I remember how much, about 10-15 years ago, Elon Musk was praised on social media and, to some degree, by journalists. He was becoming a myth adorned with God-like virtues, because people like to believe such stories and idolize such heroes: a genius engineer, a genius man with a vision for mankind. Someone able to understand everything and to create anything. The real-life Tony Stark! The "CTO" of SpaceX, meaning he designs the rockets himself! The inventor of the electric car!

The problem with attributing such unrealistic traits to someone is that whenever this person starts to trigger opposition for any reason, they won't be judged based on a realistic baseline, but based on the baseline of the fairy-tale that people created about them.

Today, Elon Musk is considered by many (especially those who idolized him) as a conman. Looks like he isn't actually a genius engineer, doesn't have a genius vision for mankind, isn't able to understand everything, not the real-life Tony Stark, didn't design the rockets himself, and didn't invent the electric car. Goodness!

It doesn't matter that Elon Musk is a businessman who has co-founded the biggest online payment company in the world back when online payment was barely a thing, enabled the West to continue going to space without relying on Russia, and scaled up the only new mass-produced and profitable car company since the 1940s.

His fellow billionaires who sell retail goods, advertising, and bags are, unlike him, not conmen, since they enjoy the luxury of not having been idolized as some mystic creatures, but rather regarded as just boring rich people.

Consider this article not as a defense of Elon Musk (and certainly not as a defense of his recent politics), but rather as an observation about the silliness of strong feelings, no matter whether unchecked idolatry or unchecked contempt, towards famous public figures.