I have for a long time seen a lot of Donald Trump in Elon Musk.

However, I have been reluctant to share that view for fear of inciting the Musk fan base – a group that may not be as violent as the worst of The Donald’s cheerleaders, but is certainly as vehement.

The Model 3 on stage at the March 31 unveiling. More than 300,000 pre-orders would be worth $14 billion (US) in revenue if turned into actual sales, says Musk.

Here’s the thing, though: the fan base of The Donald and Saint Elon live in a fact-free bubble. Both Trump and Musk continue to make outrageous pledges and promises, yet never suffer the indignity of a thorough fact check – at least one that sticks. The reality is that many if not most in the media and the investment community are reluctant to make an honest assessment of either.

For Trump, the corporate-controlled news media tiptoes around Trump for fear of hurting the ratings of their very profitable news/entertainment programs. Race-baiting, whack job billionaires are apparently catnip for viewers.

For Musk, most in the mainstream media are either hypnotized by his hype or profoundly ignorant about the car business. Or both.

As for the investment community, many of the analysts who cover Tesla work for investment interests that own millions of Tesla shares. We can understand why these analysts would be reluctant to bite the hand that feeds them, just as we can also see the obvious conflicts of interest.

Meanwhile, supporters of both Trump and Musk take any criticism as a personal insult – and return in kind. When I’ve taken Musk to task for his unfulfilled promises and projections, Musk’s apologist have called me a “hater” and worse — just as Ted Cruz became Lyin’ Ted for calling out Trump.

Nonetheless, consider:

The Donald will “build a wall and Mexico will pay for it.” Musk will build a gigafactory and Nevada taxpayers will pay for a lot of it. Well, Trump will never wall of Mexico at Mexico’s expense and the so-called gigafactory will never – and should never – produce 500,000 lithium-ion battery packs a year.

Not only is the 500,000 target absurd, but lithium-ion appears to be yesterday’s battery technology. And while we’re at it, why haven’t we seen what’s going on inside that big box in Nevada?

In his recent earnings call, Musk said Tesla will “advance” its plan to build 500,000 cars a year by two years – to 2018 from 2020. This is as unlikely as Trump’s vow to “make American great again.”

The barriers to Musk’s promise are massive, as anyone who knows manufacturing will tell you. Greg Reichow and Josh Ensign would know this. Both are leaving Tesla – Reichow as vice president of production and Ensign as vice president of manufacturing. Feel free to speculate because no one is talking.

And with good reason. As Bloomberg reports, company filings show that Reichow has been “one of Tesla’s highest-compensated employees, making almost $6.4 million (US) in cash, stock, and options in the last two years.

Now chew on these whoppers:

The Donald’s presidential campaign is “self-funding.” Untrue. The Donald has so far lent himself the money to run for president while also collecting millions in donations. Eventually, The Donald will repay himself with campaign donations that will also fund the campaign going forward.

Musk’s plan for Tesla isn’t self-funding, either. Tesla will not be able to underpin its expansion plans out of existing assets and cash flow. Indeed, the company continues to incinerate cash, losing $282.3 million (US) in the first quarter.

Tesla will most definitely need to return to the capital markets for billions more to fund the Model S, X and 3 campaigns. Tesla’s expansion will be paid for by its supporters, too.

And on and on.

The Donald will re-write trade deals. Saint Elon will reinvent the automobile.

The Donald is master of the deal. Saint Elon is a visionary.

The Donald will win over Democrats in Blue States with his can-do business savvy. Saint Elon will win over the nay-sayers with other-worldly products that will come to market with a speed and alacrity that old-world automakers are incapable of even imagining.

The Donald will save the United States from self-destruction. Musk will save the world from climate change.

Call me a hater, but I believe Trump and Musk are hucksters and as such are two sides of the same coin.