I read this opinion piece earlier today and it is somewhat surprising to see this in the NY Times after they and other big media outlets spent months demonizing Musk. This gist here is that Musk shouldn't be judged like a normal politician because he's more than that. It's titled "How History Will Remember Elon Musk." [emphasis added]

Visionaries can be terrifying, far more terrifying than the selfish and venal, who are easy to predict and to understand. Visionaries with the means to realize their visions are the most terrifying of all. They are also rare — in any given historical period, there are just a few men (they are always men) who bend reality around themselves, disregarding criticism and caution.

For better or worse, Elon Musk is a visionary. I have no doubt that he’s volatile and reckless, but those who dismiss him as a fraud or an idiot have not been paying close attention. Yes, his time meddling with the federal government has come to an end. And yes, perhaps his foray into politics was, in part, a disappointment to him. But Mr. Musk’s vision goes well beyond Washington. He has always been clear on this point and continues to tell anyone who will listen: “Eventually, all life on Earth will be destroyed by the sun,” he told Fox News last month. “The sun is gradually expanding, and so we do at some point need to be a multiplanet civilization, because Earth will be incinerated.”

This is why, 23 years ago, Mr. Musk resolved to go to Mars — his first step toward interstellar colonization. He says he wants to die there (“just not on impact”). He also says that space exploration will lead to a process of mass psychological renewal. “The United States,” he says, “is literally a distillation of the human spirit of exploration. This is a land of adventurers.” His goal is to save humanity not only from the future loss of our planet but also from our own lethargy and cowardice. If he succeeds in this project, then Mr. Musk’s time in Washington will be just a minor detail in the histories written about him.

I don't agree with everything author Louise Perry is saying here. I think Musk's foray into politics was a good one and the fact that he's unhappy about how money is being spent by Congress (or will be if the bill passes) only confirms his desire to do something serious about US debt and deficits was sincere. He also wanted to do something about excess government regulation of private industry, another sincere goal that he was right to pursue.

But Musk always had bigger goals on the agenda including going to Mars, building electric cars, helping injured people with brain implants, and creating an array of satellites to connect the world. So I think the author is fundamentally right that if you step back from the last year of politics, Musk is doing all he can to make America a place where big things still get done, not just for himself but for the world.

Maybe it's because this was published in the NY Times where Ezra Klein is himself the host of a podcast, but I couldn't help thinking that in some way Musk is the embodiment of the "Abundance" which Klein and his co-author Derek Thompson were writing about.

Well, Ezra Klein must be breaking into tears if he's read the comments in response to this opinion piece. They are almost universally negative about Musk, his goals, his very existence. Maybe that's not surprising given the degree to which Democrats made him an object of intense hate over the past six months. But I think it reveals something about the progressive mindset. These are not people who like success or abundance or getting things done. These are basically miserable ideologues who would rather just whine and complain. Here's the top comment with more than 1,600 upvotes:

Megalomania is easily mistaken for vision. I'm afraid. Musk has an unusual ability to focus obsessively on his goals—and that has made him a tremendous success in some areas. But his vision, to the extent we can call his obsessions vision, is simplistic, even childish. 

The Earth will indeed be swallowed by the sun millions of years from now—but the human species will be extinct long before then, and a trip to Mars isn't likely to be our salvation. There is much hard work to do here at home—and more pressing work than any excursion to Mars. That work is less appealing to a megalomaniac. It is far less likely to succeed and bring glory.

Going to Mars is childish? Was going to the moon in 1969 childish? Is returning to the moon in the next few years (as NASA plans) childish? What separates one from the other? As for earth's future, it may be billions of years before the sun engulfs the earth and we have no idea if anyone will still be around then. But it was only 65 million years ago that the majority of life on earth, including nearly all of the dominant species, were wiped out by an asteroid. That's a small fraction (less than 1.5%) of the total estimated time earth has already been here. There is much work to do here but that doesn't mean we can't reach for more.

And yet, the comments that follow are similar. Just a lot of unfocused rage directed at someone outside their tribe.

There is no defense of Musk, partial or otherwise. He and his so-called “government efficiency” hackers have destroyed lives and many of our Federal government agencies. He had no business being allowed access to private information on US citizens. This is on him, and this will be his legacy.

Another one:

F. Scott Fitzgerald captured Musk's essence in this famous line from "The Great Gatsby":

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."

Being a visionary on the spectrum fueled by drugs does not excuse reckless immoral behavior.

Trying to balance the budget is not reckless, immoral behavior. Endlessly spending money we don't have and can't possibly pay back on the other hand...that's the kind of thing that gets regular people thrown in prison.

So the author has a thing for “great ambitious men” who will let nothing (least of all other people) stand in their way. Theres another word for men of such great vitality: sociopaths. This piece is an obscenity.

Who has Musk trampled over exactly? He's build cars and rockets and satellites and created a lot of good-paying jobs. Who has been hurt by this ambition exactly?

This a view better suited to a Robert Heinlein novel.  In real life, "visionaries" like Musk produce venality, destruction and cruelty.

Bonus points for mentioning grandmaster of science fiction Robert A. Heinlein but demerits for suggesting that's a negative. Heinlein's early novels were all written for young boys. They were Horatio Alger stories about people who succeeded based on talent and hard work. Clearly that's unrealistic to this person. And again, who has Musk destroyed with his major corporations? It was only 2-3 years ago that most progressives loved the guy for those same companies. Did they think he was destructive and cruel then?

There's a lot more like this but I'm sure you get the gist. Forget doing new things, much less great things. These are people who think visionary is a dirty word. They'd rather we all lower our sights and settle for the brilliant competence and expertise of addled Joe Biden. No wonder young men have abandoned Democrats. They are the party of depressives and low expectations for individuals and for mankind in general