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The Hyperloop was never meant to be built. Elon Musk admitted it was all about fueling opposition to California’s high-speed rail project so it would get canceled. (mastodon.online)

submitted 1 year ago by Raphael@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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The Hyperloop was never meant to be built. Elon Musk admitted it was all about fueling opposition to California’s high-speed rail project so it would get canceled.

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[-] FistfulOfStars@kbin.social 43 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Elon Musk admitted

I'm not saying it isn't true, but I'm not seeing any quote from him or link to an interview or anything. Just assertions from third parties of what his motives "seem" to be.

When you lie about shit like this, it undermines valid criticisms and makes anyone actually reading the original article question the trustworthiness of the source.

The Hyperloop was never meant to be built. It was all about fueling opposition to California's high-speed rail project so it would get canceled.

That is a blurb that doesn't resort to lies, and gets the same exact point across, without YOU looking like a liar.

You don't need to lie about monsters to make them look bad. Just show facts about their monstrous actions.

If you're spreading lies, regardless of intent, you're part of the problem, not the solution.

[-] affordable_grousing@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

I agree that the original source isn’t 100% unimpeachable, but I also wouldn’t call OP’s post a “lie.” A reporter included this assertion as fact in a biography of Musk based on extensive reporting. It’s always difficult to gauge the veracity of anonymous sources, but Vance seems very confident that the Hyperloop thing is true. Whether that’s based on a conversation with Musk himself or someone close to him, we don’t really know.

[-] FistfulOfStars@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

The quote from that biography is "It seemed that Musk...." - Using the phrase "Musk admitted" Is quite directly a lie.

The admission was never part of the original biography, nor the source article this is linking to. It was specifically added by the tooter, and was completely unnecessary.

[-] can@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

It almost feels intentional since it seems to detail f discussion any time this is posted. I'm sure it's just incompetence though.

[-] Zeppo@sh.itjust.works 39 points 1 year ago

Obviously, disgusting behavior without a shred of ethics. My only question is why or how it worked… Hyperloop is one of the absolute stupidest ideas I’ve ever heard of. It’s literally something I imagined when I was 6 years old. When I was going to sleep, I’d imagine that I could drop down under my bed into a tunnel with a wooden car that would take me to my friends’ houses. Just like Elron Musk, I never pondered safety, as in what would happen if my magic car broke down or started on fire.

[-] MisterMoo@kbin.social 10 points 1 year ago

When I was five, I imagined that there was such a thing as a unicorn. And this is before I had even heard of one or seen one. I just drew a picture of a horse that could fly over rainbows and had a huge spike in its head. I was five. Five years old! Couldn't even talk yet.

[-] Grimfelion@lemm.ee 7 points 1 year ago

Based off the downvotes I’m guessing there’s not a lot Office fans here yet….. so I’ll be the one to say well played fellow Lemmite. Well played. 🍻

[-] MisterMoo@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Those of us who are fans are hanging out in an exclusive club called Chat Room.

[-] Rottcodd@kbin.social 7 points 1 year ago

My only question is why or how it worked…

Because "without a shred of ethics" describes most politicians too.

Most of the "work" of politics, at least once one is in office, is figuring out ways to justify doing whatever it is that one has been bribed to do.

So in this particular case, some number of politicians wre bribed to kill the high-speed rail project, so they needed some excuse to do it, then the hyperloop came along and gave them one.

It didn't need to be compelling or even reasonable - it just needed to be sufficient. And it was.

[-] Zeppo@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

I guess i was wondering whether anyone believed it, as far as, did it have an impact on public opinion?

[-] Rottcodd@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I assume a fair number of people believed it.

Really though, I think that a lot of people don't technically "believe" things like that, because they don't even consider it that much. They just hear some public figure they trust for whatever reason make mouth noises that seem to have something to do with the matter at hand, and that's good enough for them.

[-] Th4tGuyII@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Not that I'm doubting Elon's a big enough POS to have done this, but I don't see any quotes here of him actually admitting to it

[-] yoz@aussie.zone 0 points 1 year ago

Trust me bro

[-] billwashere@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

As if I needed another reason to hate his ass… 😡

Please just crawl in a hole and shit the fuck up Elon.

[-] darkknight@discuss.online 6 points 1 year ago

Not surprising, elon is a pretty shitty person. Plus this would help tesla

[-] DrinkBoba@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago

Dudes a huge piece of shit

[-] calvin@lemmy.todayyoutomorrow.me 5 points 1 year ago

As far as I can tell this is just an article where someone's theorizes Musk's plan?

[-] Xeelee@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago

Musk never claimed in any way, shape or form that he was going to build the Hyperloop. In fact he explicitly ruled out doing it. You can blame the guy for a lot of things but this is just nonsense. Full disclosure: I also never intended to build a Hyperloop.

[-] Junoniaz@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

https://www.ted.com/talks/elon_musk_the_future_we_re_building_and_boring/transcript?language=en

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

What a fucking butthole. We need some kind of rapid transport able to get from one end of the state to the other quickly. How backed up does traffic in LA/SD or between the valley and the bay need to get before people stop being hella stupid about this?

[-] someguy3@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago

This has been posted many many times.

[-] HeartyBeast@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago

And each time some poor person has to point out that the quoted text doesn't have Elon admitting any such thing directly. It is an possibly floated by Ashlee Vance (who is a good journalist).

[-] FistfulOfStars@kbin.social 0 points 1 year ago

Apparently today I'm that poor person. Now I just feel like a rube.

[-] blazera@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago

no he didnt

[-] theyresocool@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

My favorite American past time is gaming the government subsidy system in favor of corporations so they can get tax money for projects that go nowhere or don’t get done at all. Verizon and national broadband was a government deal so well played I think that American politicians should be hailed as heroes and awarded Medals of Honor.

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this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2023

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