Ah, yes. Thank you for proving solar and wind are reliable. I’m sure the performance will be completely identical here in Canada where it’s been dim and overcast for the last two weeks and everything is coated in 6 inches of ice and 30 more of snow.

I’m obviously being facetious, but this is a really terrible headline. Renewables have an important place, but using best-case and saying that debunks the idea that they’re unreliable is ridiculous.

Edit: I’m not against renewables, even in colder climates. I’m just mocking the headline itself for its line of logic.

The reason it matters is because if you use faulty evidence (or in this case, questionable evidence) to try and sway someone, it just makes you look untrustworthy as Elon claims everyone who criticizes him is, and risks entrenching them against you. If you’re making statements with complete certainty, you need to have near-unassailable evidence.

The idea that we should just go “well, we already knew he was a nazi supporter, no need to comment when he does an apparent nazi salute on the inauguration of the president he bought” is pretty silly

The point isn’t to ignore it. The point is be honest to the truth, including any uncertainty. Jumping to conclusions or acting like you’re certain when you’re not only serves to weaken your position. If you’re trying to prove Elon is a Nazi, you should point to all the statements in support of Nazi ideology and his complete refusal to condem it even when relevant, rather than something that could just be regular stupidity.

The fact that he is openly a nazi-supporting white supremist is the only reason I say I’m not confident it was an accident.

But again, my whole second paragraph: Why does it matter if it was a roman salute or not? Why do we need to point to this specifically? We knew he was a Nazi before this and had clearer proof to point to then, and since then, he has not changed at all and continues to provide clearer proof. If doing a iffy, off-angle roman salute is what worries you and not the racism, sexism, homophobia, misinformation, lack of respect for human rights or justice, ect. then I think you’re misunderstanding why Nazis are bad.

A refusal to apologize doesn’t mean it was intentional originally, esspecially when trying to appeal to his Nazi friends. Elon Musk is deep enough in the far right that he knows how to do a roman salue (IE not sideways and not with a bent arm).

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Read my comment.

The bigger and more undeniable red flags are all throughout his past, and continued after the salute, such as his refusal to apologize.

To me, that hesitation seemed more like a pause at the end of a paragraph, and the second salute, if it was so, less confident than the first (esspecially given that he bent his arm the second time). I’m not confident it wasn’t an intentional Nazi salute, but I’m also not confident it was, which is why I err on the side of caution. I believe we should assume innocence unless guilt can be proven.

That said, this is why I felt the need to include the second paragraph. We shouldn’t be focused on the time Elon did something wrong with plausible deniability nor should we be particularly concerned that others aren’t more upset. Our focus should instead be on the fact that he has made numerous statements and taken actions that support racism, sexism, classism, misinformation and conspiracy theories, ect. and supported others who represent these values. Our fury should be at the people who ignored these far more direct and unambiguous statements, and have continued to ignore them for over a decade.

Honestly, I’m not entirely convinced it was a Nazi salute. I think, given how stupid and akward he is, and the fact that the salute was so off-angle, it could have actually been an akward “my heart goes out to you” gesture.

That said, focusing on this possible red flag is stupid and honestly makes light of the situation, when looking at Elon Musk’s history and past statements is like standing in the Red Square on parade day. The bigger and more undeniable red flags are all throughout his past, and continued after the salute, such as his refusal to apologize. I guess its good that people are finally putting their foot down, but the appropriate time was a decade ago at least.