The article has a quote about how Musk is a great asset to the US: “He’s a Thomas Edison. He doesn’t care about wealth.” Musk fired about 20% of his workforce earlier this year and took a 46 billion-dollar bonus that was so large it was blocked by a judge (as far as I know he got it anyways when the shareholders voted again). What a selfless hero showing he cares more about people than money.
I’d say the comparison between Edison and Musk is pretty spot-on. Both were men who were better at taking credit and monetizing an idea than at improving things for the common people.
https://www.grunge.com/250292/the-shady-side-of-thomas-edison/
Besides Edison’s famous rivalry with Tesla, he also made a LOT of money as a patent troll. He’d buy patents for cheap from starving inventors and then sue anyone who made anything remotely similar. He’s even the one responsible for the precursor to the MPAA - the Motion Picture Patent Company.
Like Musk, Edison wasn’t stupid, and had some business sense. He knew how to take advantage of others, and had no reservations for doing so if it got him further ahead. He wasn’t above ruining someone’s reputation if he couldn’t beat them at technology or business.
He’s even the one responsible for the precursor to the MPAA - the Motion Picture Patent Company
And he was such a litigious patent troll that filmmakers left the east coast for California, which means that Edison was indirectly the creator of Hollywood.
