"Musk’s behaviour exemplifies, albeit on a larger scale, a common failing among people who get into dissident politics.
What tends to happen is someone gets involved with a very idealistic mindset and a lot of enthusiasm for the change they envision they are going to enact or facilitate. Often they make personal sacrifices or pay some other cost— they put their skin in the game and they often do so unnecessarily without properly assessing the risk/reward ratio (because their idealism makes them believe their sacrifices will definitely lead to victory or at least noticeably moving the needle).
Then they are confronted with the harsh reality that no one shares their idealism, that no one cares about their sacrifices, that the political machine is far too large to be moved by their efforts (even someone with as much power and money as Musk), and then to add insult to injury, nobody even appreciates what they tried to do.
They then end up bitter and angry because they feel they weren’t properly rewarded for their efforts and risk.
What every idealistic, would-be dissident fails to understand is that going up against the system isn’t something you do because you want recognition or rewards. But because they go into it with the expectation of victory, they also have the expectation that they will be seen as a hero, even if just on a small scale.
And the reality is that nobody cares and your efforts are usually for nothing. Or if not for nothing, at least you are unable to see the ripple effect that your actions will have had and they certainly don’t result in praise and acknowledgement.
Musk is understandably butthurt, but he set himself up for this with unrealistic expectations.
If you want to be a dissident against the system, you better be going into it with the mentality but this is a sacrifice for which you will reap no rewards and pay only costs.
And if you are not happy to do that and toil in obscurity simply because it is the right thing to do and your integrity will let you do no less, then it’s better that you don’t put your skin in the game in the first place than end up whining because you feel like you didn’t get your due."