I don't necessarily think Musk's companies are literally "Ponzi schemes", but they are less impressive than the hype surrounding them, and they all rely heavily on government subsidies.
I just wish HN would take the same critical eye to Musk that it does toward other business luminaries. It seems like far too many people are easily seduced by "Mars colony! Hyperloop! Rocket around the world!"
Comparing the shuttle glider to the boosters of the Falcon is completely inaccurate. Compare the SRBs and the main booster.
And yes, I think SpaceX has been working constantly to reduce cost of reuse of their boosters. Do YOU have proof, given their track record of improvements, that they are anywhere near as expensive as the Shuttle in terms of launch costs?
The space shuttle was reusable. It just wasn't cost-effective. So far, SpaceX hasn't proven their resuable rocket is cost-effective either.
> Tesla made great cars with bleeding-edge EV technology.
Model X ranked dead last in reliability: https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/consumer-reports-survey-m...
Model S owners have also complained about reliability and build quality problems.
I don't know much about SolarCity as a business, but the Tesla buyout has a lot of sketchy signs about it https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/10/18/solarcity-teslas-s...
I don't necessarily think Musk's companies are literally "Ponzi schemes", but they are less impressive than the hype surrounding them, and they all rely heavily on government subsidies.
I just wish HN would take the same critical eye to Musk that it does toward other business luminaries. It seems like far too many people are easily seduced by "Mars colony! Hyperloop! Rocket around the world!"