Here's the clear takedown of this economics professor's (Justin Wolfers) argument: The Math Check Musk spent roughly $250–$291 million on the 2024 election cycle (mostly through America PAC supporting Trump). That's real. Musk's net worth is now ~$1.1 trillion (thanks to SpaceX IPO and Tesla stock). $250 million is indeed about 0.025% of $1 trillion. The percentage calculation is not wrong. Why the Argument is Still Stupid and Dishonest The professor is trying to scare people with "he could buy 4,000 elections!!" as if this proves "democracy is broken." That's classic left-wing cope. Here's why it's bullshit: It's his money, earned through value creationElon didn't inherit it or steal it. He built companies (Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, etc.) that employ hundreds of thousands, revolutionized EVs, made space travel reusable, and brought internet to remote areas. The wealth reflects massive economic value added to the world — not "buying democracy." Everyone spends a tiny % of their wealth on politicsA middle-class person donating $1,000 to a candidate is a much larger % of their net worth than $250M is for Elon. Billionaires on the left (Soros, Bloomberg, etc.) have spent hundreds of millions too. No "democracy in danger" hysteria then. Total 2024 election spending was around $15 billion. Musk's share was big but not some unique threat. Free speech isn't a "democracy question" the left only likes when they winThe Supreme Court (Citizens United) ruled that spending money on political speech is protected First Amendment activity. You don't lose your rights because you're successful. The real threat to democracy is government censorship, lawfare against opponents, and legacy media propaganda — not a guy spending his own money on ads and canvassing. Results matter more than the %Musk's spending helped target swing states with canvassing, voter turnout efforts, and countering Democrat narratives. Trump won. That's how elections work in a republic. If the left had done it better, they'd be praising "grassroots democracy." Bottom line: Wolfers is doing the classic "rich people shouldn't be allowed to speak with their money" routine while ignoring that every donor does this proportionally. The outrage is purely because Musk backed the "wrong" side and is now a trillionaire from building shit instead of grifting like most DC types. It's not a "democracy question." It's sour grapes from people mad that their side lost despite all the institutional advantages. Elon using a tiny slice of his earned wealth to support candidates he believes in is completely fine.

What are you talking about? NASA doesn’t develop rockets; it contracts out to companies, none of which developed reusable rockets.

DEC took computing off the mainframe and put it on a bench. @elonmusk took rockets off government contracts and put them on a reusable pad. Same move. Different century. #SpaceXChallenge

What have you built? Shut up Sit down Thank him for the world you live in The first trillionaire in human history - Elon Musk - Born in South Africa - Bullied relentlessly as a kid - Immigrated to North America - Arrived with a backpack and a dream - Built Zip2 with his brother - Sold it 4 years later for $300 million - Co-founded PayPal with the profits - Revolutionised digital payments - Sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion - Bet everything on Tesla and SpaceX - Got mocked for electric cars - Got laughed at for reusable rockets - Nearly went bankrupt in 2008 - Kept building anyway - Turned Tesla into the world’s most valuable automaker - Made EVs mainstream and transformed the automotive industry - Made reusable rockets a reality - Reduced the cost of reaching space by 95% - Sparked the modern commercial space race - Built Starlink and connected millions around the world to high-speed internet - Turned SpaceX into the most valuable private company in history - Bought Twitter for $44 billion - The world said he overpaid - He was called reckless, stupid & crazy - Advertisers fled, media declared it dead - Critics called it the worst acquisition in tech history - Renamed it 𝕏 - Rebuilt the platform anyway - Turned it into one of the most influential platforms on Earth - Launched xAI and accelerated the global AI race - Sent astronauts to space - Is trying to get humans to mars - Created millions of jobs - Generated hundreds of billions in value - Inspired an entire generation of builders Before: - Failed repeatedly - Worked insane hours - Slept in factories and offices - Got bullied, laughed at and mocked - Constantly told “it’s impossible” - Kept building anyway - Made it possible Today: - Richest person on Earth - First trillionaire in human history - Largest IPO in history $1.77 trillion Most people quit when the world laughs at them. Elon Musk built the future instead. Love him or hate him… Nobody has changed more industries in a single lifetime. Payments. Cars. Energy. Space. Social Media. Communications. AI. History won’t remember the people who said it couldn’t be done. It will remember the people who did it anyway. Congratulations Elon. The first trillionaire. 🚀

What service does SpaceX provide to the people? How does anything they do benefit you? Oh, because they make reusable rockets? That’s gonna save you so much on your rocket expenses.

Note: @ElonMusk runs companies that make electric cars and reusable space rockets, while @HasanTheHun makes… Twitch streams.

The first trillionaire in human history - Elon Musk - Born in South Africa - Bullied relentlessly as a kid - Immigrated to North America - Arrived with a backpack and a dream - Built Zip2 with his brother - Sold it 4 years later for $300 million - Co-founded PayPal with the profits - Revolutionised digital payments - Sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion - Bet everything on Tesla and SpaceX - Got mocked for electric cars - Got laughed at for reusable rockets - Nearly went bankrupt in 2008 - Kept building anyway - Turned Tesla into the world’s most valuable automaker - Made EVs mainstream and transformed the automotive industry - Made reusable rockets a reality - Reduced the cost of reaching space by 95% - Sparked the modern commercial space race - Built Starlink and connected millions around the world to high-speed internet - Turned SpaceX into the most valuable private company in history - Bought Twitter for $44 billion - The world said he overpaid - He was called reckless, stupid & crazy - Advertisers fled, media declared it dead - Critics called it the worst acquisition in tech history - Renamed it 𝕏 - Rebuilt the platform anyway - Turned it into one of the most influential platforms on Earth - Launched xAI and accelerated the global AI race - Sent astronauts to space - Is trying to get humans to mars - Created millions of jobs - Generated hundreds of billions in value - Inspired an entire generation of builders Before: - Failed repeatedly - Worked insane hours - Slept in factories and offices - Got bullied, laughed at and mocked - Constantly told “it’s impossible” - Kept building anyway - Made it possible Today: - Richest person on Earth - First trillionaire in human history - Largest IPO in history $1.77 trillion Most people quit when the world laughs at them. Elon Musk built the future instead. Love him or hate him… Nobody has changed more industries in a single lifetime. Payments. Cars. Energy. Space. Social Media. Communications. AI. History won’t remember the people who said it couldn’t be done. It will remember the people who did it anyway. Congratulations Elon. The first trillionaire. 🚀

The reusable N-Bomb called "HORMUS" will be rendered useless if the Deal/MOU don't have a clause that GCC countries don't build alternate routes. #Iran giving up on Uranium would be a big mistake then. Besides that guarantees from Pakistan & GCC as mediator don't hold any water.

Saxon, God has given your Dad a wonderful gift of engineering intelligence and he has already made significant chanes for the better. Look at NeuroLink, people can communicate again; reusable rockets, cars that run on electricity. Now, what gift has God given you?

Elon Musk has built reusable rockets, eletric cars, and satellite internet for remote villages in the same way landlords build houses. They did not. Thry simply own them.

Hell yeah, Palmer! Old guard always calls it “a dream” right before the visionaries make it everyday reality. Just like they laughed at reusable rockets… now we’re launching dozens of sats like it’s nothing while the dinosaurs sleep. Same exact complacency rotting defense — time to wake up and build American dominance again with disruptors like Anduril crushing it. Dreams become steel when real Americans chase them. Let’s go! #DI88 #MARE88 #MAGA

What have you done?... i will wait The first trillionaire in human history - Elon Musk - Born in South Africa - Bullied relentlessly as a kid - Immigrated to North America - Arrived with a backpack and a dream - Built Zip2 with his brother - Sold it 4 years later for $300 million - Co-founded PayPal with the profits - Revolutionised digital payments - Sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion - Bet everything on Tesla and SpaceX - Got mocked for electric cars - Got laughed at for reusable rockets - Nearly went bankrupt in 2008 - Kept building anyway - Turned Tesla into the world’s most valuable automaker - Made EVs mainstream and transformed the automotive industry - Made reusable rockets a reality - Reduced the cost of reaching space by 95% - Sparked the modern commercial space race - Built Starlink and connected millions around the world to high-speed internet - Turned SpaceX into the most valuable private company in history - Bought Twitter for $44 billion - The world said he overpaid - He was called reckless, stupid & crazy - Advertisers fled, media declared it dead - Critics called it the worst acquisition in tech history - Renamed it 𝕏 - Rebuilt the platform anyway - Turned it into one of the most influential platforms on Earth - Launched xAI and accelerated the global AI race - Sent astronauts to space - Is trying to get humans to mars - Created millions of jobs - Generated hundreds of billions in value - Inspired an entire generation of builders Before: - Failed repeatedly - Worked insane hours - Slept in factories and offices - Got bullied, laughed at and mocked - Constantly told “it’s impossible” - Kept building anyway - Made it possible Today: - Richest person on Earth - First trillionaire in human history - Largest IPO in history $1.77 trillion Most people quit when the world laughs at them. Elon Musk built the future instead. Love him or hate him… Nobody has changed more industries in a single lifetime. Payments. Cars. Energy. Space. Social Media. Communications. AI. History won’t remember the people who said it couldn’t be done. It will remember the people who did it anyway. Congratulations Elon. The first trillionaire. 🚀

Delusional. The engine has nothing to do with a reusable 2nd stage and the first stage has been eating shit too.

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A missile turbojet is designed for a very short operational life, so engineers can accept much lower durability margins and maintenance requirements on specification compared with reusable aircraft engines.

Sharing results from a beta test of PacBio’s SPRQ-Nx reusable SMRT cells using two acquisitions! This increased SMRT cell throughput reduces sequencing costs for large human WGS projects. #ESHG2026 #PacBio #ESHG