Poll of the Day > Do you think Elon Musk is smart/intelligent?

(+) Yeah! (+)

In some ways, yes.

In some ways, no.

I don't think he's a completely mindless buffoon, but he does and says a lot of stupid stuff.

Colonel_Lingus posted...

In some ways, yes.

In some ways, no.

I don't think he's a completely mindless buffoon, but he does and says a lot of stupid stuff.

This seems about right.

Depends what you mean by smart/intelligent

Lokarin posted...

Depends what you mean by smart/intelligent

Last I checked there was only one definition for each?

ZayKayWill posted...

Last I checked there was only one definition for each?

Then you can safely define them for us.

There's different kinds of intelligence.

A carpenter may show great intelligence in constructing a house but know jack shit about molecular biology

An accomplished molecular biologist may hold several degrees and be very knowledgeable in their field but maybe they can't pass a driving exam to operate a car

Someone may have great emotional intelligence but poor academic intelligence

There's endless examples of this. There's too much nuance to the question you're posing

Lokarin posted...

Then you can safely define them for us.

After thinking about it, I guess there are different intelligences. Fluid vs crystallized intelligence for example. But generally speaking, as I understand it, being smart is one's ability to use certain knowledge to their advantage or to make the world a better place or whatever. Whereas intelligence is one's ability to learn said smarts/knowledge.

If you have a better definition feel free to lay it down.

He paid $40 billion dollars for Twitter and then changed it's name to X, thus discarding what was probably the single most valuable asset left in the company...so no, no I do not think he is intelligent.

ZayKayWill posted...

If you have a better definition feel free to lay it down.

That's ok, you only answered my original statement.

Colonel_Lingus posted...

I don't think he's a completely mindless buffoon, but he does and says a lot of stupid stuff.

I have met many people over the years who I wouldn't consider "smart" or "intelligent", but most of them still aren't complete idiots in every single category. Rare is the person who is an absolute moron in every single field of life. Hell, I knew one guy who was obviously pretty "slow" (later found out he was actually considered legally disabled by the government because he had an I.Q. below 80), but he could sail a boat better than I ever will.

So I don't necessarily think that "not a mindless buffoon" should be our minimum qualifier to call someone "smart".

Anyways, no, I don't think Elon is smart; I think he had the good sense to surround himself with smart people and take credit for their accomplishments, but like all narcissists he eventually fell for his own propaganda and deluded himself into thinking that it was his genius, rather than his money, that was the reason for where he was. From what I understand, Tesla had multiple people whose full-time job was managing Musk and ensuring that his ridiculous ideas never got to see the light of day (and the absence of those people at Twitter was what caused a lot of the problems following the takeover) - that's not usually something you associate with legitimately intelligent people.

Or, as someone on Twitter succinctly put it after the takeover (not an exact quote, but I don't have the original source on hand), "I heard a lot of people call Musk a genius for his SpaceX stuff; I don't know anything about rocket science, so I thought he must be a genius. Then I heard a lot of people call Musk a genius for his Tesla stuff; I don't know anything about electric cars, so I thought he must be a genius. Then I saw his opinions about computer science; I know a lot about computers and I can safely say the shit he's saying is some of the most moronic stuff I've ever heard anyone say, and now I'm wondering about just how much of a 'genius' he really was in the other two companies."

darkknight109 posted...

I have met many people over the years who I wouldn't consider "smart" or "intelligent", but most of them still aren't complete idiots in every single category. Rare is the person who is an absolute moron in every single field of life. Hell, I knew one guy who was obviously pretty "slow" (later found out he was actually considered legally disabled by the government because he had an I.Q. below 80), but he could sail a boat better than I ever will.

So I don't necessarily think that "not a mindless buffoon" should be our minimum qualifier to call someone "smart".

Anyways, no, I don't think Elon is smart; I think he had the good sense to surround himself with smart people and take credit for their accomplishments, but like all narcissists he eventually fell for his own propaganda and deluded himself into thinking that it was his genius, rather than his money, that was the reason for where he was. From what I understand, Tesla had multiple people whose full-time job was managing Musk and ensuring that his ridiculous ideas never got to see the light of day (and the absence of those people at Twitter was what caused a lot of the problems following the takeover) - that's not usually something you associate with legitimately intelligent people.

Or, as someone on Twitter succinctly put it after the takeover (not an exact quote, but I don't have the original source on hand), "I heard a lot of people call Musk a genius for his SpaceX stuff; I don't know anything about rocket science, so I thought he must be a genius. Then I heard a lot of people call Musk a genius for his Tesla stuff; I don't know anything about electric cars, so I thought he must be a genius. Then I saw his opinions about computer science; I know a lot about computers and I can safely say the shit he's saying is some of the most moronic stuff I've ever heard anyone say, and now I'm wondering about just how much of a 'genius' he really was in the other two companies."

Self-driving cars was the first thing I can really remember him talking about where I remember thinking "This guy is kind of an idiot."

I think he's unintelligent, has mental health problems, grew up as a trust fund kid from bad parents, and on top of that does a lot of mind-altering drugs. He runs his company like a 10 year old would, flying cars, solar panel roof tiles, hyperloop, colonizing mars... He's a pretty good example of why money shouldn't snowball.

According to his own ex-employees, anything successful he does is sheerly because his employees manage to keep him distracted long enough. I think it's pretty obvious that any company he runs would be better off if he just sat in his office and did nothing. One ex-Tesla employee said that Twitter is an example of Elon without anyone holding him back.

People might say he's smart enough to run all these lies and a rabid fanbase. Smart people don't lie, it's self-destructive.

Yellow posted...

Smart people don't lie

While I agree elon isn't smart, this is just definitely not true lol

The only thing he's "smart" at doing is scamming and exploiting others similarly to his best orange friend.

no. he is rich. I know people will argue that he is also intelligent, but I don't believe so.

aHappySacka posted...

The only thing he's "smart" at doing is scamming and exploiting others similarly to his best orange friend.

tbh he isn't even objectively good at this

Smart in what?

People are not universally smart in everything, that's not how it works, you can be a rocket scientist and have no common sense, or knowledge of politics, or know how to repair your car.

And not being knowledgeable on a subject doesn't mean said person thinks they aren't. If anything, some people are more sure about subject the less they know about.

https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-don-lemon-cancellation-bdbed1da86c3640daa63e384c734f5db

Musk abruptly cancels The Don Lemon Show on X after he sits for the programs first interview

I think yes but a combination of hubris from his higher success and poorly treated psychological issues are causing him to go off the deep end

Colonel_Lingus posted...

In some ways, yes.

I appreciate trying to find the middle ground but I can't think of anything that would fall into this category.

how come thermonuclear explosion proof glass is shattered by a tennis ball?

Sahuagin posted...

I appreciate trying to find the middle ground but I can't think of anything that would fall into this category.

Do you really think that someone of average or of below average intelligence could have become literally the richest man alive? Yes, his wealth is inherited, but it's not like him inheriting that wealth just made him the richest man in the world overnight.

ZayKayWill posted...

Do you really think that

despite your argument from ignorance, I still can't think of anything

Sahuagin posted...

despite your argument from ignorance, I still can't think of anything

You could have just answered the question, but alright. If that's how it is.

rjsilverthorn posted...

He paid $40 billion dollars for Twitter and then changed it's name to X, thus discarding what was probably the single most valuable asset left in the company...so no, no I do not think he is intelligent.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/b108f748.png

Does he top or bottom for Putin? Also does it matter for intelligence?
Either way at this point he's responsible for mass murder and war crimes.

Elon is a moron. He's not even a good businessman.

He knows how to walk, how to form words, and how to pay for things when forced to pay up. His commoner's sense and business sense are both severely lacking, outside of trying to buy out companies that may or may not show potential for growth. He lets his ego and wanton need for consumption make his decisions.

Eh, he's smart enough to get where he is. I'd say that's pretty smart.

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

Eh, he's smart enough to get where he is. I'd say that's pretty smart.

Me too.

I've never lost 50 billion dollars in like a year, so I'm probably smarter than him.

ZayKayWill posted...

Do you really think that someone of average or of below average intelligence could have become literally the richest man alive?

Unironically yes.

Intelligence and extreme wealth are not correlated. If they were, we would see the ranks of the world's ultra-wealthy dominated by scientists, researchers, and academics, rather than autocrats, business magnates, and celebrities.

I have no idea where this, "It takes brains to be rich" myth started, but it's literally never been true at any point in human history. Some of the world's richest men throughout history have been objectively dumb as fenceposts.

darkknight109 posted...

Unironically yes.

Intelligence and extreme wealth are not correlated. If they were, we would see the ranks of the world's ultra-wealthy dominated by scientists, researchers, and academics, rather than autocrats, business magnates, and celebrities.

I have no idea where this, "It takes brains to be rich" myth started, but it's literally never been true at any point in human history. Some of the world's richest men throughout history have been objectively dumb as fenceposts.

I appreciate you for answering the question. Thanks.

After watching a lot of Thunderf00t videos I'm thinking no, not at all. He seems to be little more than a vaporware salesman. I guess it takes some level of intelligence to know who and how to grift successfully, but more than that you just need the will to do it and flexible morals.

My mom used to work security at some science lab place and she said while they where obviously smart when it came to their job they came off ass idiots when it came to a lot of normal everyday stuff.

I may not agree with everything he does or says, but he seems very intelligent.

ZayKayWill posted...

Do you really think that someone of average or of below average intelligence could have become literally the richest man alive? Yes, his wealth is inherited, but it's not like him inheriting that wealth just made him the richest man in the world overnight.

Inheriting wealth doesn't magically make one rich, but it does give significantly more opportunities to do so and significantly reduce the consequences of failure. Musk got to where he is now because he made a few good business deals, deals he was only able to access because of the wealth he inherited. That's more luck than intelligence: there are countless other people who came from similar backgrounds and failed because the deals they tried to make didn't pan out. That Musk succeeded doesn't indicate that he's particularly any more brilliant or business-savvy than them, it just looks like he is because of survivorship bias.

He's got some modicum of business competence, since you don't stumble into success like that completely blindly, but his success is overwhelmingly a matter of investing into companies that were able to yield a sizable return on that investment, a return that was largely independent (and in many cases, in spite) of any direct input on his part.

darkknight109 posted...

If they were, we would see the ranks of the world's ultra-wealthy dominated by scientists, researchers, and academics, rather than autocrats, business magnates, and celebrities.

So you don't think successful business magnates can be hyper intelligent? It's a different type of intelligence from what it requires to be a scientist or academic, but I don't think it's fair to make the qualifier for not being intelligent "not being a scientist" lol

That said I don't think high intellect is a very big factor in becoming a .001%. By far the most common denominator between the mega rich people is being born into generational wealth

Elon is smarter than everyone on these boards combined. If you don't think so , you are the problem. Hard cold facts.

https://www.businessinsider.com/angela-chao-death-tesla-accident-reverse-gearshift-issues-2024-3

Chinese billionaire dies in a Tesla due to not being able to open the doors when it fell into a pond.

> Tesla owners raised concerns for years about design flaws and seeming malfunctions that caused them to accidentally drive in reverse before the death of the shipping magnate Angela Chao, who drowned last month after accidentally backing her Tesla into a pond.

Related Vowch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neC87Cy2PjA

Lokarin posted...

https://www.businessinsider.com/angela-chao-death-tesla-accident-reverse-gearshift-issues-2024-3

Chinese billionaire dies in a Tesla due to not being able to open the doors when it fell into a pond.

> Tesla owners raised concerns for years about design flaws and seeming malfunctions that caused them to accidentally drive in reverse before the death of the shipping magnate Angela Chao, who drowned last month after accidentally backing her Tesla into a pond.

Related Vowch video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neC87Cy2PjA

Easier than shoving out a window. The government can just set the car doors to not open.

lol you lot make me laugh 82% of you dont think Elon is smart or intelligent haha

adjl posted...

Inheriting wealth doesn't magically make one rich, but it does give significantly more opportunities to do so and significantly reduce the consequences of failure. Musk got to where he is now because he made a few good business deals, deals he was only able to access because of the wealth he inherited. That's more luck than intelligence: there are countless other people who came from similar backgrounds and failed because the deals they tried to make didn't pan out. That Musk succeeded doesn't indicate that he's particularly any more brilliant or business-savvy than them, it just looks like he is because of survivorship bias.

He's got some modicum of business competence, since you don't stumble into success like that completely blindly, but his success is overwhelmingly a matter of investing into companies that were able to yield a sizable return on that investment, a return that was largely independent (and in many cases, in spite) of any direct input on his part.

Apparently there are some people speculating that he doesn't even know how to program or engineer stuff and that the people he hired are the ones doing all that?

If that's true, my question is how someone would even fucking know that without knowing him personally. To me it just seems like a bunch of losers who are butthurt from him being a billionaire. If he really was as stupid as people make him out to be, why not replace him with someone who could actually do the job better?

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

Eh, he's smart enough to get where he is. I'd say that's pretty smart.

it's called having $$$$$ and being able to buy a position within a company

ZayKayWill posted...

Apparently there are some people speculating that he doesn't even know how to program or engineer stuff and that the people he hired are the ones doing all that?

If that's true, my question is how someone would even fucking know that without knowing him personally. To me it just seems like a bunch of losers who are butthurt from him being a billionaire. If he really was as stupid as people make him out to be, why not replace him with someone who could actually do the job better?

he doesn't know how to program and this goes back to his development of zip2.

ZayKayWill posted...

Apparently there are some people speculating that he doesn't even know how to program or engineer stuff and that the people he hired are the ones doing all that?

If that's true, my question is how someone would even fucking know that without knowing him personally. To me it just seems like a bunch of losers who are butthurt from him being a billionaire. If he really was as stupid as people make him out to be, why not replace him with someone who could actually do the job better?

acknowledging the reality of his assension to the top of a few companies does not entail being butthurt, it involves acknowledging that he did not 'work' his way to the top, but spent his way to the top.

https://youtu.be/c-FGwDDc-s8?t=607

note the financial support from mom and dad throughout.

Musk holds a Bachelor of Arts in physics, and a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. These do not represent 'genius'. Above average intelligence, sure. However, he has lied through his teeth about various gaps in his apparent 'genius'.

Here is the direct timestamp referencing his inability to code:
https://youtu.be/c-FGwDDc-s8?t=740

This video goes into fine detail regarding his business dealings. These don't indicate intelligence. They indicate an advantage.

Maximothelad posted...

Elon is smarter than everyone on these boards combined. If you don't think so , you are the problem. Hard cold facts.

I mean apparently lok has an IQ of 170 so