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Gee…who could have guessed?..
It almost like he isn’t actually a genius but narcissistic grifter who can move money around.
Shocked! Shocked, I tell you!
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Do a flip!
All of Musk’s shit will fail, it’s just a question of ‘when’ not of ‘if’. That includes Tesla.
Space Karen destroys Twitter.
I said this in another post, but I think it bears repeating:
Musk, whether he was paid to do this or not, is acting purposefully. This is all a grand scheme to fully dismantle what was once our global town square. Twitter was once a place where “the people” could hold politicians, corporations, and the generally wealthy accountable for their actions publicly. In the past year, the platform has become unsteady, blue checks are untrustworthy, and even the name has changed to something that causes one to pause.
I dislike the man as much as the next normal person, but all of this nonsense has been planned from the start. He’s not a complete idiot. These actions have been calculated steps to take away the voice of the people and eliminate a single source of truth as things get worse and worse.
It was the circus, not “our global town square”.
That is the result, but Elon is too much of a prideful idiot to do it intentionally. But it’s entirely possible some of the others involved were aiming for that.
moving the goalpost. twitter was originally developed to be a “news service” not a “social network”
“I’ve been drilling holes in the bottom of my boat to shed weight, but now I’m having trouble keeping it afloat and there’s nothing I can do about it!”
🍌We’re all trying to find the guy who did this
Remember when the libs were praising musk with everything he did?
What changed was the media telling them not too anymore
I sense a new dictionary definition of self-fulfilling prophecy coming up…
Oopsie we repeatedly keep taking away you most valuable organizational tools
- The 1%
For real!? I cannot think of a worse cancer than twitter/X and the horrific abomination that it is cannot whither away quickly enough.
What possible benefit has Twitter ever offered mankind?
@dril
This take is exhausting. It’s like the political version of narcissism: here’s how everything that happens in the world is actually a conspiracy against me!
If Musk was a plant to sabotage Twitter on the behalf of the 1%, why would he have done it slowly with a series of increasingly bad decisions that caused a mass migration to distributed open-source platforms? Why not just flip the switch and kill it in one go? Or: why not start a program of bots to talk about how awesome Teslas are, and make Trump seem cool, while shadow-censoring criticism of Musk’s friend’s companies or governments?
You think They are competent and dastardly enough to plan a takeover of Twitter, but then too bumbling to make better use of it than slowly discrediting it with a series of half-baked ideas from a deranged and detestable front man?
Not to mention that the 1% already owned it.
Though if anyone is thinking of spending close to fifty billion to destoy a social network then call me - I’ll do it for a billion, or two.
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i implied no intent, you just filled in the obvious gaps and are upset about it.
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I mean, you absolutely did imply intent. You may not have meant to, but you did.
Control is the game for people with money and power whether it is graceful or not. Some of what Elon has done seems like he wants to control the narrative around his jet. Some of what Elon is doing seems like he just wants to keep testing the waters to see how many people still use twitter after crippling the system. Like some sort of “I slap them in the face and they ask to be hit harder- that’s how much power I have over them. People are obsessed with me”.
I don’t think his goal was to kill twitter. His goal was to remain on everyone’s lips without his jet being mentioned. And if that’s at the cost of organizational tools being destroyed, so be it- in fact, destroying twitter has had more people taking about him than ever.
Yeah, I think that’s more or less right. Musk has gone off the rails, and is using his fortune as a cudgel in a fit of pique.
It’s our own fault that our “town square” was so easily taken over by a rich bully, though. I was warning people back in 2007 that depending so heavily on Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc, was a bad idea. People did not want to hear it. It’s hard to picture now, but people used to love those companies, and couldn’t imagine them doing harm. But like…it was inevitable.
We need to build on things like Lemmy, Mastodon, Diaspora, whatever. If you hand control of the town square to a corporation, they’re gonna control access and charge fees, and they’ll happily sell it to someone who wants to turn it into a mud-wrestling pit. That’s not the fault of the corporations–it’s our fault.
Twitter helped create ISIL, and also POTUS45. When actual autocracies see people even trying to organize on Twitter, they simply ban the whole site anyway. And it also played a major role in the Arab Spring, which while originally talking about high ideals like democracy, liberalisation, and human rights, is these days mostly notable for having ruined several countries for a generation.
In fact, that seems to be the trend: Twitter is very good at making its users feel like they’re organizing and making changes in the world, when in reality all that is being accomplished is/was inflating their own stock price and throwing outrage around with neither factual context nor a long-term plan to turn it into meaningful positive change. People were able to effect social change before Twitter, but they didn’t do it because they saw somebody’s sarky hot take for five seconds right before getting their dopamine hit with the “Like” button and then scrolling past it; they did it because they got sick of the way things were. The public-facing data should be kept around for historians and the rest of the curious, but Twitter was always primarily a predatory ad marketplace that gained relevance by being useful for propaganda, and we’ll all be better off with it gone.
EDIT: Musk, surely, did buy Twitter for the power and attention he thought it would give him. But he’s done it as a petulant, self-destructive manchild, not as some scheme to stifle public discussion— Twitter was already stifling public discussion, just because of what it is.
Musk, surely, did buy Twitter for the power and attention he thought it would give him.
DIsagree. He was trying to do one of his many pump-and-dumps and he fucked around and got found out.
Fair. He talked about buying Twitter for the power and attention he meant to get from talking about it, both from the cryptobro fans and also any shady financial shenanigans. But he didn’t actually mean to go through with paying for it.
Because he’s doing everything to make it fail and destroy the platform, isn’t it obvious?
No, you don’t throw away $44 billion just for shit and giggles, not even if you are as rich as Musk. Musk is (probably) a narcissist who thought he could make it work in his delusional mind.
He wanted a mouthpiece for the MAGA crowd, and he probably thought the desire in the population for it, would make it succeed, if he made the platform embrace that. He probably envisioned himself as a great liberator, who would be celebrated for bringing free speech back to America.
Musk has been losing it for a long time, and it seems to only get worse.
He’s being bankrolled to keep it up and running for the next election. It will be interesting to see if the money runs out.
Nah Saudi money goes deep
Who could of forseen brands not wanting to advertise over hate speech that would turn off half their customer base? I’d love screenshots of my companies products floating around next to seasticas and racism.
Yes that’s so strange, think of all the extra attention the controversies create!! I bet he planned to double the prices for advertising.
I think a lot of “hardware” people underestimate software. Historically, hardware was way more complex but the hardware problems have kind of been solved. There’s only so many ways to design a phone or laptop. Software, meanwhile, has only become more complex and challenging.
I agree, but I don’t see the point in this context?
The software to build and run Twitter, is probably not worth much besides for running Twitter. No Twitter means no value in the software for it either.
I agree, but I don’t see the point in this context?
I think they meant Musk thought managing development of the Twitter software would be easier than it was, given his prior… Involvement with Tesla and SpaceX.
I think a lot of “hardware” people underestimate software.
Ah yes, I can see that could make sense. But I think Musk considers himself as much a software guy as hardware, because he works with AI for Tesla. Putting him somewhat on the cutting edge of software too. Twitter should be child’s play by comparison.
Of course Musk has managed to bring Tesla from a competitive position to be way behind the main field, with just a few very stupid decisions. Mercedes, GM and Waymo are now way ahead of Tesla, and Nvidia and MobilEye are probably ahead too.
Of course Musk is now attempting to slow AI development overall, because he is way behind. With suggestions like preventing AI development until we have better regulation and understanding. He is trying to repeat how he stopped investments in public transport with hyperloop. Only this time with AI, because he is losing that battle badly.
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Also, I don’t think a narcissist would intentionally and publicly humiliate themselves the way Musk has done (Not a psychologist).
Absolutely true, being humiliated is just about the worst thing for a narcissist.
An example of that, was when Elon Musk called the diver who actually rescued 13 children in Thailand a pedophile. Imagine that, calling the hero of the day a pedophile because you are butthurt!!
No they definitely don’t like to be humiliated, they probably feel that a lot more deeply that non-narcissists. But at the same time, they lack the self-awareness that would help them avoid getting into situations that would lead to humiliation.
“He cannot be that self deluded.”
Narrator: He was.
No, you don’t throw away $44 billion just for shit and giggles
Why not? Elon Musk is famously on ketamine, ambien, and a whole slew of mind-altering substances.
Given how the contract was written, and given how much Elon Musk fought against the contract, it was obvious that he made a short-term decision (likely while high on some substance), and then quickly regretted buying Twitter. Within a week or two, he started a court case to NOT BUY TWITTER, despite signing an ironclad contract.
In my mind, its really fucking obvious what happened. Elon Musk partied a little bit too hard with some mixture of ketamine+ambien+alcohol, it mixed weirdly in his brain and he made a bad decision. A few days later, when he sobered up a bit, he realized how shitty of a decision he made but it was too late to roll things back.
Everything else Elon Musk has done is just… shitty reputation management. He’s trying to convince the world he’s still got it, despite making a bad (possibly drug-induced) decision
He made a huge mistake, either because he was under the influence, or because he is delusional. That doesn’t mean he actually intended to throw out $44B just for shit an giggles. Obviously he didn’t when he sobered up.
Your delusion is very strong, congrats
I truly think this is all his fucking up, nothing else. He was trying to take away features that probably align with the people who gave him money, but had no idea how to make it work and make money and is desperate. Desperation makes you even more stupid.
I don’t see the conspiracy.
My assumption is the investors immediately got what they wanted. They are not stupid.
Money men don’t hand over money to these front men based on promises. This isn’t a Hollywood movie. There was an immediate pay off.
They got SpaceX stock.
Money men get conned so fucking often it isn’t even funny.
I didn’t say it was a conspiracy. I said they gave him money after he was already fucking up by paying around 30 billion more than it was worth, firing all the people that did stuff, and generally being a bad CEO so he would do what they want. More of a typical business deal really.
So you’ve never heard of theranos or we work?
Investors will absolutely hand over money to front men making bad, even obviously insane, promises, though. People are always more easily manipulated than they like to believe, but people who’ve convinced themselves they’re infallible titans of industry are even more vulnerable to it. (Especially the ones who think that they see through the scam and won’t be left holding the bag.)
Actually they may not be worth much either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYURUiOjZSw
Thunderfoot has spend a lot of time analyzing most things Musk, and SpaceX specifically does not have a market (TAM) to achieve what they claim.
the only not-on-purpose piece was him having to buy it. idiot was forced to buy twitter, and then turned it into a “lets burn down a bastion of liberal speech” amongst his friends. he knows he wont suffer in any conceivable way, the saudis who fronted a huge chunk get what they want.
this was all setup shortly after he was forced to buy it. every step he has made since is in the playbook of “ruining your business”, including mistakes he has personally made before.
Because he’s doing everything to make it fail and destroy the platform, isn’t it obvious?
It is tremendously obvious, I agree. At one point it felt kinda hyperbolic to say, but not for awhile now.
I’m not knowledgeable enough to be able to speculate what’s in it for him, but it’s 100% obvious that’s what’s being done.
He might call him self pro free speech, but he actually hates it (as long as it’s not his own free speech). Getting rid of Twitter is a massive blow to free speech. One less platform where he and his companies can get outed and criticized on.
Twitter was becoming another walled platform (not being able to read the content without being logged in) even before Musk’s take-over.
I’m happy for any walled platform to fail. IMO they have no place on internet.
It’s less nefarious than that. He wants to be a championed business leader. He’s just a fuck up who was forced to buy a platform that he never actually intended to buy (except for maybe a couple of days when he first suggested it). Sure, it will help his side when he runs it into the ground, but that’s not his intent despite being the cause.
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I keep thinking there must be some high level plan here to destroy twitter for the good of humanity. I mean it’s that or Elon actually just is that stupid. At this point the latter seems the most likely …
Never ascribe to malice what can be ascribed to stupidity.
A bad rule of thumb. Weaponized incompetence is a thing.
What about Elon Musk makes you think he’d do anything for the good of humanity?
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Twitter was not the golden bastion to humanity you think it was.
That’s my point. In theory Elon realized how toxic it was to public discourse and sought to destroy it.
If you look at his actions and the actions of a competent person trying to destroy the platform, they are virtually identical
If he was destroying it for the good of humanity he would have to somehow destroy the concept of it rather than a single platform.
Probably best spending 40 billion on education in the harm social media can do lol.
I really do think he’s just delusional. I won’t call him an idiot because there is clearly intelligence and talent in his head, but he’s gone off the rails in some capacity whether it’s mental health issues or power crazed or who knows.
It’s probably drugs. He changed a lot the last few years.
No he hasn’t. The management of the old x.com (the one that got bought by paypal) threatened to walk if Elon wasn’t removed from the office. He was always this incompetent.
You answer jibes with what I have seen plenty of while working with and funding serial entrepreneurs in the Valley: micro-dosing, coke, molly, steroids, random herbal shit, off-label usage of pharmaceuticals, trendy nootropics, blood transfusions, ayahuasca, and Adderall.
Lay off the Kava Elon!
Definitely.
You’ve got it back to front imo. Twitter was a useful tool for disseminating info, whether for protest movements, political movements, whatevs. Pre-Musk, there was a degree of control on twitter re disinfo, harassment, hatred etc. Now, it’s no longer a useful tool for leftwing people to gather and share their thoughts; it’s no longer a useful tool to disseminate information; it’s no longer a tool for rallying protestors.
Look at who invested (Saudi kingdom); look at when Musk took it over (mid-terms); it seems pretty obvious to me that the takeover was a very expensive purchase to make the actions of oligarchs & despots that much easier.
Wah, every other platform is a left wing mouthpiece. But you want your cake and to eat it too? Listen to yourself.
You’re free to “make your own” website. Remember that?
you can always go to “truth social” or whatever that crackpot cooker platform is called if you want a safe space
That was my original thought when he came on and immediately fired 75% of the staff. It’s not some savvy slimming down or cost-cutting. It was more like a wrecking ball.
It was fairly clear that his overall desire was the make the platform less useful for liberals and more for conservatives. It seems like he is content to destroy it if he can’t achieve the latter.
That’s like saying “my car may fail after I poured sand into the gas tank and replaced the electrical with speaker wires”
I think that’s obvious to everyone. But, if you’re claiming he’s doing it on purpose… That’s just some next level batshit conspiracy theory.
Not sure I agree. I think it would be totally in character for him to want to destroy Twitter just because they forced him to buy it. He’s a petty troll and can afford to lose that money just to show them.
How does destroying it hurt “them” he already bought it? They cashed out way over the value of the company. If I was any major shareholder of Twitter that he bought out Id be gleefully laughing at him running it into the ground now that I’m no longer invested.
True, I didn’t think it through. I stand corrected.
Spite isn’t rational.
I think in the end he will want you to believe that. And will be glad if you do.
Is it? He’s either a moron or he’s doing it on purpose. There is simply no other explanation.
At this point it’s just too many dumb decisions, if he had done absolutely nothing after taking over he’d be better off than he is now.
Delusional rich guy who’s nowhere near as smart as most people thought he was is the most simple explanation. He’s obviously got some kind of god complex and thinks he’s right about everything.
I mean he has been called a real world Tony Stark for the last decade. Maybe that went straight to his mushy brain and he is still on that high. Back in the day he listened to experts, now whenever he’s at SpaceX they employ “Elon handlers” who just nod to every suggestion and then try to get rid of him.
He got too much positive press and lost it.
God knows how a wannabe Steve Jobs who bought into all of his companies ever got compared to Tony Stark.
He looked like a real world Tony Stark when he was surrounded by teams of smart people doing all the hard parts and PR for him.
What we’re seeing now is pure unfiltered Musk. He was probably always like this, but now he’s off the leash.
If you look back at his ‘making us as multi planet species’ era he had a lot of the same traits but since buying Twitter it’s gone off the charts.
Probably because so many of his big ideas didn’t pan out, when he was talking about Tesla being about the production line not the car I was optimistic but his factories never scaled like they were supposed to, never really got where they needed to be and I think it became clear they weren’t going to get there.
I think he’s had a lot of ego damage and it’s messed with his head
Occam’s razor and all that. He is simply a low intelligence person with a fuckload of money.
I mean… he is a moron.
The first one. He’s stupid
People told me I was crazy when I said he bought it to shut it down. Look who he hangs out with, people with a fuckton of money who hate free speech. Very powerful people who control media empires and run oppressive regimes.
He might be stupid, but the people pulling his strings aren’t.
I don’t know. The way it’s going down, it really makes him look like an idiot. He could have just flipped the switch and turned it off as a massive demonstration of power.
Instead he’s making one mindboggingly stupid decision after another, showing the whole world how utterly incompetent he is.
The most logical explanation for me is the easiest one: if he’s making stupid and incompetent decisions, maybe he’s just stupid and incompetent.
You’re saying the guy that has done nothing but look like a total fool for years could actually be a total fool? By the gods, I think you’re onto something!
Like others have said, bullshit. He’ll drive it into the ground and pretend that was his plan the whole time, like he’s some undercover genius three steps ahead of everyone, when really he’s just constantly playing catch-up with his narcissistic outbursts.
