn]

Can't skip the fact that he grew up in a very affluent childhood. Or that Zip2 founding team included to expreinced business men with connections to his dad. Also people ignore his mothers weath as her family was also very wealthy.

[@drwalka10]

U reek of envy and jealousy

[@jasonjacksn]

@@drwalka10 I reek of Polo blue jeans

[@jonjeskie5234]

@@jasonjacksn she was not that wealthy. Nor was the father. They had money yes, but they were far from billionaires like what Elon became. If anything the affluent culture he was exposed to, contributed more to his success then the cash itself.

[@jasonjacksn]

@@jonjeskie5234 show me where I said they were billionaires? And I also mentioned his fathers connections but I guess you ignored that part. His dad had the biggest house in the most expensive area in S Africa so he was still rich

[@jonjeskie5234]

@@jasonjacksn the point is that it's still a pretty far leap to go from where he started to where he is now. There are plenty of "affluent" kids who never see 1/100th of his success... in fact most don't.

[@mrvizcarrondo]

this was two years ago. crazy how he is worse now and richer still.

[@danh5637]

“He rejected his fathers I’ll gotten wealth” 30 seconds later “he took a small 20k loan from his father” which in todays money is closer to 40k. But with actual bumps in costs would be more like 50-60k. So it’s hardly as if he is by any definition “self made”.

[@jshooper7819]

I just wrote the same thing. The fantasy narrative that this dude sold about himself is outlandish and offensive. The people who believe it are even more pathetic.

[@Tricklarock]

Elon is about self-made as trump!

[@pysq8]

This! Furthermore, he said 20 while the screen showed 200. 😂

[@averyheavenrich2432]

Sorry but this sounds way too much like sour grapes. Tesla is successful ( just under 500,000 car’s produced) last year ,could not see that happening without Musk and you painfully avoid Space x whose engineering accomplishments are unquestionably owed to Musk and his leadership qualities.I couldn’t care less if he is a narcissist and an a###### so was Steve Jobs😂

[@MVargic]

So nobody who had his college paid for by his parents is self made regardless of what they achieve later. And not a single European can ever be self-made because they got $100k in free college education paid for by taxpayers.

[@amberzec]

So basically he took credit for shit he didn't do and lied and lied and lied to get where he is..? Sounds right to me

[@shaykespeeer7040]

You don't become a billionaire without stealing other peoples ideas and then exploiting as many other people as you can for as little money as possible.

[@Roestradd]

Very Trump like I may add.

[@minaryeon9259]

Yup he is a con man

[@ADAPTATION7]

America is built on plagerism.

[@southcoastinventors6583]

Also his companies produce nothing of value and he has zero customers.

[@classwarhooligan923]

Every billionaire has similar myths

[@gosubob1944]

NAHHHH!!! Look at Warren Buffett and Bezos. There are so many GOOD billionaires out there

[@bwm_72]

@@gosubob1944 "Bezos" /s

[@lorina8699]

@@gosubob1944 Not one.

[@voldibayizitunda2178]

@@lorina8699 There are billionaires out there or at least a billionaire. Its just that the majority of them are money hungry and enjoy admiration

[@lorina8699]

@@voldibayizitunda2178 I don't admire billionaires.

[@Jw-un8oh]

I was an autopilot tester at Tesla and was fired less than a month after whistleblowing the lack of safety for the public while testing on public roads.

[@ghostrider2664]

I am an Uber driver in Austin, Texas. I ferry a ton of workers to and from the Tesla plant out by the airport here on a daily basis. I can attest that from my conversations with them, I've found that every single one of them to be unhappy working there, some working in spaces with no electricity, heat, AC or water. When asked if they are treated well in any way, I repeated get a one word answer. "No." Furthermore, when they talk about the product, they say that the outlook for the company cannot be good, as the cars have "LOTS of problems that cannot be fixed. Yet they are expected to come up with either bogus fixes or short term solutions just to get the cars produced and sold to suckers who are willing to buy into the Musk cult of personality, which is what the company truly is in its entirety. I would also like to mention my own experience, or, I should say Austin's experience with Musk. when it was announced that the plant would be built in Austin, it was front Page News that must would be bringing 10,000 jobs to the area. This was believed. And he did bring 10,000 jobs to the area. But those jobs were already filled by other people who he just transplanted here. Good for the housing market, didn't make a difference anywhere else other than to make traffic worse in and around the airport and basically all over town. I'm not sure a single person from the Austin local area was hired to work at Tesla. The developers and the software people who are already here didn't want to go to work for him because he capped salaries at too low a ceiling for their liking. So, they didn't get jobs with him either. You overhear alot of conversations as an Uber driver. I hold the knowledge. When I started driving the route, I was shocked to hear what these people, hired from around the world on a contract basis, had to say. Now, it's clear to me that Tesla is not really a company, but rather an elaborate scam who's time is limited. I just wonder when the house of cards will fall.

[@badjohn7048]

So you are personally doing well ferrying Tesla workers to work and back every day. You should be pretty happy about that.

[@BennyKleykens]

How you managed to compress this in only 13 minutes is insane! Well done!

[@oyunome]

when you're shaping a narrative, you need to be selective. super sus.... to be fair, he should do a hit piece on all the other billionaire entrepreneurs.. like how bezos and Amazon has taken advantage of USPS....

[@thatswildokay]

@@oyunome What wasn't factual? If you can't come up with anything objective, you're just being a propagandist.

[@jeremysnead9233]

​. No when you don't do research it is Sus. Thunderfoot chanel rips Elon Musk for his bad Ideas but he has receipts. Repeat talking point of corporate Coups as facts and speculative News articles as sources is sus. Why not have Alex Jones read this. Elon Musk is making the frogs gay.

[@erinmac4750]

Truth! This was some insightful, concise reporting. I look forward to seeing what else they tackle.

[@Mixamaka]

Buying twitter is the worst decision he made in his career. Now people who didn't really care about him and his "image" are focusing on him and realize he is far from being the genius he's been portrayed as.

[@MinusEighty]

Worst take possible. He is going to make Twitter into Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, and KZbin combined. Watch and learn. This video is a hit piece on Musk. It is bizarre that everyone is going after him.

[@Sovvyy]

​@@MinusEighty It makes perfect sense if you acknowledge Musk is an egotist and compulsive lier who's identity is entirely fabricated. Giving someone like him one of the world's largest social media platforms which he uses as a church to pontificate to his disciples, is a bad idea . He's becoming increasingly overconfident and sloppy, and as a result his mask is slipping. Honestly, if he was as omniscient as he probably believes himself to be, then he would realise that his narcissistic personality is a ticking time bomb - the only thing people like more than the rags-to-riches story his pushes, is watching the ultrarich crash and burn - it's Common Sense.

[@MinusEighty]

@@Sovvyy You sound brainwashed.

[@Sovvyy]

@@MinusEighty Alternatively, if you have to undermine the person behind the comment rather than the comment it's self, then you're probably not in a position to judge cogntive integrity.

[@MinusEighty]

@@Sovvyy yawn and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[@nukaghoula]

All of this makes it a lot more understandable how he managed to single handedly destroy something as huge as twitter - he was never actually talented at anything beyond self promotion and outright lying to make himself look better

[@angryhairpeice]

He started off with $2k like Trump started off with "...a small loan of $1m".

[@Not_Always]

And then later an inheritance of $300 million

[@arizonanative7409]

Bingo! Both men are narcissists.

[@waterwomaninFL]

Great analogy!

[@kenwhite6449]

@@Not_Always 413 million was what he inherited

[@princequestly2218]

Yeah exactly. Him and his brother come from very wealthy family. They had plenty of investors between his family and his family’s connections. They act like he just with some random person that knew nobody with no cash and just went out there and pulled up is bootstraps and became a billionaire from nothing. It sounds good, but it’s just not true, at all 😂😂

[@lewislee9201]

So Elon Musk hasn't actually made any money? His income is from US government grants and investors. Wow! Thanks for this video. Subscribed!

[@arianitonline8748]

if you want more details, go on this youtube channel "common sense skeptic"

[@markthomas7279]

You mean he's not a billionaire at all????

[@markthomas7279]

This is libelous rubbish!!! You are a shameless shill!

[@FULGURAZ]

That's how money works in this system that's why the rich don't pay tax they don't get paid all the money stays revolving and growing and they get loans to buy things 💯

[@FULGURAZ]

That's why it takes money to make money 💰

[@sritter66]

Remnds me of how Ray Kroc called himself the "founder" of McDonalds.

[@SnootchieBootchies27]

For about 7 years, I have been telling anyone who will listen that this guy is not our friend.

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

The secret to one's success is that one's success story is pure fiction - Culver Nile

[@erinmac4750]

This is the one "ad" I've clicked on in YT, impressed! The amount of information you presented in this concise, compelling video shows the diligence and true journalistic excellence. New subscriber. Can't wait for more!💙✊

[@serafinacosta7118]

R There is more for binge watching.

[@frumtheground]

Just want to say, very recently Musk "embelished" about the detailed on one of his children's death, saying he held him in his arms as his heart stopped. He posted this anecdote to explain why he didn't want to unban Alex Jones (probably the best decision he's made since buying Twitter). His first wife commented under the post to correct the record saying she had been the one holding the baby. He didn't need to dramatize and lie about anything, but he did anyway. Just something to think about.

[@lukazupie7220]

Maybe wife lied? Bcs u dont like him u automatically belive her side? Or why?

[@onikin]

@@lukazupie7220 she doesn't have such a long history of lying. She has written about her child's death for many years, while Elon has not. The details have already been out there a long time. Elon's other children and 3 ex-wives do not have nice things to say about him. The question is why do you believe him over them?

[@BrookeK92]

@@lukazupie7220 hilarious you're on here simping and replying to people critical of Musk like they said the ocean is made of Fanta.

[@macmcleod1188]

He probably remembers it that way

[@Account-nx3ui]

@@macmcleod1188 bro who TF doesn't remember where your baby was when s/he died

[@dwaynesbadchemicals]

This guy could’ve went Willy Wonka. Instead he chose Snidely Whiplash.

[@bigcrazewolf]

He won the birth lottery. Nice channel crossover love Second Thought!

[@zinjanthropus322]

Didn't know all white upper middle class South African kids grew up to be billionaires.

[@puffy_jr7521]

@@zinjanthropus322 Harvard did a study where they can statistically predict your income from where you were born. Let's say he was upper middle class (he should be above that because his dad owned an emerald mine) Statistically he was the very least going to stay in his class but he has a higher chance of becoming a billionaire because his parents can just throw 20k at his ideas. It's proven that the less money you have, the harder it is to get more of it.

[@zinjanthropus322]

@@puffy_jr752120k is 10k lower than the average annual salary in the US. It's not exactly the unattainable amount only those with rich parents have access to, certainly not for those willing to sacrifice a couple of years. It's not even close to the average amount of college debt held by Americans from all social classes. But let's say you're right, still, getting into the middle or middle upper class isn't a rare thing, most reach those classes at some point in their lives, which means for most Americans there's a possibility of having a billionaire in the family within two generations even if the first generation starts out flat broke. Not that everyone wants to become a billionaire, but it's still not as far fetched as you or those accurate statistics are making it sound. The final bit is, even if there's a higher change of upper middle class kids becoming billionaires, it isn't exactly an easy thing even for them. The vast majority of kids in that class, 99%+ never make it that far. So let's not make it sound like it's trivial even for literal millionaires to 1000× their wealth within a single generation. The people who pull that off, however they pull it off are exceptional in ways a lot of people seem incapable of admitting to themselves, and they'd rather find excuses about how 20k, a handful of emeralds and an incomplete education turns into a quarter of a trillion dollars. Edit: spelling

[@puffy_jr7521]

@@zinjanthropus322 20k to use for a business is a lot. If it takes you years to build that (it will unless you make a lot of money) and your business fails then it will take you more years just to get a start up again. Elon and bezo we're unsuccessful but could try multiple businesses because their parents could throw money like 20k into their start ups with no risk. And I am right. You can look the study up yourself. You can predict a person's income by looking at their parent(s) income and where they were born. If you were born into poverty then you'll probably live in poverty. The middle class is rare to reach when you're low income. If that was true then low income people wouldn't exist or economists would at least predict they won't exist after a few generations. And you're missing my point. I never said it's easy to become a billionaire. My claim is It Is harder to become a billionaire if you're low income or in poverty and that is a fact. That is not an excuse. It's not trivial for a millionaire to 1000x times their wealth because they already have a vast amount of wealth. Bottom line: it is much easier to make money when you already have money. This is not some crazy hot take. It's been proven and anyone who knows how money works can tell you.

[@zinjanthropus322]

@@puffy_jr7521 If you're willing to live far beneath your means, it's not impossible to accumulate 20k in 2 years or less flipping burgers. Musk got that 20k investment into his first company from his father only once. The Harvard study is correct on the surface but it ignores the age based nature of wealth. The largest differentiator between Americans in the upper/middle class and lower class is how old the person is. Younger people make up a disproportionate amount of the lower class and older people make up a disproportionate amount of the middle and upper classes. That is simply due to the fact that younger people haven't had years of work experience and accumulation of property that would give them access to such resources. Those same youth that count among the poor in their early years also count among the middle class and rich when they're older. That 60% middle class mostly comprises of the parents of the majority of the lower class. A younger Musk himself would have fallen under the lower class in wealth while his parents were upper middle class. That lucky group that the study is talking about is the majority of America. Even though it still doesn't invalidate their results that if your parents were poor you'd have a harder time, but that's the case for only a minority of Americans. 20 to 30%. My argument was that even if that was the case for a particular young individual, they are themselves more likely than not even with a low wage job to make it into the middle class when they're much older, which would mean that what applied to them wouldn't apply to their children who would have a middle class parent and as such higher likelihood to achieve greater wealth. The amount of people who haven't had a single middle class generation going back more than three generations is so small as to be inconsequential. Bottom line, even if you're not one of the lucky ones, odds are your kids are going to be. At the very least you can aim to attain middle class status which will open the way for your kids to do what you couldn't.

[@elonmusksellssnakeoil1744]

The same way anyone becomes rich - start with a lot of money and exploit as many people as possible.

[@YourCapyFrenBigly_3DPipes1999]

We said, EMSSO.

[@8lec_R]

Your name is based

[@Twist_UAP]

How is starting a rocket company going to make you rich?

[@blackalien6873]

@@Twist_UAP You don't understand how the modern stock market works? Stocks are just pieces of paper which people buy. The more popular the piece of paper the higher its price. It has almost nothing to do with a company's tangible assets. Tesla stocks are up because of Elon Musks marketability. SpaceX is a big part of that. It has absolutely nothing to do with traditional ways of turning profit. Stocks are just magical things floating around in the atmosphere. That's why a company can lose billions in value within an hour. It wasn't really real to begin with. It's value not tied to any tangible assets.

[@Twist_UAP]

@@blackalien6873 clearly you have never bought a single stock. BTW you do know that Elon is not Tesla's ceo anymore

[@juandoe2696]

I guess what P.T. Barnum said still holds true "no one ever lost money overestimating the intelligence of the American public".

[@BillOweninOttawa]

Musk is a direct spiritual descendent of Barnum.

[@danceswithstone]

@@xyz12345457 That was H.L. Mencken, Barnum's quote must be one of those lesser known quotes🙄

[@briankoller2750]

@@danceswithstone Barnum's famous quote (relevent to the discussion) was "A sucker is born every minute." Barnum owned a museum of human freaks promoted with lies about their past and their afflictions.

[@robinkelly1770]

@@xyz12345457 came here to correct that lol

[@drmobiusmedical]

He said “a sucker is born every minute.”’ You’re quote is ass backwards. Read a book.

[@runescapes]

his fanbots are the worst

[@angelozachos8777]

His fanbots are getting worse , if you can believe that They would crown him KING if they could 😂 Scary times

[@wimeatsworld]

It is refreshing to see other people basing their opinion of Musk on the facts he'd like to hide rather than his everlasting PR campaign. Well done report.

[@wimeatsworld]

@Sarah bob He only blew up one piece of 60's technology to claim a "success", but 4 looks way more festive 🤣

[@beyondplanesight]

The conclusions the narrator makes are highly subjective and not based on fact but on the narrator's assumption. I can be quoted as saying "I don't like chocolate" and someone can then say "its highly dangerous for anyone with that kind of manipulative capability to be running a business". Remove the words "dangerous" and "manipulative" and its just someone that doesn't like chocolate. For the record, I like chocolate.

[@vipermad358]

@@beyondplanesight But you LOVE billionaires. 🙄

[@steverenken5143]

So he takes companies with a good idea, makes it better. What's the problem?

[@traveling.down.the.road56]

@@steverenken5143How naive! The problem is the lies and stock manipulation, plus the poor treatment of their employees. Do you need more?

[@jaredoliver8684]

'He likes the politicians willing to support his myth and let him continue building wealth at the expense of the rest of us. He isn't the only billionaire doing this, but his skill at myth-building and his massive popularity make him the most dangerous' - JT Chapman for More Perfect Union

[@noahof-stuff9151]

Can you please explain how Musk building wealth is done at the expense of the rest of us.

[@romeosarmiento6333]

Are you envious? Just want to invite attention to your channel.

[@pedroohm5115]

@@noahof-stuff9151 billionaires break the laws of decency even while obeying the letter. Having that much by definition is criminal. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. This is the direct cause of the corruption, greed and exploitation by the rich. Not saying all rich are bad people but as a class they're the oppressers of the poor.

[@noahof-stuff9151]

@@pedroohm5115 Pedro, dear Pedro, please explain to me how rich people break the law while obeying it? If rich people can achieve this remarkable feat, I'd imagine that poor people would also work out a way to break the law without actually breaking any laws. For me this is simply mind boggling. We humans certainly are a creative bunch. The truth is that we are ruled by, not laws but nature. Let me explain as this is also cosmic in its scope. Nature has a habit of organising itself. Organising itself into pyramid like structures with the most successful on top and the least on the bottom, some will even become extinct. Mathematicians have a name for this and it is repeated in everything, everywhere. From memory it's known as the 28 rule or something along those lines. Look it up if you want to know more. So it doesn't matter what society you live in or the generosity of your government, you will always face the same challenges. By your definition the rich are corrupt, greedy and exploitative when in reality it is just nature waving her hand. I should also point out that any wealthy people I know or have met are polite, courteous and helpful. They have also worked very hard to get what they have. I mean like working 14 hour+ days for 8,9 months or more without a single day off. This is a feat that I feel would be lost on you. You would probably prefer to spend your time complaining about the wrongs of this world. Some people get up and make the changes they want for themselves in this world but your not one of them. Prove me wrong !

[@pedroohm5115]

@@noahof-stuff9151 it's kinda simple, power makes the law and money is power. The rich manipulate the law in their favour. But maybe it's like you say. It's human nature, you can come up with any kind of social and economic system but man will always corrupt it. We're doomed to collapse.

[@andynarain672]

Elon the Con. There needs to be a part 2 of this.

[@Halostalkerx]

Yea about your mom.

[@bccsivxx-xxivvii]

Check out the channel Common Sense Skeptic. It takes a deep deep dive in great detail.

[@xaza8uhitra4]

@@bccsivxx-xxivvii thanks for the recommendation!!!!

[@ogzombieblunt4626]

@@bccsivxx-xxivvii Unfortunately he and Tf00t leave out a lot of context and are not economically literate. For example in skeptics video he says solar roofs will take 80 years to repay the full cost, which is misleading because consumers will look at the time till it reaches equillibrium with competing products (which would be around 30 years). Also off the top of my head they both reported that tesla scammed california out of tax credits for their battery swap station when that never happened. Yeah they get quite a bit wrong, its almost like people who don't understand econ have something against billionaires.

[@lmp9256]

@@ogzombieblunt4626 He leaves out the bits that don't suit his lies and adds more lies to further suit his lies.

[@staC-wh6ik]

Basically another billionaire charlatan that somehow managed to become more popular than others just because he mixed nerdy scific stuff with memes.

[@manholeeunuchsbane6197]

When you inherit an emerald mine you're not self-made. The guy has made a ton of money investing well. I'll give him that, but he was born on third base, no doubt.

[@theelectricprince8231]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 he has not even done that

[@DoremiFasolatido1979]

The general concept of investment is legitimate...but nothing about modern stock trading, hedge funds, or similar financial schemes...has anything at all to do with legitimate investment. Likewise, interest doesn't accrue the way many banks utilize it. All of it is a collection of Ponzi schemes, Pyramid schemes, and 3-Card Monte. Musk "made" no money at all. He just scams a lot of people out of it. It's no different to praise him for that than it would be to praise a burglar or bank robber.

[@page8301]

The guy has dozens of failed projects. All he does is throwing shit at the wall and hopes something will stick. He is living in govermental handouts, in other words money from people who actually work instead of accusing others of being a pedo on Twitter, and the gullibility of hundreds of millions of fools simping for him.

[@LiveType]

Elon is an incredible business man plain and simple. Saying he's anything other than that is deceiving. Tesla is built off of engineers (lots of young engineers) and manufacturing experts putting in 60-80 hour work weeks non-stop. That's the secret. It's a grueling place to work, but the results are undeniable. I guess in 10 years the novelty will wear off as the as Tesla cars are still pretty rare at the moment.

[@manholeeunuchsbane6197]

@@LiveType -He didn't create that company, he bought it.

[@janeayre96]

Can we just break open where Elons family got wealthy? His family got wealthy in the blood soaked, apartheid, South African emerald mines.

[@olafnilsen1641]

No emeralds in south africa

[@janeayre96]

@@olafnilsen1641 yeah, right. The earth is flat too, right?

[@olafnilsen1641]

@@janeayre96 no emeralds In south africa and yes the earth is a globe orbiting the sun

[@janeayre96]

@@olafnilsen1641. Yeah. There are. Google it, mouth breather.

[@TomRivieremusic]

“The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor” Voltaire._

[@godsentjesustosetusallfree9859]

And who's fault is that?

[@christianwhalen9263]

It’s crazy how early in his “career” he became obsessed with the idea of owning a company named X, and how despite failing over and over again how stubbornly he has held to that goal, and how little he has learned from running every company he’s been a part of

[@ktmggg]

My last boyfriend was an Elon fanboy. He even ordered a Model 3...which took 3 years to deliver. And when ex-bf got the car he was so severely underwhelmed he went back to driving his Nissan Leaf and unloaded the Tesla on another fanboy.

[@sweatsucks7719]

"when I was in college there were 3 areas I thought would most effect the future of humanity, food, air, and shelter" - Elon

[@jakef-w8293]

By effect he obviously means 'crutial'

[@DaveCM]

He also wants an end to tax credits for EVs. He loved them while Tesla still qualified, but now that they sold too many cars, he wants the program to end. Proof he doesn't care about "saving the world". He only cares about himself. He is such a good hype man. He comes up with, and touts, completely stupid ideas like the Hyper Loop and other things in an effort to maintain publicity and maintain the cult of personality that surrounds him. That keeps investors rolling in. As for him taking loans against his stocks, that is actually smart. He can take out very low interest loans on the stock and pay less for the money than if he sells the stock.

[@AllenGraetz]

The point of those credits was to jump start the industry. That's been accomplished.

[@ws6002]

The EV subsidies should have been $4K a vehicle instead of $7K and no expiration date. Pulling companies up just to throw them against the rocks after they make 200,000 cars doesn't seem like a good idea.

[@MrArtist7777]

@@AllenGraetz Just like the permanent 20% tax credits the fossil fuel industry gets? Yes, the tax credit were meant to jump start and transition to EV's, which still has a long way to go.

[@AllenGraetz]

@@MrArtist7777 any perception of "permanent 20% tax credits" for the fossil fuel industry is purely a mistake on your part.

[@jimroth7927]

Elon is right (as usual). It is true that Tesla cars do not get the EV subsidy, since that subsidy only applies to the first 250,000 electric cars a company sells and Tesla passed that number years ago. However, demand for electric cars is already beyond what manufacturers can produce, so no need for subsidies to increase demand. Better for subsidies to go toward household solar panels or improvements to insulation, installation of heat pumps, etc. Regarding loans against stock to avoid taxes... Elon actually sold a lot of stock last year and the profits are fully taxable. His income tax bill for 2021 will be more than 11 billion dollars (that is 11 thousand million dollars), making him the biggest taxpayer in history.

[@frederickfernandez787]

He’s just a hyped business man getting credit from others ideas and efforts, just like the orange con man…

[@jamesthewiidict]

90s Elon Musk: "We will hire more people" 2020s Elon Musk "We will fire more people"

[@SirBlackReeds]

Why do you insist on pretending that Twitter wasn't full of incompetent personnel?

[@whyhellotherestranger]

Imagine admitting you work 4 hours a week and still expecting to have a job when the boss finds out

[@rign_]

There's no such thing as good billionaire. All billionaires have the same goal, maintaining their wealth. With additional side quests like charity.

[@Thinkcrown]

“[I didn’t get any emerald mine money from my father]” jump to first business, “[I got 20,000$ investment from my father]” Okay dude. Apparently he also went to a local uni in SA for 5 months specifically to get out of SA mandatory military service-something we’d all do if we had the choice, but we don’t.

[@TheDarthbinky]

Yeah, same guy who somehow had hundreds of thousands of dollars in school debt even though if you look at the university's tuition rates and whatnot for that time period, there's no way he possibly had that much in school debt. Not to mention his mom literally bought him a house that he used as an illegal party house (what's that you ask? Did he charge cover? Yes, yes he did.)

[@lmp9256]

So not to serve in the army for an apartheid government, but the full of hate nasty lying Dumbocrats are never going to mention that bit.

[@lanialbin3860]

Dems trying to badmouth Musk...we have been expecting this...how much $ buys you?

[@briankoller2750]

Reminiscent of George W. Bush using his powerful family's influence to attain a no-show stint in the National Guard to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War.

[@pysq8]

1:36 it was 200k

[@Hakaze]

Talk about going from Tony Stark to Lex Luthor

[@TheEdward39]

He claimed the emerald mine never existed, but his father then said something along the lines of "I don't know why he says that, when it did". His story is murky at best

[@brandonjoseph3422]

“If you want to be a success in the world, promise everything, deliver nothing” - Napoleon Bonaparte

[@8lec_R]

Nah it goes like that "reinvent trains a 100 different ways, then promise to bring them, deliver nothing"

[@thebiggesthatersinworld]

So theranos and teslabot

[@lapislazarus8899]

Excellent. I can't believe it took me so long to see this. Muskrat is absolutely a textbook narcissist.

[@JeriDro]

I really don't understand why we keep idolizing people.

[@karenrobinson7523]

Right

[@chemps5670]

Son in short... Elon Musk is The Wizard of Oz

[@nineteenfortyeight6762]

The balloon worked though

[@chemps5670]

@@nineteenfortyeight6762 It only helped himself tho 😢

[@crismcdonough2804]

If he "saves the future" for humanity the way he just tanked Twitter, we are all screwed.

[@springer-qb4dv]

Like everything Musk designs, "Save the mankind" to Musk means jettison 99% of lowly masses and save himself and few other "deserving" fellow riches.

[@lukazupie7220]

Tanked? How so?

[@mnomadvfx]

He won't. His reputation is already in freefall as investors can now see what happens when there isn't time for a company to grow a management system solely for the purpose of managing his worst impulses. Because that is most of what Tesla and SpaceX management do when he is around, manage him until he leaves and then pick up the pieces when he says stuff on Twitter or the news.

[@sylviewalker7560]

Bingo...cha ching ain't happening.

[@Mike-jv8bv]

4 months later from this comment and twitter still exists.

[@Krazie-Ivan]

Another about Elon worth watching over on Some More News (aka: the Cody Showdy).

[@ryanwilliams3857]

Mr. Cody

[@Confirmatarian]

Wormbo???

[@bccsivxx-xxivvii]

If you want to take a deep dive into Elon, check out the channel Common Sense Skeptic.

[@DelinahLovesHouseBunnies]

@@Confirmatarian *Warmbo ////Bunny kisses for all!

[@slappyfun]

8:18 - Musk isn't the only one that plays this trick. MSM does as well.

[@BrutalSnuggles]

Buying better people's ideas has been a lucrative prospect since people have been monetizing ideas

[@avamasquerade]

It's not lost on me what Edison did to Tesla. It's fairly obvious who is the former and who is the latter in this modern day reenactment. I just don't understand why it's deemed necessary to destroy the mark *every single time*

[@cteal2018]

Step 1: have a rich Daddy

[@rinzaghi2057]

Step 2: have a rich mommy

[@secretservice1816]

Step 3: have a rich family 🤑

[@sjelinelukiman673]

Rishi Sunak : have a rich father in law, have a rich wife.

[@secretservice1816]

@@sjelinelukiman673 you cant call his father in law rich, filthy rich is the word

[@brianhurley6289]

Musk is a total fraud.

[@BullwinkleFFMn]

"The overwhelming focus is solving for self-driving. That's really the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money and being worth basically zero". The scary thing I wonder about is how many more companies on the stock market are also so absurdly over valued?

[@theelectricprince8231]

AĹL OF THEM!

[@rubemsuzuki9467]

That's the difference between price and value

[@mpeppermint23]

More than you think!

[@moalston4203]

Time is more valuable than money Yet we value money more

[@ucantSQ]

You can't be a billionaire and be a good person. In order to get that kind of money, you have to value youself more than anyone else.

[@booblam6919]

That's very sad

[@johndoherty4976]

I agree you don't become a multi-Billionaire by being nice or fair to amass Billions you have to cheat bribe exploit and monopolize.

[@thespiritfont2023]

Poor Nikola Tesla. If he knew that years later his name would be attached to a speeding death trap electric car, he probably would have changed his name

[@nealkonneker6084]

Clearly Eberhard was the engineering genius and moving force behind Tesla as evidenced by the highly successful EV company he started after parting ways with Musk.

[@kylereese4822]

The tzero(launced in 1997 only 1 of 3 remain) is a handmade electric sports car designed and built in very limited numbers by the U.S. company AC Propulsion in the early 2000s. It was the direct predecessor of the Tesla line of electric cars. Was used by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning (NOT THERE OWN CAR ).... Tesla was incorporated in July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning as Tesla Motors. In February 2004, via a $6.5 million investment, Elon Musk became the largest shareholder of the company. He has served as CEO since 2008.

[@lbamusic]

Behind most great wealth is usually a great crime!!

[@krumba100]

Behind ALL great wealth there is a crime, but with enough money you could de-criminalize it, at least on paper.

[@spiralviper8158]

"Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important." - T.S. Eliot

[@Wladislav]

Can't wait for the Peter Thiel episode. That one should be a doozy!

[@KraytTheGreat]

Well.. there is German comedian who made a really good video about Thiel. And it got English subtitles: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iXy8ZqOFmKqharc

[@phiksit]

And I see it's just been posted. Here we go!

[@talkingheadzzz2449]

Intelligent conversations. This is great reporting. You guys do such a great job!!

[@tracyhaverstick5672]

😆 🤣 😂 😹

[@Loner-Wolf]

'The fraudster's greatest liability is the certainty that the fraud is too clever to be detected' Louise J. Freeh

[@robotic_automaton]

i could do a lot of things if i had some money -Homer Simpson