I have to agree with you. The fact that he is going through Musk's finances, measuring how much money he can make by Tesla's stock bumping up a point, and stating that the publicity of this Oatmeal article will be measured (in hopes that it has a positive impact) all seem, to me, like a back handed plea.
He's also stating that the name / technology has entered the public domain so he knows that Musk is doing nothing wrong by using it and naming his company with the family name. I've got to give him credit for a creative approach to raise the money but it really feels ugly and backhanded. If it gets funded -- great! I just don't know how I'd feel in Musk's shoes considering it opens him up to future things he should donate to because he is using somebody else's work / tech to piggy back his way to where he is now: success.
He's also stating that the name / technology has entered the public domain so he knows that Musk is doing nothing wrong by using it and naming his company with the family name. I've got to give him credit for a creative approach to raise the money but it really feels ugly and backhanded. If it gets funded -- great! I just don't know how I'd feel in Musk's shoes considering it opens him up to future things he should donate to because he is using somebody else's work / tech to piggy back his way to where he is now: success.