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Olivia Toth
Professor Cherry
English Comp 1001
3 December 2020
Elon Musk: A Controversial Figure in Technology
Elon Musk is a polarizing figure in the tech industry and business sphere, with most falling
into two categories: those that despise him and those that approve of every action and stance he
takes. This sort of divide is quite common within the technology and business industries, but the
divide surrounding Elon Musk is a complex issue and is not so black and white. Musk has a
strong presence on the internet, with many of his controversial statements and opinions coming
directly from Twitter. Musk’s controversial tweets are either his own opinions or misinformation
that is dangerous or misleading. Though most of the controversy surrounding Elon Musk
revolves around his actions and statements, these controversies often affect his businesses.
Musk’s statements and beliefs have resulted in a loss of support for his companies, which has
resulted in lowered sales, fewer investors, and even the loss of entire projects. Musk’s ideas are
often seen as impractical, with many people feeling that several of his companies’ goals and
projects are unrealistic and are not possible now or even possible at all. Overall, Elon Musk’s
companies are a mixed bag, with some of them accomplishing impressive technological feats,
others not accomplishing anything substantial, and others being questionable, with some
impressive technology but uncertainty whether or not their products are beneficial. Do the
accomplishments of Elon Musk and his companies outweigh the controversy surrounding both
Musk’s own life and the controversies surrounding his companies?
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SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk in 2002 with the goal of revolutionizing spaceflight and
making it an affordable venture. The company’s first rocket, the Falcon 1, had its first launch in
March 2006, which unfortunately ended unsuccessfully to a fire and fuel leak (Eldridge). Despite
this early failure, other companies saw the potential of SpaceX’s affordable and reusable
aerospace technology, including NASA. SpaceX began its time working with NASA by being
the first private company to launch a liquid-fueled rocket into orbit in September 2008, despite
two failed launches in March 2007 and August 2008. Soon after, SpaceX earned a $1 billion
contract with NASA to service the International Space Station. 2010 saw the first launch of the
Falcon 9, followed by ground being broken on the launch site for the Falcon Heavy in 2011. The
launch and return of the Dragon capsule in December 2010 was another success, allowing the
capsule to become the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the ISS in May 2012. SpaceX
was able to successfully land and reuse parts of their rockets throughout the 2010s and the
Falcon Heavy launched in 2018. SpaceX announced their next rocket, The Super Heavy-Starship
system, which would allow for fast travel between Earth, the Moon, and Mars (Eldridge). The
most recent accomplishment in SpaceX’s history occurred on May 30, 2020, with the first
crewed flight of a Dragon capsule to the ISS, carrying Doug Hurley and Robert Behnken.
This flight exemplifies the importance and significance of SpaceX in the aerospace industry,
as the company’s partnership with NASA has allowed it to bring human launch capability back
to the United States since the end of the space shuttle program. The launch also marks the first
time a non-government organization has taken astronauts into space; yet another achievement for
SpaceX. NASA’s partnership with SpaceX will allow the agency to successfully return to the
Moon through the Artemis program, with SpaceX having the potential to be the company that
develops the final design for a Human Landing System to deliver humans to the lunar surface
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(Ward). Despite all of SpaceX’s success, there is some controversy surrounding the company’s
work, with the most significant controversy surrounding the Starlink satellites. The company
launched 60 of the mini Starlink satellites into orbit at the beginning of 2020, with SpaceX
planning to launch around 42,000 of the satellites into orbit to control up to five percent of the
internet market. Astronomers are worried that the reflective, metallic satellites could affect the
night view on Earth and interfere with optical and radio astronomy. SpaceX claims that is trying
to remedy the problem by using a darkening treatment on the satellites to lower the reflectivity
(Ahmed). If SpaceX’s claims are true, then the Starlink satellites, seemingly SpaceX’s biggest
controversy, are not of the utmost concern to those who like Elon Musk and SpaceX’s work.
SpaceX’s minimal controversies make the company relatively unproblematic, showing that Elon
Musk’s leadership does not make a company inherently bad or problematic. SpaceX is not
directly affected by Musk’s controversies either, which is not the case for Tesla.
Tesla, originally known as Tesla Motors, was founded by a group of Silicon Valley engineers,
including Elon Musk, in 2003. The company’s first vehicle, the Roadster, did not go into
production until 2008, with the sports car being produced until 2012. Elon Musk became the
CEO in 2008, with Tesla nearly going bankrupt during the financial crisis. The company
revealed its first sedan, the Model S in 2009, with the company going public in 2010, and the
introduction of the Model X, a crossover SUV (Thompson/Lee). Notably, the production of both
the Model S and Model X did not begin on time, with both vehicles entering production and
being delivered to customers one to three years later than initially planned. This delay is a
testament to the flawed nature of the company as well as Elon Musk’s overly ambitious goals
and plans for the company. Tesla introduced its Autopilot feature in October 2014 and released
the feature to the public in 2015, with the feature becoming one of the most controversial aspects
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of the company’s work. The Autopilot system has resulted in four deaths, but the deaths may
have been caused by irresponsible or incorrect use of the system, an issue perpetuated by Musk
himself. The manual found in Tesla vehicles states that the driver must keep their hands on the
steering wheel while using Autopilot, but several drivers have been seen using the system while
sleeping or not sitting in the driver’s seat (Matousek). Musk may be perpetuating the idea that
drivers do not have to keep their hands on the wheel while using Autopilot, as he has taken his
hands off the wheel while doing television interviews about the system. Musk can not be
irresponsible, as he is the figurehead of Tesla and has a large amount of influence over those
interested in Tesla’s work and his other work.
Unfortunately, Tesla has suffered under the influence and actions of Elon Musk. Besides his
improper use of the Autopilot system, he tweeted about taking the company private, resulting in
him being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission under the guise that Musk mislead
investors. Musk and Tesla each had to pay a $20 million fine, with another agreement having to
be made between Musk and the SEC after he violated their previous one, as Musk tweeted about
Tesla’s vehicle production (Matousek). Elon Musk has had a long history of giving deadlines
that are unlikely to be met, as well as making claims that are not plausible at the time, most
notably with him making claims about autonomous driving and Tesla’s financial standing. Back
in 2016, Musk claimed that autonomous-driving technology would arrive in under two years,
with the company passing many of the deadlines Musk created in the past, with Musk claiming
in 2019 that full autonomy would available next year. In 2019, Musk also claimed that Tesla
would be continuously profitable going forward, but later said the company would not be
profitable until the third quarter of 2019 (Matousek). Despite Tesla’s and Musk’s controversies,
Tesla has introduced the concepts for the Semi truck concept, a new version of the original
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Roadster, the Model Y, and the Cybertruck in the past few years. It is impressive that Tesla has
continued to innovate and seen much success over the years, despite the company and Musk’s
own flaws.
The Boring Company exemplifies Elon Musk’s habit of making bold statements and setting
unrealistic goals for his companies that may never be accomplished. Musk and The Boring
Company have proposed several Loop projects that intend to revolutionize transportation, but
only one project has truly gotten off the ground, the Loop in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas system
consists of two tunnels that create a connection between the buildings of the Las Vegas
Convention Center and are significantly different from the original plan. Musk’s original plan for
the Loop was to have fully autonomous sleds that carried a large number of passengers at high
speeds across a city. Instead, the tunnels in Las Vegas have a 35-mph speed limit, rely on two
Tesla vehicles with human drivers, due to the lack of full autonomy in Tesla vehicles, and have
limited capacity as well. Las Vegas officials and business owners are excited about the prospect
of the Loop expanding through the city, with some resorts even submitting plans to connect the
system to their resorts (McFarland). Despite one of The Boring Company’s projects being
successfully built, it is concerning how far the project strayed from the original plans. Musk’s
idea of revolutionizing public transportation is not practical and is not what those who take
public transportation want or need. Musk does not consider what the people want when it comes
to transportation, after all, his reason for founding The Boring Company was simply to get out of
Los Angles traffic. This is something easy for him to do, as he is a billionaire, and makes him
seem out of touch and unsure of what the average person wants out of public transportation.
Unfortunately, the Las Vegas Loop is the only project currently approved and under
construction by The Boring Company. Musk proposed a Loop between New York and
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Washington, DC in 2017, a project between DC and Baltimore, and a project between downtown
Chicago and O’Hare International Airport. Musk claimed to have approval for the New York to
DC loop, but it is unknown whether the project is in the works. The Baltimore and DC project is
currently under review but seems impractical due to the curve of the route impacting the
projected speeds and initially low capacity (McFarland). The project between downtown
Chicago and O’Hare is unlikely to ever get off the ground due to political changes in Chicago
over the past few years. Chicago’s mayoral election in 2019 was seemingly the nail in the coffin
for the Chicago Loop project. The mayor of Chicago in 2019, Rahm Emanuel, was not up for reelection, and the fourteen candidates running for the position were skeptical, not interested in, or
fully against the project. The candidates were worried that the project was not feasible and that
taxpayers would have to help pay for the project (Smith). It is clear that Musk’s projects for The
Boring Company do not appeal to most people, even politicians, as corrupt and money-hungry as
they often are. The Loop concept is impractical and costly for citizens and their government
officials, and truly only seems to benefit Elon Musk himself. The implementation of the Loop is
the realization of a technological fantasy for a billionaire that frequently touts these sorts of
ideas. Musk’s frequently impractical and sometimes impossible proposals are not the only
controversial aspects of Elon Musk and his work, with Musk’s outspoken nature being the main
issue that makes people avoid him and his work.
Several of Elon Musk’s controversies arise from his statements in interviews, and especially
from his statements made on Twitter. Musk frequently tweets, whether it be about his
companies, ongoing situations, and current topics, or just jokes. Musk’s tweets about ongoing
situations had a part in ruining his reputation during the early months of the coronavirus
pandemic in 2020. In March, Musk tweeted that the coronavirus panic was “dumb,” even though
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100,000 people across the world had been infected, and cases in the United States were starting
to rise (Hartmans/Leskin). The panic surrounding the early months of the pandemic was
understandable, as it had been years since the world experienced a pandemic like that of the
coronavirus. Musk had no right to call the panic over the virus “dumb,” as he was and still is
well off, unlike many Americans who would come to struggle throughout the pandemic. Musk
claimed that children are “essentially immune to the virus,” a false claim, and agreed with the
false claim that “deaths are leveling out in Italy,” when cases were rising exponentially in the
country at the time (Hartmans/Leskin). Musk responding and making false claims during a
pandemic is irresponsible and he should be held accountable for spreading misinformation. As a
businessman and CEO of several companies, he needs to be more careful about what he puts out
on his large platform, as people may have put all their trust in him and see the information he
puts out as true and factual. Musk also promoted the unproven drug hydroxychloroquine and
claimed that other masks are “better” than N95 masks, even though N95 masks are proven to
block out 95% of small airborne particles. Hydroxychloroquine is not proven to be effective in
treating COVID-19 and may cause additional health problems, including irregular heart rhythm
in those given the drug (Hartmans/Leskin). Musk once again spreading false information during
a pandemic is once again irresponsible and dangerous, as N95 masks are crucial to medical
workers and hydroxychloroquine is an unproven and risky treatment for the virus. The best
solution to stop Musk from spreading false information is to have him limit his Twitter use and
fact check his information before tweeting. Musk went on to call stay at home orders “forcible
imprisoning,” tweeted “FREE AMERICA NOW,” and tweeted that the government should “give
people their freedom back (Hartmans/Leskin).” He made these comments despite the fact the
United States was amidst a pandemic and cases of the virus continued to climb. These tweets
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about ending the stay at home order seem to have sparked the most backlash from everyone from
Musk fans to doctors on the website. The idea of ending the stay at home order and letting
people get back to their normal lives at the time was a poor decision to make, as it would put so
many more Americans at risk for catching the virus. Musk mainly wanted to lift the order so his
employees could go back to work, despite the fact that he would be putting his employees at risk
for catching the coronavirus. He especially wanted his Tesla employees to go back to work, as he
was afraid that the company would lose profits, an extremely selfish idea. The coronavirus
pandemic exemplifies the parts of Elon Musk’s character that lead many people to dislike him
and his work.
Taking all of the innovative and great aspects of Elon Musk’s companies, the failure and
flaws of the companies, and Musk’s own actions and statements into account, it is difficult to
conclude whether or not Musk’s and his companies’ accomplishments outweigh their flaws. Yet,
Musk’s controversial statements and false promises have turned consumers and investors away
from Tesla’s innovative electric vehicles, made many uncertain about or downright despise the
concepts introduced by The Boring Company, and made many stop supporting SpaceX, despite
the overwhelming good the company has done. It has become shameful for many to support Elon
Musk and his companies due to the backlash one may receive, especially on Twitter. It is a
common occurrence for Musk’s fans and supporters to be ridiculed on the site by those who
dislike his work, leading many to take a deeper look at Musk’s character. Supporting Elon
Musk’s companies as well as his personal choices and actions is simply too difficult after taking
a deeper look into both him and his companies. One simply cannot ignore the implausibility of
The Boring Company’s tunnel system, or the fact that commuters and politicians alike see no
merit in the company. Tesla seems like an excellent company on paper, but the false promises
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made, technical issues, and Musk’s actions on behalf of the company make it clear that Musk has
and continues to take the company in a bad direction, with other, better electric cars on the rise.
Musk’s statements and actions continue to push more and more former fans and consumers of
his products away, leading many to see him as a terrible person and bad businessman. The
coronavirus pandemic was an eye-opening time for many, with Musk sharing false information
and showing a real lack of care for those suffering. All this while the man got richer, despite
millions of Americans suffering financially and in fear of the virus and losing everything.
SpaceX is the one aspect of Musk’s life and career that stands as a testament to the man’s genius,
with the company being a sign that not every idea of Musk’s is a fantasy. Unfortunately, the
ability to reuse rockets and revolutionizing space travel and exploration does not outweigh the
flaws and implausibility of Tesla and The Boring Company’s projects nor for Musk’s personal
actions and statements. Supporting Elon Musk’s companies and condoning his frequent spread of
misinformation and questionable statements and actions is simply too difficult based on what is
publicly known about both Musk and his companies.
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Works Cited
Ahmed, Issam. “SpaceX Just Launched a New Fleet of Its Controversial Starlink Satellites.”
ScienceAlert, 8 Jan. 2020, www.sciencealert.com/spacex-just-launched-a-third-batch-ofits-starlink-satellites.
Eldrige, Alison. “SpaceX.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2020,
www.britannica.com/topic/SpaceX.
Hartmans, Avery, and Paige Leskin. “Elon Musk Claimed Tesla Stock Was Priced 'Too High,'
Causing Shares to Fall and Shareholders to React. It's the Latest in a String of
Controversial Comments from the Tesla CEO over the Past 2 Months.” Business Insider,
Business Insider, 1 May 2020, www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-coronaviruscomments-timeline-stay-at-home-rules-fascist-2020-5.
Matousek, Mark. “18 Controversies That Have Plagued Tesla.” Business Insider, Business
Insider, 28 June 2019, www.businessinsider.com/tesla-problems-2019-autopilot-elonmusk-tweets-2019-6.
McFarland, Matt. “Elon Musk's Tunnel Project Hit a Milestone. But the Future Is Unclear.”
CNN, Cable News Network, 12 June 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/06/12/business/vegasmusk-boring-company/index.html
Smith, Ryan. “The Political Winds in Chicago Are Blowing against Elon Musk's High-Speed
Tunnel Project.” The Verge, The Verge, 25 Feb. 2019,
www.theverge.com/2019/2/25/18236075/elon-musk-chicago-boring-company-tunnelpolitics.
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Thompson, Cadie, and Kristen Lee. “Tesla Celebrates Its 10th Year as a Public Company Today.
Here Are the Most Important Moments in Its History.” Business Insider, Business Insider,
29 June 2020, www.businessinsider.com/most-important-moments-tesla-history-2017-2
Ward, Cassidy. “How SpaceX Improved on NASA's Work and Changes Spaceflight Forever.”
Observer, Observer, 11 June 2020, observer.com/2020/06/how-spacex-crewed-nasachanges-spaceflight-forever/.