Thread by @AlmingtonCap

Elon Musk's "genius engineer" mystique would not be possible if it weren't for the uncritical reporting of fawning "science & technology" journalists. Let's discuss how this works using the example below. $TSLA $TSLAQ

cc: @TESLAcharts for your list of aiders & abettors.

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https://twitter.com/AlmingtonCap/status/1257770283319963648

Elon has argued publicly that a single giant solar plant in Utah could power the entire United States. For example, he made this claim in a December 2015 speech at the Sorbonne. $TSLA $TSLAQ

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ecowatch.com/2015/12/04/elo…

This idea is laughable to anyone with high school-level of physics knowledge. It's a matter of wire resistance, which will is a limiting factor on power transmission, regardless of where the power is sourced (coal, solar, dreams, etc.) $TSLA $TSLAQ

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phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/resi…

Elon supposedly studied physics as an undergrad at UPenn. While knowing Ross Gerber also slithered out of UPenn with a BA may cause one to question the school's reputation, you'd still expect a physics grad to leave with a cursory grasp of electrical conduction. $TSLA $TSLAQ

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Some might claim that Elon "misspoke" or offer some other equally pathetic bootlicking excuse for their idol's feet of clay. Alas for these craven kowtowers, Elon has repeated the nonsensical claim in multiple venues. $TSLA $TSLAQ

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https://twitter.com/lmorello_dc/status/676840280302202880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E676840280302202880&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecowatch.com%2Fres%2Fcommunity%2Ftwitter_embed%2F%3Fiframe_id%3Dtwitter-embed-676840280302202880%26created_ts%3D1450206272.0%26screen_name%3Dlmorello_dc%26text%3DMusk%253A%2B%2522You%2Bcould%2Btake%2Ba%2Bcorner%2Bof%2BUtah%2Band%2BNevada%2Band%2Bpower%2Bthe%2Bentire%2BUnited%2BStates%2Bwith%2Bsolar%2Bpower.%2522%2B%2523AGU15%26id%3D676840280302202880%26name%3DLauren%2BMorello

How can Elon get away with making such patently foolish and scientifically ignorant claims? The answer lies with lick-spittle journalists who think that saying "Science is cool" and reading XKCD comics makes them scientists. $TSLA $TSLAQ

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Take @HarringtonBecca, who has degrees in literature, history & journalism from Ivy League colleges, but zero formal science education or competence. Yet, she was tasked with covering Elon's solar BS for Business Insider $TSLA $TSLAQ

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businessinsider.com/elon-musk-sola…

According to Harrington's breathless reporting, it took a genius like Elon to piece together the idea that solar energy is plentiful: "Visionaries like Elon Musk know how underrated solar power is." As for his Utah idea? It's an "incredible fact". $TSLA $TSLAQ

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Harrington's a writer, not a scientist. It's a problem observable across science/tech journalism. Few scientists get into journalism, so it's arts kids who end up writing about science. That's usually ok, since few scientific authorities seek to deliberately mislead. $TSLAQ

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The journalists following Elon eat up his futurist shtick because they don't know any better. They wouldn't even know where to begin to ask questions about a subject like electrical power transmission, let alone identify flaws in his reasoning. $TSLA $TSLAQ

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Elon's reached a stage where he IS a scientific authority (in the public mindset), so it rarely even occurs to reporters to seek second opinions from actual experts. So Elon's impossible claims get reported uncritically – and the narrative of his genius propagates. $TSLAQ

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In sum: Journalistic ignorance of basic science and engineering concepts has been a key factor in Elon's rise to acclaim.

Unfortunately, the damage has mostly been done. It remains to be seen whether the pretengineer™ can ever be knocked off his pedestal.

$TSLA $TSLAQ

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