Yes, successful business people are kind of like politicians. They present an image to the public to try to remain popular, but behind the scenes they ruthlessly do whatever they can to get things to go their way.
Take a look at this petition from 2020:
The NHS is on its knees, dying. If a billionaire sues the NHS, you know they are a total prick who can't be trusted.
You can bet it's the same with Elon. He's extremely intelligent and knows his stuff, and he'll come out with impressive clever things in interviews. But he'll ruthlessly do whatever he needs to do to maxmise the success of his businesses, even if that means screwing other people over.
Business is a battle. It's not a win-win situation. In order to succeed, a business needs to makes others fail.
It's like, a boxer doesn't become a champion boxer by giving their opponents gentle hugs and kisses.
