[1121redblackgo]

At what point is it fair to call the list something other than ‘predictions’

[cosmicgadget]

"Forward-looking statements" aka legal stock pumping.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward-looking_statement)

[vrosas]

s/Predictions/Ketamine-and-adderall-fueled ramblings

[effdee]

There's a slash missing at the end.

[spwa4]

I think they mean grift or even fraud, since they were definitely meant to attract investment.

Now excuse me while I go check on where my 2016 full-self-driving Tesla car. It was supposed to pick me up 9 years ago, something must have happened.

[epolanski]

Those are borderline lies that deceived both customers and investors.

[nkrisc]

After the first few some responsibility begins shifting to those still believing him.

[b00ty4breakfast]

Investors know what's up. They want number to go up, therefore they "believe" him and the number goes up.

The map precedes the territory

[spiderfarmer]

Put that on your resumé and you'll easily land a cushy job in Washington.

[mmmm2]

Pump and dump scheme?

[eru]

What evidence is there for the 'dump' part?

Mr Musk is a strange fellow indeed, but he's not guilty of all the vices and sins. Just plenty enough of them.

[yibg]

I guess when people stop believing them. Until then, they're words from a visionary that's building the future, who can get some things wrong / be over zealous etc. When people stop believing him, they become lies.

[ChrisGreenHeur]

A statement is a lie if the person saying it knows it to be false. Not if the person hearing it disbelieves it.

[mr_mitm]

According to the article, a court would call this "corporate puffery", but to me it's nothing but lies and grifting.

[roryirvine]

To be "mere puff", the claim needs to be so obviously untrue that no reasonable bystander would suppose it to be meant literally.

But Musk often acts as if he does actually intend to be taken seriously. In the case of the current story, consider the marketing resources Tesla have poured into their previous "Battery Day" events and look at the press reaction; it's clear that at least some people believed that the claims stacked up.

A quick search of the hn archives for "4680" shows a similar picture. Yes, there were always some sceptical voices, but they were often shouted down as being from people motivated by an anti-Elon grudge. Nevertheless, the sentiment tended to be overwhelmingly positive with many posters actively reinforcing the hype.

Now, whether or not a self-selecting sample of hn posters can be seen as "reasonable bystanders" is certainly debatable - but it does seem that we're getting close to the point where Musk is going to have to start branding those who believe him as being exceptionally gullible in order to escape a charge of misleading advertising.

[adonovan]

Predicting is easy. Predicting correctly less so.

[Jare]

When you are making predictions about what you are going to do, "correctly" is spelled "honestly".

[rchaud]

"Tech Optimism"