Technology @lemmy.world misk @sh.itjust.works 10 mo. ago

Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule

www.newyorker.com Elon Musk’s Shadow Rule

How the U.S. government came to rely on the tech billionaire—and is now struggling to rein him in.

42 comments

If SpaceX is that critical to national defense & foreign policy, it should be nationalized.
- Nationalizing SpaceX would turn it into nowadays NASA’s system which is risk zero and the expense of pushing the envelope and fast changes. SpaceX doesn’t mind blowing up 10 rockets while nasa will spend years to design one and launch it once.
  
  It doesn't behoove us to have one man be capable of derailing entire segments of our national policy at his whim, especially when that man was never elected to anything.
  
  It's not like they'd HAVE to continue with the same policy.
  
  B'sides, at least NASA doesn't blow up a launch pad within a nature preserve just to stay on schedule...
  
  SpaceX doesn’t mind blowing up 10 rockets
  
  SpaceX doesn’t mind blowing up living people, too.
- I mean, we didn't nationalize Lockheed-Martin or Boeing or Northrop-Grumman or Raytheon or General Dynamics, etc. I think we can survive without nationalizing the company as we've done throughout our defense history.
  
  Those companies had boards of directors and people at the top who were known to be reliable partners. SpaceX has an idiotic juvenile at the helm. The situations are barely even comparable.
  
  None of those companies had the ability to stop their equipment in the field from working if they decided one day they'd rather support our enemies. And they didn't have a history of being influenced by our enemies.
  
  The article makes it clear that Musk has already gotten Ukrainian soldiers killed with his shenanigans. We should not allow him the chance to do it again.
  
  Its unclear that we are surviving them, or at least not paying them blood money too.
- If SpaceX is that critical to national defense & foreign policy, it should be nationalized.
  
  Remove the SpaceX name from that statement and the statement is just as crazy.
  
  Examples:
  
  If Verizon is that critical to national defense & foreign policy, it should be nationalized.
  
  If Raytheon is that critical to national defense & foreign policy, it should be nationalized.
  
  If Northrup Grumman is that critical to national defense & foreign policy, it should be nationalized.
  
  If General Dynamics Electric Boat is that critical to national defense & foreign policy, it should be nationalized.
  
  If Honeywell International is that critical to national defense & foreign policy, it should be nationalized.
  
  If Boeing is that critical to national defense & foreign policy, it should be nationalized.
  
  If Norfolk Southern Railway is that critical to national defense & foreign policy, it should be nationalized.
  
  It just isn't our country's way to steal a company from its owners or shareholders. Its a bit frightening you think it should be.
  
  Most or all of your examples have meaningfully valid competitors in the space. SpaceX does not, at least not yet.
  
  So... In your opinion, it should be allowed to operate like any normal company without restrictions? What would happen if, say, a powerful Chinese investor attempted to buy it outright?
  
  Meh. Fuck all those corporate assholes.
  
  There's a caveat. Most countries will heavily regulate access to limited resources, for example radio frequency bands. SpaceX is occupying defined orbit which means it's perfectly reasonable to ensure society benefits from this privilege.
Musk told Kahl that the vivid illustration of how technology he had designed for peaceful ends was being used to wage war gave him pause.

Well you see, there's you're problem right there... You're completely full of shit. Musk has never designed anything.
My brain thought I was on !196@lemmy.blahaj.zone for a second

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