I wish he’d added Elon Musk and the billions in subsidies he received for Tesla cars. The new Edison, some call him?
Laughing all the way to the bank.
Edison was hardly Edison. Crony capitalism was alive and well in Menlo Park. It doesn’t lessen his impact, but he deserved no hagiography for his business scruples.
Musk may suck at the public teat, but the odds of him producing some public good far exceed the likelihood of any return from direct social spending. NASA once spent money like a drunken sailor, but they accomplished some great things. Now, they have been reduced to spreading diversity across the galaxy like a defective colostomy bag. Give it all to Musk—at least he’s entertaining.