I’d rather not phrase it this way because it’s true. The point of this structure is that it was always bullshit.

It’s not straight up murder. I might have some (limited) sympathy for Elon in this case. But he should be able to see past the first action in that series of events. I believe he was dumb enough to not think of more than the surface (more on that later). If he’s not that dumb, then he truly is evil. Those submarines are not defensive.

I think he’s managed to surround himself with alt-right grifters* who have him truly believing most of the absolute bullshit they spout. This doesn’t excuse him for what he’s doing to the world on their behalf.

*These grifters don’t necessarily go after money directly. They also grift to direct his influence and money to their causes.