> It does not inform us or stimulate a new discussion.
But someone connected to the American government flipping two fascist salutes at the inauguration of the new president sure does.
2,015 karma · joined January 10, 2025
But someone connected to the American government flipping two fascist salutes at the inauguration of the new president sure does.
Building any kind of ethical framework for hardware and software engineering necessitates looking at the ugly side.
If Hacker News is genuinely not up to that then it's falling short.
The problem is that so much of the tech industry is now precisely about politics and power. The problem is that so much of the tech industry it is now explicitly and directly connected to it.
If Hacker News doesn't have the wherewithal to face up the these realities then it really should think about a name change.
Maybe "Happy Fun News" or something.
That kind of apathy is exactly what you can't afford to look away from.
You can't look the other way anymore.
Hacker News cannot be afraid to look at it, cannot run away from it, and, if you're part of the tech industry, must take responsibility for it.
Sure. They fly around and shoot laser beams out of their eyes, but the lack of sweating really wrecked it for me.
> Even so, I still want to see someone in a cape sweat.
That's Batman. He's just a guy in a cape.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/01/hitler-ger...
Maybe Musk and Trump can beat his record.
He's spent 10 years lying about Tesla's full self-driving:
https://electrek.co/2024/08/24/tesla-deletes-its-blog-post-s...
He lies about being good at video games: https://english.elpais.com/technology/2025-01-24/elon-musk-a...
He lies about Cybertruck quarter mile times:
https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/tesla-cybertruck-beast-vs...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J3H8--CQRE
Tesla never even ran that quarter mile. When your engineers don't have commitment to basic honesty then you've got a rotten company. And the fish rots from the head: https://x.com/wmorrill3/status/1746266437088645551
He enjoys and promotes conspiracy theories: https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/30/business/musk-tweet-pelos...
He dabbles in antisemitism: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/16/elon-musk...
He stokes partisan division over the Los Angeles fires: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/01/10/elon-mu...
And so on and so on.
X is an endless swamp of falsehoods with Musk himself spreading as much of it as he can. Without facts America will have no past and no future. America will be stuck in an eternal present, just like Russia.
This is Musk's attempt at a Russification of America.
America's in trouble.
https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/01/02/why-canada-shoul...
Corporate tax rates won't increase. Review this in four years and you'll see that you were too optimistic.
> Denmark policies should be Denmark First, and so on.
They are. That's why they're in the EU. It was better to be involved with Europe than be isolated from it.
Here's the cost of Brexit so far:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-cost-s...
It's not great. It was the wrong choice.
> y'all are already screaming bloody murder.
No one is.
> I repeat: I don't really care.
Nihilism won't get you anywhere. You're not even arguing if the program is effective or not. That's an actual case you can make but it requires taking an interest.
Except it's not on the table. In Trump's first term corporate tax rates declined:
https://itep.org/iteps-top-charts-of-2024/
> Tariffs will also indirectly and partially compensate for those avoided taxes.
Tariffs will just get you counter-tariffs. After Trump's direct threats to Denmark, the EU is working on a bundle of counter-tariffs to apply if needed. That will equal lost export revenue as US products get priced out of the market:
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-tariff-threat-denmark-showdow...
> "I don't really care, Margaret."
It's better to be involved in the world than to be a hermit kingdom. North Korea is a good example.
Tesla paid $0 in federal income tax last year:
https://itep.org/tesla-reported-zero-federal-income-tax-in-2...
Amazon, Nike, and FedEx don't like paying taxes either:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/14/how-companies-like-amazon-ni...
A lot of tax dollars are being left on the table.
> Screw "soft power influence"
This will make America weak again. It will put America last.
HIV affects everyone. It's best to reduce it wherever you can.
You either want soft power influence or you don't. If you cede influence to other nations they will happily take it over for you.
A reduction in soft power influence will make the US smaller and weaker. Nations will form business and military ties with whoever wants to be the next world hegemon (i.e. China).
When Musk feels the need to lie about something as trivial as video games, he's going to lie about everything all the time: https://english.elpais.com/technology/2025-01-24/elon-musk-a...
His fascist salutes have alienated a lot of potential buyers: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/20/trump-elo...
Teslas are now being called "swasticars". That's brand damage that's going to take a while to fix. And maybe it can't be fixed while Musk remains at Tesla.
It's a shame all those HW3 owners are being left out in the cold:
https://electrek.co/2025/01/24/tesla-has-a-new-self-driving-...
https://electrek.co/2024/10/15/tesla-needs-to-come-clean-abo...
https://electrek.co/2024/08/24/tesla-deletes-its-blog-post-s...
Teslas are now being called "swasticars". It's funny so it will probably stick.
Musk has no one but himself to blame for that one.
"Nemo me impune lacessit" means "No one provokes me with impunity".
Not someone I'd trust with my finances.
The brand damage is big this time. Teslas are now being called "swasticars".
It's not perception, it's reality: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/20/trump-elo...
These guys like it: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/elon-mus...
Musk is making a point of supporting far right parties internationally: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/25/elon-musk...
And his far right views are not new: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/nov/16/elon-musk...
Musk is an attention seeking narcissist who has gone out of his way to make himself synonymous with the Tesla brand. When you buy Tesla you're now buying into Musk's far right politics.
He's done a lot of damage to the Tesla brand: https://insideevs.com/news/748520/model-y-social-media-junip...
If you don't want to be associated with Musk the simple solution is don't buy Tesla.
Capitulation is contagious, especially when it's profitable: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/03/washing...
So you don't turn into Russia: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/how-has-state-owned-media-in-russ...
Authoritarian regimes rely on disengagement and nihilism to remain in power.
Musk performing fascist salutes at a political rally is an interesting new phenomenon: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/20/trump-elo...
Like it or not, this is what's happening to the tech industry. So much of the tech sector is now precisely about politics and power.
You can't run away from it. You can't ignore it. And, if you're in the tech industry, you're responsible for it.
It's always best to see things as they are.