Not content with rebranding Twitter to X — and with it, destroying 15 years of brand legacy that was baked into the cultural fabric, all in favor of a whimsical, petulant obsession with a letter — Musk has a new plan that is sure to destroy what little is left.
I have paid and not paid since it came in, and nothing is different either way. Had it been a proper verification system from he start, I can see the merit in that. But that's only just rolling out now, and it's too late to turn the stigma against "XBlue."
Yeah, it's bot central. I looked at my DMs the other day, dear lord. Full of bots, with very similar profile pictures. It's a mess.
I personally believe allot of the criticism of Musk comes from some deep down jealousy people have of him. He’s done amazing things in his life and is continuing to focus his energy on doing his current passion - “creating a town square” as he calls it.
It’s interesting that so many want him to fail! Why? What about Elon makes people not like him and look negatively on what he’s trying to do.
Elon has exposed how much censorship is being pushed in social media from the left. The left seems to believe that people are not smart enough to personally implement “caveat emptor” anymore. The nanny state must make sure people are not exposed to what the left labels “hate speech”.
The left also believes Elon must be punished for not aligning with their nanny state censorship. As a result, companies that cow-tow to the left have fled the platform for fear of being cancelled. I’m absolutely an independent, both the left and the right are dysfunctional. But right now the left is destroying free speech in the name of eliminating hate.
Elon’s trying to turn Twitter into the town square. Let people talk. He’s trying to eliminate the town square being overrun by those who are trying to overwhelm it by using bot technology.
He’s leveled the town square by giving everyone the ability to be verified. Not just those who already have outsized influence-the media and famous people.
All while trying to keep the company afloat.
Elon by shear force created the electric car industry-something that is good for humanity. He created SpaceX-also good for humanity. He’s put in place satellites to enable Ukraine to communicate on the battlefield. He’s trying to create a boring company - great for humanity.
People like you seem to just want to poke holes in what he’s doing versus cheer him on!
Why? Because you don’t agree with where he’s at politically?
As far as I can tell, Elon is a force for changing the world in a positive way!
I'm not sure I quite know where I stand on Musk, but my views on 'X' are that I would love it to succeed. But, with Musk at the helm, his leadership is proving too erratic, and him being a divisive character is not helping to turn the tide.
I think most people don't like Elon because he's arrogant. I'd also agree, much of it could be jealously, or perhaps even disgust at his wealth? Bezos, Branson, Zuck get the same deal. Nobody really likes the ultra-rich, and I think that's healthy. We certainly shouldn't be worshipping them.
With the town square, I'm with you in that it should be a space for open, "free" speech. But that can't include hate speech of any form imo. And Musk seems unwilling to tread the line that has stumped others before him - Zuckerberg and Dorsey - in that, as a media platform, you have to have some policy and censorship. With the bots idea, let's face it, they're worse than ever. And the Blue experiment has shown people don't want to, or think they should, say for the platform, so why pursue this option? It's just going to empty the town square of everyone but devote Musk followers. And that sounds like an awful place to be.
"He’s leveled the town square by giving everyone the ability to be verified." He didn't, until very recently. There was no verification process, and so, people saw it as a "hey, look at me Elon, I'll pay" kinda thing, and it stuck. Had it launched as an actual verification device, which is slowly rolling out now, it could have turned out differently.
On those last points, a few things.
1. He bought into Tesla, then punted out the founders. Yes, his vision got Tesla to where it is, but now it's being pushed hard in the markets, and is only valued so high because of the brand, and the owner, not the cars. (Check out a great podcast series called Land of the Giants, latest series on Tesla story).
2. The Boring Company has been shown to be nothing but talk, and has delivered nothing. I read the other day other companies are now moving into the market, in an attempt to actually get it done. https://x.com/parismarx/status/1597928946514874368?s=20
3. He recently admitted to turning off Starlink for Ukraine to basically help Russia, like he's a guy with any kind of diplomatic experience worth listening to. It always serves him first, remember.
4. I don't care, or even know, where he lies politically.
5. Yes, he's helped bring the EV market into public domain. He sends some stuff to space. That's really the extent of the good, so far.
Elon Reeve Musk (/ˈiːlɒn/ EE-lon; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. Musk is the founder, chairman, CEO and chief technology officer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO, product architect and former chairman of Tesla, Inc.; owner, chairman and CTO of X Corp.; founder of the Boring Company; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; and president of the Musk Foundation. He is the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$226 billion as of September 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $249 billion according to Forbes, primarily from his ownership stakes in both Tesla and SpaceX.[4][5][6]
As for your statement that he is "helping Russia". Here's the reality: "To clarify on the Starlink issue: the Ukrainians THOUGHT coverage was enabled all the way to Crimea, but it was not," Isaacson wrote. "They asked Musk to enable it for their drone sub attack on the Russian fleet. Musk did not enable it, because he thought, probably correctly, that would cause a major war."
You say you don't care of even know where he lies politically but you suggest he's helping Russia. He clearly was not.
From wiki on Tesla:Founding (2003–2004):
The company was incorporated as Tesla Motors, Inc. on July 1, 2003, by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.[13][14] Eberhard and Tarpenning served as CEO and CFO, respectively.[15] Eberhard said he wanted to build "a car manufacturer that is also a technology company", with its core technologies as "the battery, the computer software, and the proprietary motor".[16]
Ian Wright was Tesla's third employee, joining a few months later.[13] In February 2004, the company raised US$7.5 million (equivalent to $12 million in 2022) in series A funding, including $6.5 million (equivalent to $10 million in 2022) from Elon Musk, who had received $100 million from the sale of his interest in PayPal two years earlier. Musk became the chairman of the board of directors and the largest shareholder of Tesla.[17][18][15] J. B. Straubel joined Tesla in May 2004 as chief technical officer.[19]
A lawsuit settlement agreed to by Eberhard and Tesla in September 2009 allows all five – Eberhard, Tarpenning, Wright, Musk, and Straubel – to call themselves co-founders.[20]
You have a deep bias against Musk. It irrational because your making false statements.
Why is it that you have a need to belittle Musk. My position on Musk is two fold:
a. I'm jealous that he is so good at getting other people to give him money to spend on this ideas. It took Tesla 15 years to be profitable. He kept it going by his sheer persona.
b. He is the present day example of a renaissance man. Irritates me because I would certainly like to have his intelligence and ability to turn his ideas into reality.
Given a and b are truths in my perspective, I wouldn't bet against Musk actually getting Twitter/X to his vision. I'm thinking so many people just want him to fail because they just don't like a person that is so successful - i.e. they are jealous.
As for his wealth. He seems to be using his wealth to create new ideas which creates new wealth. He's giving away the Starlink service in Ukraine. In reality Zelenskyy should be paying him for it.
Now if you really want to denigrate someone, I suggest you pick Zelenskyy. Did you know that right before the war started, his approval rating in Ukraine was 35%. He campaigned on making peace with Russia. Funny he accomplished exactly the opposite of peace with Russia by actively pursuing membership in NATO. He's also now has an extremely high approval rating. Zelenskyy is a person that I believe is nothing but a "used car salesmen" looking to prop up his image. What better than a full-on war with Russia to prop himself up as a great leader. To hell with the fact that its now cause a divide in the world and escalated the likely hood of World War III happening. His image can't be bothered with details like that.
I suggest you check your biases before you decide to create positions. Especially your response to my comment.
That’s a lot of Wiki-pasting. But to my point, it states he didn’t co-found Tesla. He pushed his way in via money and lawsuit, and then kicked everyone else out.
To the point of Russia, stopping Ukraine attacking Russia is helping Russia. Musk also buys his Aluminium for Tesla from a Russian company, coincidence?
You strike me as someone who falls closer to the worship side, and like many, don’t see any flaws, only necessary parts of “making it.” You say words like “belittling” like you feel the need to fight for him -- it’s pretty clear he doesn’t give one shit about me or anyone else who writes about him. You needn’t lose sleep over it.
He is a deeply flawed individual (just look at his private life) and his treatment of employees is known to be rough (many lawsuits). I see you’re quoting his autobiography. I won’t be reading it, but I’ve read many reviews that say Issac didn’t push hard enough, and it’s all a little surface level, and paints Elon well. Again, makes sense right, you wouldn’t commission a book on you if it was going to get into all the stuff you don’t want others to know.
And hey, my biases are in check - I write critically about all the tech bros!
On this statement: "He is a deeply flawed individual (just look at his private life) and his treatment of employees is known to be rough (many lawsuits)". Who would you put up as the poster child of the opposite?
As for worship, I'm a ENTJ. Briefly "People with this personality type are typically assertive, driven, and strategically minded, making them natural leaders." Elon is an INTJ. He's describe as "a unique mixture of being visionary and realistic. With a rare ability to remain focused for long periods of time, Elon is able to come up with a carefully thought out plan and then execute it accordingly." I own my own business. Elon, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Ben and Jerry, etc are all people I consider as examples of how I should lead.
Your statement of "Being critical about all tech bros." I started as a "tech bro" in high school in 1974. I have a masters in Computer Engineering and have worked in both large tech companies and startups including launching my own. I exited the tech industry because I no longer like the goals that drove their strategy. Instead of focusing on technology to help people, they began focusing on technology solely to benefit their bottom line. Elon, Steve, Ben/Jerry all focus in my view on creating technology that benefits people. Not just makes money. This is clearly the case with Elon and Twitter. He has a vision of X that from my perspective would benefit people. You may not agree. He's certainly run headlong into the "woke wars". It'll be interesting to see how he navigates that.
I have lost respect for anyone still using Twitter at this point. It’s not relevant anymore, and by continuing to use it, you’re enabling absolute nonsense
On one hand, I’d never pay for a twitter paywall like the WSJ or Medium.
On the other hand, X is infected with zillions of bots.
🤷
One thing’s for sure, he does not stop surprising.
I have paid and not paid since it came in, and nothing is different either way. Had it been a proper verification system from he start, I can see the merit in that. But that's only just rolling out now, and it's too late to turn the stigma against "XBlue."
Yeah, it's bot central. I looked at my DMs the other day, dear lord. Full of bots, with very similar profile pictures. It's a mess.
I’m a bit lost on your view of Elon Musk and X.
I personally believe allot of the criticism of Musk comes from some deep down jealousy people have of him. He’s done amazing things in his life and is continuing to focus his energy on doing his current passion - “creating a town square” as he calls it.
It’s interesting that so many want him to fail! Why? What about Elon makes people not like him and look negatively on what he’s trying to do.
Elon has exposed how much censorship is being pushed in social media from the left. The left seems to believe that people are not smart enough to personally implement “caveat emptor” anymore. The nanny state must make sure people are not exposed to what the left labels “hate speech”.
The left also believes Elon must be punished for not aligning with their nanny state censorship. As a result, companies that cow-tow to the left have fled the platform for fear of being cancelled. I’m absolutely an independent, both the left and the right are dysfunctional. But right now the left is destroying free speech in the name of eliminating hate.
Elon’s trying to turn Twitter into the town square. Let people talk. He’s trying to eliminate the town square being overrun by those who are trying to overwhelm it by using bot technology.
He’s leveled the town square by giving everyone the ability to be verified. Not just those who already have outsized influence-the media and famous people.
All while trying to keep the company afloat.
Elon by shear force created the electric car industry-something that is good for humanity. He created SpaceX-also good for humanity. He’s put in place satellites to enable Ukraine to communicate on the battlefield. He’s trying to create a boring company - great for humanity.
People like you seem to just want to poke holes in what he’s doing versus cheer him on!
Why? Because you don’t agree with where he’s at politically?
As far as I can tell, Elon is a force for changing the world in a positive way!
I'm not sure I quite know where I stand on Musk, but my views on 'X' are that I would love it to succeed. But, with Musk at the helm, his leadership is proving too erratic, and him being a divisive character is not helping to turn the tide.
I think most people don't like Elon because he's arrogant. I'd also agree, much of it could be jealously, or perhaps even disgust at his wealth? Bezos, Branson, Zuck get the same deal. Nobody really likes the ultra-rich, and I think that's healthy. We certainly shouldn't be worshipping them.
With the town square, I'm with you in that it should be a space for open, "free" speech. But that can't include hate speech of any form imo. And Musk seems unwilling to tread the line that has stumped others before him - Zuckerberg and Dorsey - in that, as a media platform, you have to have some policy and censorship. With the bots idea, let's face it, they're worse than ever. And the Blue experiment has shown people don't want to, or think they should, say for the platform, so why pursue this option? It's just going to empty the town square of everyone but devote Musk followers. And that sounds like an awful place to be.
"He’s leveled the town square by giving everyone the ability to be verified." He didn't, until very recently. There was no verification process, and so, people saw it as a "hey, look at me Elon, I'll pay" kinda thing, and it stuck. Had it launched as an actual verification device, which is slowly rolling out now, it could have turned out differently.
On those last points, a few things.
1. He bought into Tesla, then punted out the founders. Yes, his vision got Tesla to where it is, but now it's being pushed hard in the markets, and is only valued so high because of the brand, and the owner, not the cars. (Check out a great podcast series called Land of the Giants, latest series on Tesla story).
2. The Boring Company has been shown to be nothing but talk, and has delivered nothing. I read the other day other companies are now moving into the market, in an attempt to actually get it done. https://x.com/parismarx/status/1597928946514874368?s=20
3. He recently admitted to turning off Starlink for Ukraine to basically help Russia, like he's a guy with any kind of diplomatic experience worth listening to. It always serves him first, remember.
4. I don't care, or even know, where he lies politically.
5. Yes, he's helped bring the EV market into public domain. He sends some stuff to space. That's really the extent of the good, so far.
From wiki...
Elon Reeve Musk (/ˈiːlɒn/ EE-lon; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. Musk is the founder, chairman, CEO and chief technology officer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO, product architect and former chairman of Tesla, Inc.; owner, chairman and CTO of X Corp.; founder of the Boring Company; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; and president of the Musk Foundation. He is the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$226 billion as of September 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $249 billion according to Forbes, primarily from his ownership stakes in both Tesla and SpaceX.[4][5][6]
As for your statement that he is "helping Russia". Here's the reality: "To clarify on the Starlink issue: the Ukrainians THOUGHT coverage was enabled all the way to Crimea, but it was not," Isaacson wrote. "They asked Musk to enable it for their drone sub attack on the Russian fleet. Musk did not enable it, because he thought, probably correctly, that would cause a major war."
You say you don't care of even know where he lies politically but you suggest he's helping Russia. He clearly was not.
From wiki on Tesla:Founding (2003–2004):
The company was incorporated as Tesla Motors, Inc. on July 1, 2003, by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning.[13][14] Eberhard and Tarpenning served as CEO and CFO, respectively.[15] Eberhard said he wanted to build "a car manufacturer that is also a technology company", with its core technologies as "the battery, the computer software, and the proprietary motor".[16]
Ian Wright was Tesla's third employee, joining a few months later.[13] In February 2004, the company raised US$7.5 million (equivalent to $12 million in 2022) in series A funding, including $6.5 million (equivalent to $10 million in 2022) from Elon Musk, who had received $100 million from the sale of his interest in PayPal two years earlier. Musk became the chairman of the board of directors and the largest shareholder of Tesla.[17][18][15] J. B. Straubel joined Tesla in May 2004 as chief technical officer.[19]
A lawsuit settlement agreed to by Eberhard and Tesla in September 2009 allows all five – Eberhard, Tarpenning, Wright, Musk, and Straubel – to call themselves co-founders.[20]
You have a deep bias against Musk. It irrational because your making false statements.
Why is it that you have a need to belittle Musk. My position on Musk is two fold:
a. I'm jealous that he is so good at getting other people to give him money to spend on this ideas. It took Tesla 15 years to be profitable. He kept it going by his sheer persona.
b. He is the present day example of a renaissance man. Irritates me because I would certainly like to have his intelligence and ability to turn his ideas into reality.
Given a and b are truths in my perspective, I wouldn't bet against Musk actually getting Twitter/X to his vision. I'm thinking so many people just want him to fail because they just don't like a person that is so successful - i.e. they are jealous.
As for his wealth. He seems to be using his wealth to create new ideas which creates new wealth. He's giving away the Starlink service in Ukraine. In reality Zelenskyy should be paying him for it.
Now if you really want to denigrate someone, I suggest you pick Zelenskyy. Did you know that right before the war started, his approval rating in Ukraine was 35%. He campaigned on making peace with Russia. Funny he accomplished exactly the opposite of peace with Russia by actively pursuing membership in NATO. He's also now has an extremely high approval rating. Zelenskyy is a person that I believe is nothing but a "used car salesmen" looking to prop up his image. What better than a full-on war with Russia to prop himself up as a great leader. To hell with the fact that its now cause a divide in the world and escalated the likely hood of World War III happening. His image can't be bothered with details like that.
I suggest you check your biases before you decide to create positions. Especially your response to my comment.
That’s a lot of Wiki-pasting. But to my point, it states he didn’t co-found Tesla. He pushed his way in via money and lawsuit, and then kicked everyone else out.
To the point of Russia, stopping Ukraine attacking Russia is helping Russia. Musk also buys his Aluminium for Tesla from a Russian company, coincidence?
You strike me as someone who falls closer to the worship side, and like many, don’t see any flaws, only necessary parts of “making it.” You say words like “belittling” like you feel the need to fight for him -- it’s pretty clear he doesn’t give one shit about me or anyone else who writes about him. You needn’t lose sleep over it.
He is a deeply flawed individual (just look at his private life) and his treatment of employees is known to be rough (many lawsuits). I see you’re quoting his autobiography. I won’t be reading it, but I’ve read many reviews that say Issac didn’t push hard enough, and it’s all a little surface level, and paints Elon well. Again, makes sense right, you wouldn’t commission a book on you if it was going to get into all the stuff you don’t want others to know.
And hey, my biases are in check - I write critically about all the tech bros!
Your more interesting questions...
On this statement: "He is a deeply flawed individual (just look at his private life) and his treatment of employees is known to be rough (many lawsuits)". Who would you put up as the poster child of the opposite?
As for worship, I'm a ENTJ. Briefly "People with this personality type are typically assertive, driven, and strategically minded, making them natural leaders." Elon is an INTJ. He's describe as "a unique mixture of being visionary and realistic. With a rare ability to remain focused for long periods of time, Elon is able to come up with a carefully thought out plan and then execute it accordingly." I own my own business. Elon, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Ben and Jerry, etc are all people I consider as examples of how I should lead.
Your statement of "Being critical about all tech bros." I started as a "tech bro" in high school in 1974. I have a masters in Computer Engineering and have worked in both large tech companies and startups including launching my own. I exited the tech industry because I no longer like the goals that drove their strategy. Instead of focusing on technology to help people, they began focusing on technology solely to benefit their bottom line. Elon, Steve, Ben/Jerry all focus in my view on creating technology that benefits people. Not just makes money. This is clearly the case with Elon and Twitter. He has a vision of X that from my perspective would benefit people. You may not agree. He's certainly run headlong into the "woke wars". It'll be interesting to see how he navigates that.
I have lost respect for anyone still using Twitter at this point. It’s not relevant anymore, and by continuing to use it, you’re enabling absolute nonsense
I think it still has some relevance, and it could return to some kind of former glory... but I'm not it ever will with the current leadership.
I agree with you on the feature side...
For example Tweetdeck. It's the most useless thing I've ever seen. Worst than Microsoft designing their own emojis on Teams.