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0 pointsmemish4y ago0 comments

Besides that, Elon didn't inherit that wealth. He moved to Canada with little money, worked blue collar jobs and had student debt. That's what he started with. At Zip2 he couldn't afford a second computer.

People WANT to believe a mythology that Elon started off rich to feel better about not accomplishing anything with their own equally or more privileged life. People that started with little themselves don't have this level of cognitive dissonance and see it more as an immigrant success story and inspiration.

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8 comments · 2 top-level

jkestner4y ago· 4 in thread

He got a $28,000 loan from his father when starting Zip2.

The biggest privilege is having your family's security net, even if you don't use it. Musk has also had luck, being in the right time and place for the dot-com boom. Unlike a lot of people who grew up privileged, he's been a hustler with great business instincts. Unlike a lot of hustlers with great business instincts, he grew up privileged.

brandonagr24y ago

False, it was not when starting Zip2, it was a later funding round and the funding didn't depend on Errol's investment

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1211064937004589056

jkestner4y ago

I looked for a source other than a tweet from Musk, who like many entrepreneurs is known to stretch the truth. Couldn’t find a definitive source, but it’s mentioned going as far back as the 90s according to Google, with not enough detail to say the exact timing but suggesting that it was crucial at the time. Of course, that’s also a hallmark of startup stories.

memishOP4y ago

The loan came later and he was no more privileged than the average Canadian or American at the time. People who dismiss it as privilege are projecting envy, full stop.

jkestner4y ago

And what are people who feel the need to defend the world’s richest person projecting?

Could the average American in 1995 give a $28,000 loan to his kid? Median net worth was ~$100,000 in today’s dollars. If ‘privilege’ has negative connotations for you, use ‘luck’ instead. I don’t think there’s any question that Musk made some of his own luck through hard work and intelligence, but we often observe the rich with survivorship bias because it would upset the social order if we stopped believing that hard work and intelligence are enough to become rich.

corobo4y ago· 2 in thread

> When he started Zip2 he couldn't afford a second computer

What does this sentence mean, why’d he need a second computer? Parsing out the odd wording that means he could afford a computer

What’s with the second computer? It’s proper nerd sniped me this haha

memishOP4y ago

One computer for development, one for a server. He couldn't afford a second so had to use his primary for both purposes.

corobo4y ago

Actually in fairness that does make sense given a bit of thought

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8 comments · 2 top-level

jkestner4y ago· 4 in thread

He got a $28,000 loan from his father when starting Zip2.

brandonagr24y ago

False, it was not when starting Zip2, it was a later funding round and the funding didn't depend on Errol's investment

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1211064937004589056

jkestner4y ago

memishOP4y ago

The loan came later and he was no more privileged than the average Canadian or American at the time. People who dismiss it as privilege are projecting envy, full stop.

jkestner4y ago

And what are people who feel the need to defend the world’s richest person projecting?

corobo4y ago· 2 in thread

> When he started Zip2 he couldn't afford a second computer

What does this sentence mean, why’d he need a second computer? Parsing out the odd wording that means he could afford a computer

What’s with the second computer? It’s proper nerd sniped me this haha

memishOP4y ago

One computer for development, one for a server. He couldn't afford a second so had to use his primary for both purposes.

corobo4y ago

Actually in fairness that does make sense given a bit of thought

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse