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Comment by justforfunhere | Hacker News Reader

what happened in 2018/19?

In 2014, he fired his PR person when she asked for a raise (she was very good at her job).

In Spring of 2018, investigative reporters at the LA Times found that Elon acted like a tyrant removing yellow hi-vis safety tape at Tesla factories because he didn't like the aesthetic, which lead to more workplace accidents. This was when Elon started getting extremely adversarial with the press.

https://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-factor...

A few months later, during the Thai cave rescue, he flaunted some kind of coffin made from spare rocket parts as his plan to save children who were trapped in a Thai cave, and when one of the actual rescuers Vernon Unsworth told him the cave was too narrow for that to be of use, Elon called him a "pedo" (note, Elon also begged to go to Jeffrey Epstein's parties).

It all went downhill from there.

> one of the actual rescuers

There was about 10,000 people involved in that rescue. There was no single "rescuer" or authority.

Which is why I said "one of". And by "one of" I mean one of the leaders of the whole operation, someone who lives in Chiang Rai and has extensive knowledge of the cave complex, who coordinated Thai government working with the British Cave Rescue Council.

You posit as if Vernon was some sort of official, he wasn’t. It was collective effort by many many people.

The reason Musk got upset was the interview with Vernon where he got mean about Musk’s efforts. And since freedom of speech, Musk got mean in return.

Vernon tried to sue to no avail which all you need to know a out him.

Painting Musk a villain here is insane. He tried to help, instead he got slandered and sued.

Vernon wasn't an official, but he's the first guy the officials called to help and come up with a plan. Elon Musk wasn't trying to help, he was trying to get publicity. Had anyone listened to Musk, the children would have died. I think someone who doesn't know what they are doing wedging themselves in a life or death situation while arguing with the experts with the knowledge and experience wasting their time with cockamamie plans is a villain in my eyes. Elon Musk is basically Syndrome in the Incredibles movie: angry and jealous that he isn't the center of attention.

And if it isn't clear today, Musk is clearly a villain. The Thai cave rescue was when he showed his real face to the world by being a total and utter jerk to the real heroes.

> he's the first guy the officials called to help and come up with a plan

Not true, but that doesn't matter. Tons of people offered help, were invited, had plans, etc. Why Vernon was such an asshole to Musk tho?

Elon was not invited, and he still insisted on showing up. That makes Elon the asshole.

Except public Twitter exchange with PM or something like that

People started realizing that it was all an illusion and that, surprise, surprise, yet another billionaire egomaniac actually has the moral fortitude of a maggot.

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