[eldritch_4ier]

You could say the same about Elon Musk or Nokola Tesla or many others. Just sounds like pure survivorship bias to me. "This crazy innovator died so clearly future innovators should listen to the experts!".

[Goronmon]

Just sounds like pure survivorship bias to me.

I think you are using it in the exactly opposite way. "Crazy innovator succeeds and makes it rich! Future innovators don't need to listen to experts!" is the "survivor" in this situation. The number of "innovators" to failed/died/etc will be much higher than the ones who are successful.

[mgarfias]

Nah, Nikola tesla was working with something unknown and strange at the time. There wasn’t a hundred years worth of engineering work behind the field.

SpaceX’s “new thing” was recovering the first stage, which made subsequent launches cheaper.

We have a LOT of engineering experience behind carbon fiber structures. Sometimes, you listen.

[sitkack]

Musk wasn't the one to propose VTVL for SpaceX, he originally wanted parachutes.

[retrac]

Well, Musk is an interesting example. I don't see him strapping himself to one of his rockets until he is darn sure it's not going to blow up.

[mikece]

He did send one of his cars into space, but that was an unmanned attempt...

[dehrmann]

Hasn't Musk's Autopilot killed more people than this sub?

[mempko]

Musk is not an inventor. It's more apt to compare Musk to Edison instead of Tesla. Of someone who paid others to invent. Though not a fair comparison to Edison since even Edison invented things on his own. Remember, Musk has an education in economics.

[kllrnohj]

> You could say the same about Elon Musk

Elon Musk's successful companies were all him just taking credit for what the experts he bought produced. How is that in any way related to what OceanGate did? People doubted that Elon's companies could deliver on their goals, but they didn't really doubt the fundamental safety or engineering practices behind them. It's not like for the Model 3 Tesla just decided that suddenly cardboard was a great way to contain a battery pack. And SpaceX has absolutely been doing test flights "by the book" like the generations of rockets before them?

[smileysteve]

> like the generations of rockets before them?

But still risky; as clear from the recent rocket explosion; stage landing mishaps, space shuttles before them (the reason why SpaceX has a client in the US is because shuttles weren't reliable enough to continue)

Hopefully SpaceX is listening to pressure hull tests and Nasa now pays attention to ambient temperatures and orings.

[rootusrootus]

That's a good point, an analogy with Elon and FSD sort of works.

[Chris2048]

AFAIK Musk hasn't stepped inside one of his own test rockets?