A $100 million gift gets @elonmusk a snarky NBC article with incongruous historical references.
This epitomizes the sorry state of tech journalism today.
1/6
This epitomizes the sorry state of tech journalism today.
1/6
https://twitter.com/bpopken/status/1353009330216443905
Though @bpopken compares Musk unfavorably with Rockefeller and Carnegie for supposedly delaying serious giving, the bulk of Carnegie’s philanthropy began around age 65, and Rockefeller’s was also concentrated after age 60. Musk is 49.
2/6
2/6
Rockefeller and Carnegie had businesses generating significant cash flow for years by that point.
As recently as 2019 Musk was risking Tesla’s survival to bring out a lower-cost electric car (which could do more than billions of dollars of gifts to reduce emissions).
3/6
As recently as 2019 Musk was risking Tesla’s survival to bring out a lower-cost electric car (which could do more than billions of dollars of gifts to reduce emissions).
3/6
The lesson: many tech reporters will go after entrepreneurs no what they do. They’ll go after those with the most soul in the game—the founders most dedicated to a greater mission—with particular pettiness.
4/6
4/6
I’ve criticized many tech companies and executives. But our media often steers clear of the most substantive critiques, to focus on petty or misleading digs, pointlessly malicious attacks, or gleeful reports of stumbles. They often seem to want to see these founders fail.
5/6
5/6
We need a new approach to covering Silicon Valley—one that debates and explores how innovation can help society thrive, rejects petty or ideological attacks, and celebrates human creativity and true achievement.
6/6
6/6
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