Summary

Gruber dismisses Tesla's splashy Roadster reveal event as an elaborate stunt show with no bearing on whether the car will ever ship. Drawing on the vehicle's nine-year vaporware history — including $50,000 deposits never refunded — he argues Musk's pattern is to distract from undelivered promises with impressive spectacle. Rather than taking a simple pro- or anti-Musk stance, Gruber lands on a nuanced formulation: Musk is a shameless bullshitter who sometimes delivers extraordinary things, and the stunt show tells us nothing about which category the Roadster falls into. He closes by acknowledging Tesla's real achievements while refusing to bet either way on whether a Roadster ships in 2028.

Key Insight

Musk is neither fraud nor visionary in full — he is a bullshitter who sometimes delivers extraordinary things, and no stunt show can tell you which category any given promise falls into.

Spicy Quotes (click to share)

• 8

  The Tesla Roadster is vaporware. But Elon Musk is very good at distracting from unshipped vaporware by delivering on stunts.

• 8

  Last night's car stunt involved real things that actually happened but only in the way that David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty 'disappear.'

• 7

  If you think Musk is either completely legitimate and trustworthy or an utter fraud, you are wrong.

• 9

  He is a shameless bullshitter who sometimes delivers.

• 7

  People are losing their minds if they think this stunt show makes it any more or less likely that Tesla will deliver a Roadster as promised.

• 8

  'Space internet' sounded like total bullshit when Musk announced it in 2015, but today you can just buy it at Best Buy for $350.

• 5

  I'll pay attention if and when they do. But I wouldn't bet a nickel that they will. And I wouldn't bet that they won't, either.

Tone

skeptical, sardonic, measured