Talk:Elon Musk
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Q1: Can I write a message to Elon Musk here? (No.)
A1: No. The "Talk:Elon Musk" page is not for writing messages to Musk. It is only for discussing changes to the Wikipedia article about him. Writing a message to Musk here is pointless and disruptive, and such messages will be removed as an improper use of the page. Q2: Can you update the article to call Musk a "business magnet"? (No.)
A2: No. Musk once suggested in an interview that his Wikipedia article be changed to describe him as a "business magnet" rather than a magnate. The tone of that interview was not very serious; he also claimed to be an alien.[1] Wikipedia doesn't have to do what Musk says, and this request has been made and declined dozens of times already. New requests may be removed without a response so that other discussions are not disrupted. Q3: Should Musk be identified as South African in the opening sentence?
A3: Musk is a US citizen (since 2002) born and raised in South Africa, and also acquired Canadian citizenship via his mother. Including these nationalities in the opening sentence in a balanced way would be complex, and the consensus is that they should instead be explained later in the lead. Q4: Can you change "Tesla CEO" to "Tesla Technoking"?
A4: No, because he is still CEO according to company records and that is a common corporate title that readers will understand, unlike "Technoking". The goal of the article is to inform people, which would be hindered by raising a confusing technicality. Q5: Should the mention of Errol Musk having an interest in an emerald mine be removed in view of Elon's denials?
A5: While Elon today vehemently disputes any history with an emerald mine, he formerly accepted and even confirmed it. Specifically, a 2014 report originally printed in the San Jose Mercury News (and cited in the article) stated that Errol Musk had "a stake in" a mine. Elon affirmed his father's mine involvement in an interview with Jim Clash, a career interviewer of public figures, that was published by Forbes and withdrawn without explanation a few months later. Elon biographer Ashlee Vance likewise confirmed Errol's mining interest, with Elon's objections but not denials, in a 2020 interview report with Elon. Errol has stated that he received hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of emeralds from his dealings. Q6: Should "Bachelor of Arts in Physics" be "Bachelor of Science" instead?
A6: No. Although it may seem counterintuitive, "Bachelor of Arts in Physics" is the degree that the University of Pennsylvania (among other schools) awards. Q7: Should the article acknowledge doubts about Musk's academic record?
A7: Wikipedia policy on biographies of living persons requires that negative information about a person must be attributed to reliable published sources, and excludes both self-published sources (e.g. Twitter threads) and court trial records. The article states that sources disagree about when Musk obtained bachelor degrees, and that he did not attend Stanford for any significant amount of time. Any doubts beyond this require appropriate sources. Q8: Why doesn't this article describe Musk as an engineer?
A8: Musk is chief engineer of SpaceX, a title that applies within the company and that the press regularly mentions. He is not a professional engineer, a distinction within engineering that carries certain legal privileges in the United States, nor has he completed an engineering training program, nor has he ever been hired as an engineer. The article therefore does not include any of these claims. It does note that, from time to time, Musk has made initial product proposals at his companies that his trained engineers then research and develop. He does hold IEEE Honorary Membership. Q9: Why doesn't the article identify Musk as co-founder of PayPal?
A9: Because that could mislead readers that Musk was involved in the creation of the PayPal service and brand, when he was not. Instead, as the article states, he co-founded a company (X.com Corporation) that acquired the company that had developed PayPal (Confinity Inc.) and then renamed itself as PayPal, Inc. Q10: Why does this page include criticism of Musk's actions and stances?
A10: Musk is criticized/praised a lot in many reliable sources, and as such we need to talk about these criticisms and praise. To quote from Wikipedia's policy on a neutral point of view, articles must represent "fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without editorial bias, all the significant views that have been published by reliable sources on a topic." Q11: Why is this a "good article" when some people consider Musk a bad person?
A11: "Good article" on Wikipedia refers to the way the article is written, not what kind of person Musk is. Good articles have been found to satisfy Wikipedia editorial standards for accuracy, verifiability and balanced presentation. Q12: Why doesn't this page call Musk African American?
A12: African Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. Reliable sources do not use this term to describe Musk. References
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A more recent photograph is needed
[edit]Musk is one of the most prominent public figures on Earth, and his physical appearance has changed significantly since 2018. A more recent cover image is needed. Here is an adequate option from 2023: The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meeting Mr. Elon Musk in New York, USA on June 20, 2023 (2) (cropped).jpg
Firecat93 (talk) 05:13, 30 November 2024 (UTC)
- @Firecat93 Is this the best option? It would be an ok choice, but it’s fairly low resolution. — HTGS (talk) 23:19, 6 December 2024 (UTC)
- Here are two possible, high quality alternatives:
- 2022: USAFA Hosts Elon Musk (Image 1 of 17) (cropped).jpg
- 2022: Elon Musk Colorado 2022 (cropped2).jpg Firecat93 (talk) 03:41, 15 December 2024 (UTC)
- This discussion already occurred at Talk:Elon Musk/Archive 20#RfC: Infobox image. The infobox image will not be changed unless another RfC is held; any attempts to do so now would fall under WP:SNOWBALL. elijahpepe@wikipedia (he/him) 03:09, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
- Here are two possible, high quality alternatives that were not previously available:
- 2022: USAFA Hosts Elon Musk (Image 1 of 17) (cropped).jpg
- 2022: Elon Musk Colorado 2022 (cropped2).jpg Firecat93 (talk) 03:41, 15 December 2024 (UTC)
DOGE is a notable aspect - needs to be briefly mentioned in First paragraph
[edit]As per WP:LEAD and WP:Firstparagraph, DOGE has emerged as a widely reported notable aspect, and hence deserves mention in the first paragraph of the lead. RogerYg (talk) 01:25, 3 December 2024 (UTC)
- @RogerYg yes, like the perception of Musk as oligarch which is now at the end of the article Aberlin2 (talk) 16:27, 8 December 2024 (UTC)
- When he takes office, yes we can, until then we are not a newspaper. Slatersteven (talk) 16:28, 8 December 2024 (UTC)
New article
[edit]The Last Hungry Cat (talk) 00:49, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
- @The Last Hungry Cat sorry I don't understand: what does this comment mean? Aberlin2 (talk) 16:41, 8 December 2024 (UTC)
- My understanding is that when someone creates a new article, they are supposed to post links to the new article in relevant places, so as to let other editors know about it. I will be more clear the next time that I do this. The Last Hungry Cat (talk) 16:55, 13 December 2024 (UTC)
Founder of Tesla
[edit]Elon Musk was one of the founders of Tesla, and that should be mentioned in the article, not that he was just an "early investor". Elon Musk has repeatedly claimed to have come up with the name "Tesla Motors", and the concept. He suggested it to Eberhard as they were both mildly involved(test driving and such) in another EV project called T-Zero. They did not own the rights to the name "Tesla Motors", since a guy called Brad Siewert had already registered it for his own company. While Elon officially didn't join the company before 6 months after Eberhard and Tarpenning had incorporated it, at the time the company was just a shell corp with no employees, no offices, no funding, no IP, no designs, no prototype, just this general idea of commercializing the T-Zero. First thing Elon Musk did after officially joining Tesla was to buy the rights to the name from Brad Siewert. Elon Musk was introduced to the T-Zero car by JB Straubel, who later became Tesla's first Chief Technology Officer. After experiencing the T-Zero, Musk was inspired and wanted to commercialize it, and the AC Propulsion guys(who made the T-Zero) connected him with Eberhard and Tarpenning, as they had the same idea. In Eberhard's lawsuit against Tesla, he wanted to be recognized as one of only two founders of the company(alongside Marc Tarpenning), a claim that was rejected by the judge. The judge struck down Eberhard's claim, and this decision was based on the broader context of Tesla's founding and the contributions of others, including Musk, JB Straubel, and Ian Wright, who were also considered integral to the company's early development. Obviously Eberhard has his own version of events, that are not compatible with Elon Musk's version, and the truth might be somewhere in the middle, but at the end of the day, this was dealt with in court, the court rejected Eberhard's claims, and concluded that Elon Musk was integral to the founding of Tesla... so, it seems only right that Wikipedia accept that there were(legally recognized) 5 founders of Tesla, including Elon Musk. I have not made any changes to the article, but just wanted to put this forward here, so others can evaluate whether to do so. FindTheBalance (talk) 21:49, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
- Musk was not a founder of Tesla. – Muboshgu (talk) 21:57, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
- That's Eberhards narrative. It's easy to find plenty of articles that say the opposite, that Elon Musk was the founder of Tesla.
- Here is Elon's perspective:
- https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-debunks-tesla-history-fake-news/
- Elon Musk came up with the name:
- https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/why-elon-musk-named-his-electric-car-tesla/
- Elon Musk was one of the founders("Musk is also among the founders of Tesla,"):
- https://www.reuters.com/article/tesla-suit-idUKN2131161020090921/
- And again, the court ruled with Elon Musk, dismissed Eberhards claim that he and Tarpenning were the only founders. That should be the final word in this.
- https://www.cnet.com/culture/teslas-musk-gloats-over-eberhard-ruling/
- https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-cofounder-eberhard-drops-his-lawsuit-against-tesla-musk-2009-8 FindTheBalance (talk) 01:05, 6 December 2024 (UTC)
- Agreed. Thanks for sharing these good sources on Court ruling. Article needs to be updated to reflect this information. RogerYg (talk) 09:29, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
- The article body has relevant details, but its not reflected in the Lead yet.
- A 2009 lawsuit settlement with Eberhard designated Musk as a Tesla co-founder, along with Tarpenning and two others.
- https://www.cnet.com/news/tesla-motors-founders-now-there-are-five/
- https://www.fastcompany.com/1367866/tesla-lawsuit-drama-ends-five-company-founders-emerge RogerYg (talk) 09:39, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
- Added in lead as a separate sentence. "He is considered a co-founder of Tesla motors" with references. Other editors may consider whether to include it along with early investor mention. Thanks. RogerYg (talk) 10:11, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
- Agreed. Thanks for sharing these good sources on Court ruling. Article needs to be updated to reflect this information. RogerYg (talk) 09:29, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
- Agree with User talk:Muboshgu. Existing article reflects norms followed on other, closely related Wikipedia articles.
- Please do not make sweeping changes to a L5 BLP article without allowing for numerous participants to weigh in. 15:55, 7 December 2024 (UTC) QRep2020 (talk) 15:55, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
Was the term "Musk family" something that existed before Elon Musk?
[edit]Was the term "Musk family" something that existed before Elon Musk? I highly doubt it. If I am right that this term didn't exist then the sentence "A member of the wealthy South African Musk family, Musk was born in Pretoria and briefly attended the University of Pretoria before immigrating to Canada at the age of 18" is inappropriate because you can't retroactively apply a term like that to him being born into the Musk family when the term arised with his rise. Alexysun (talk) 23:11, 10 December 2024 (UTC)
- His parents were both notable before his birth... And even if they weren't of course you can retroactively apply a term like that ("X family" is generally the term used to refer to a family in the Western European naming tradition). If you come from that naming tradition it would be perfectly alright to say that "Alexy was born into the Sun family in North Wikiland" even if you're the only notable member of your family. Horse Eye's Back (talk) 18:00, 11 December 2024 (UTC)
- @Horse Eye's Back My surname is not Sun. But anyways no you can't because "X family" implies it being a notable family that people know by name. Alexysun (talk) 12:30, 12 December 2024 (UTC)
- It does not imply that. It only implies a male head of family with the surname Musk. Horse Eye's Back (talk) 16:17, 12 December 2024 (UTC)
- Second. QRep2020 (talk) 18:21, 12 December 2024 (UTC)
- It does not imply that. It only implies a male head of family with the surname Musk. Horse Eye's Back (talk) 16:17, 12 December 2024 (UTC)
- @Horse Eye's Back My surname is not Sun. But anyways no you can't because "X family" implies it being a notable family that people know by name. Alexysun (talk) 12:30, 12 December 2024 (UTC)
- Well as the family existed, and as it was called Musk, and as the surname is 100's of years old (dating back to the norman conquest), yes. Slatersteven (talk) 13:02, 12 December 2024 (UTC)
Update Elon Musk’s Net Worth to $400 Billion
[edit]Elon Musk’s Net Worth on December 11, 2024 has reached over $400 Billion this has been reported by Bloomberg, Yahoo finance and NBC News 96.60.168.239 (talk) 17:34, 11 December 2024 (UTC)
- And tomorrow that will change, and next month there will be new news report on his wealth, we are wp:notnews. Slatersteven (talk) 17:39, 11 December 2024 (UTC)
Shouldn't they delete his video game usage?
[edit]It seems like unnecessary trivia. Starlighsky (talk) 12:45, 13 December 2024 (UTC)
- Agreed. Slatersteven (talk) 12:55, 13 December 2024 (UTC)
- It seems to have gotten signficant coverage so its not trivia whatever your personal opinion of it may be. Horse Eye's Back (talk) 15:39, 14 December 2024 (UTC)
- I just want to point out that media coverage as reliable information could be a risk for Wikipedia, especially in law. Large media coverage of a court case is one thing. However, the underlying legal theory about the media event in another thing. Starlighsky (talk) 18:35, 14 December 2024 (UTC)
- I suspect that this isn't a response to me, but if it is please clarify the relevence. Horse Eye's Back (talk) 00:15, 16 December 2024 (UTC)
- I truly only meant it about Wikipedia and media coverage as a sort of weight for notability. It is from my experience in terms of editing court case articles and so on. It is just something where I disagree with the standards on Wikipedia. It truly was not in response to the post, but a rare moment where I could bring up my problem with the Wikipedia standards on law articles. Starlighsky (talk) 00:32, 16 December 2024 (UTC)
- I suspect that this isn't a response to me, but if it is please clarify the relevence. Horse Eye's Back (talk) 00:15, 16 December 2024 (UTC)
- I just want to point out that media coverage as reliable information could be a risk for Wikipedia, especially in law. Large media coverage of a court case is one thing. However, the underlying legal theory about the media event in another thing. Starlighsky (talk) 18:35, 14 December 2024 (UTC)
Elon musk political party
[edit]Is true that elon must have been "independent party" until 2024 when he officially became Republican. So I think the party should be updated. Thisasia (Talk) 01:24, 14 December 2024 (UTC)
SEC detail in Lead
[edit]The lead is already long, and SEC detail seems undue given the scope and length of the lead. Also, it may not be per WP:BLP and WP:NPOV to only mention one sided detail on SEC in the lead. Thanks. In 2018 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Musk, alleging that he had falsely announced that he had secured funding for a private takeover of Tesla. To settle the case Musk stepped down as the chairman of Tesla and paid a $20 million fine. RogerYg (talk) RogerYg (talk) 15:28, 14 December 2024 (UTC)
Oligarch
[edit]Isn't whether he's an oligarch nothing more than a point of view? 97.105.197.35 (talk) 22:40, 14 December 2024 (UTC)
Addition to the Lead
[edit]I would like to propose adding the following to the lead:
"Due to his considerable influence over American politics, government, media, and industry, Musk has been described as an oligarch." (Or, American oligarch)
This subject is already mentioned in the body. Roman Abramovich is described as an oligarch in the lead as this perception is widespread. With Musk, it is heavily discussed and debated. Therefore, while shouldn't label Musk as an "oligarch", it should still be noted that he has been described in this manner due to his influence over government, politics, media, and industry.
For context, Musk has been described as an oligarch by prominent commentators, academics, and experts, including Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman, former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, and Former U.S. National Security Council Official in the Trump administration, Fiona Hill. Firecat93 (talk) 03:30, 15 December 2024 (UTC)
- Support: To start off the discussion, I (author), support this course of action Firecat93 (talk) 04:08, 15 December 2024 (UTC)
New Cover Photograph
[edit]Here are some possible, high quality alternatives:
2022: USAFA Hosts Elon Musk (Image 1 of 17) (cropped).jpg
2022: Elon Musk Colorado 2022 (cropped2).jpg
2023 (Poorer Quality): Elon Musk in 2023 (cropped).jpg
Firecat93 (talk) 03:40, 15 December 2024 (UTC)
- Nothing from this year? He doesn't look like he did in 2022 anymore Horse Eye's Back (talk) 04:27, 15 December 2024 (UTC)
- Here are two from 2024 (the second can be cropped). Both are not very clear -
- Elon Musk - March 28, 2024 (cropped).jpg
- Ftninplwuaady5s-18796494.jpg Firecat93 (talk) 07:19, 15 December 2024 (UTC)
- That is a shame, I agree that neither of those is clear enough for us to use... Horse Eye's Back (talk) 15:20, 15 December 2024 (UTC)
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