I had dinner last night with a couple who have two Teslas.
They're not sure they'd get another one. They love the cars, they can't stop testifying, but they don't love Elon Musk.
How could we hear commentators bloviate for months over Musk's acquisition of Twitter and none talk about the consequences of him actually owning the service? How come everybody with an expert opinion couldn't see that advertisers would balk and pull their spots?
Musk is in the process of destroying the company, literally, it's on the road to bankruptcy, and it's completely his fault.
And it's all about content moderation.
Talk about clueless, Musk felt he could turn Twitter into a free-for-all. Having never run a business involving advertising, he thought he was all powerful, that his will could trump anything, after all he skirted U.S. law more than once with his statements and investments and got away with it, why couldn't he have his way with Twitter?
And it's not only Elon Musk. It's been a free-for-all for the rich and powerful for decades. Under the rubric of the market taking care of everything, everybody involved did whatever they wanted. And who paid the price? The people supporting these companies with their dollars, i.e. you and me.
What stuns me about voters is they're all emotional about the issues today, what's on the ground, and they can't see what's going to happen in the near future. Believe me, if the country turns right as per predictions, we're going to end up with a bunch of voters saying they had no idea, they couldn't see the consequences, despite the Democrats telling them over and over and over again. As for those who say it can just be fixed in the next election, there might never be another fair election. That's right. But you're concerned about gas prices which are not under the control of Biden and talking about the economy when inflation is running rampant throughout the world, to a great degree as the result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. And then there are all those companies with sky high stock valuations, CEOs making high double digit millions, if not triple, who couldn't foresee a crisis happening ever. They made their companies so lean, believed so much in just-in-time production, that when there was a bump in the road, they were thrown off guard and they still haven't recovered and it's been YEARS! I'm talking, of course, about the supply chain crisis. Imagine running your wardrobe on this basis. Instead of having a closet full of clean clothes, every day you were delivered one clean outfit. Works great until there's a weather event. Or the cleaner gets sick. Or... You've got to be prepared. And believe me, the CEOs running these companies are very prepared personally, with their multiple houses and cars, but they don't own the company and Wall Street wants profits at all costs and here we are in a world where you can't even buy a car. Come on, $10,000 over sticker for a HYUNDAI? I kid you not, we were in negotiations. Needless to say, we passed.
So Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster decide to merge. Everybody else gets away with it, why not them? Think of the cost savings! And forget all the books that will never get published. And the government stops them. This hasn't been the case for eons, other than when Trump wielded his power to punish his enemies. But enough is enough.
Usually in Europe. It's the EU that is standing up for the consumer, against the corporations. It's the EU that is advocating for privacy rights. But the delusional Brits decide this is not in their interest, why be beholden to anyone else, and they vote for Brexit and now the country is in the toilet, never ever to recover. Just like the Americans voting for Republicans this cycle, they can't see the big issues or the future. NATIONALISM! They believe in the team so much that they lose the match. But there are a lot more consequences in government than there are in sport.
So Elon Musk says he's a Democrat, and then he says he's a Republican. And believing that social media is an accurate picture of America, he was emboldened by his followers on Twitter. Talk about groupthink... Say something unfavorable to a few and you'll be inundated with hate. Play to the crowd and you'll think you're winning when you're losing. Everyone who plays online knows the right is more vocal than the left. Think otherwise, but I'm in the trenches every day. The right are the gotcha police. You'd think they dominate the country, when they don't even represent 50%. So Musk is hearing from the right and the bros and he has a delusional viewpoint. Yes, the bros. Who can't get laid and in many cases have little economic future yet believe they can win in a professional arena. This is the GameStop story. The AMC story. They thought they could teach the Street. And although they toppled one myopic investment firm, it was the Street that emerged victorious, the bros got wiped out. It'd be like your next door neighbor playing in the PGA. The golf the pros play isn't even the same game. From a distance it looks similar, on TV it looks similar, but what they do with the ball...most people are completely unaware of.
So Musk is so delusional, he's got no idea that there's more to life than business. He doesn't realize that people judge you on your character. The whole "pedo-guy" controversy... Kids are at risk, someone else saves them, and Musk rants. He beat the lawsuit, but in the court of public opinion he lost. And continued to lose, again and again.
Life is nuanced. He beat up the dumb reporters via data on Tesla. Yes, the writers wrote from emotion not knowing that Teslas are essentially computers, and Musk could lay out the facts. But then Elon started believing everything he said was true, especially about autopilot. Musk could never admit he was wrong. And when this is the case, people start rooting AGAINST YOU!
And his personal life is a wreck and...
Yes, you can say this is off point, but really it's not, especially when it comes to Twitter, because it speaks to CHARACTER, and that's what everybody's concerned with.
Despite there being multiple social media monoliths evidencing to the contrary, Musk kept saying he could run Twitter essentially without moderation. He couldn't even see the pitfalls. And on one hand he's got the right and the bros supporting him, the bros will support anything Elon does, like people used to support musicians, and on the other he's got reasonable society and the Fortune 500, who just couldn't fathom a no limits Twitter. Companies don't want their ads next to anti-Semitic tweets. They don't want their ads next to hate speech at all. This can be addressed, but when you throw the baby out with the bathwater, fire half your staff, no one can have confidence you're going to address the issues.
But the right and the bros are VERY vocal. He's ELON, he can do ANYTHING! LOOK AT HIS TRACK RECORD!
Yeah, look at Michael Jordan's baseball stats.
Or all those CEOs who have bands.
Just because you're good at doing one thing does not mean you're good at doing another. And just because you're the world's richest man that does not mean you're omniscient, more powerful than the rest. You're just RICH! Rich doesn't mean you can have a good relationship, or be a good parent, or succeed in any vertical but your own, but in a sold-out world where money is everything people believe this is the case.
So, Musk is trying to run Twitter without fuel. In this case it's not gasoline, but advertisements. And as a last resort he wants to charge the content CREATORS! Yes, I'm responsible for your service, you're just an empty platform unless I post, and you want to charge me for the privilege? What am I getting in return? Look at the benefits of the $8 Twitter Blue, it's laughable.
So in truth Teslas are the most advanced electric automobiles, it really comes down to software, but the interiors are not luxurious and the fit and finish is not up to German or Japanese or even Korean standards. People are just looking for alternatives. And in China, Tesla is being undercut on price.
But Elon Musk is an all-seeing titan who cannot be defeated, it's absolutely impossible.
This is just like Kanye. It's almost too late for a a mea culpa. And Musk is anything but conciliatory. Instead of speaking to Twitter's content moderation issues, he blames activist groups for advertisers' pull-outs. He's like a kid denying he stole the cookies from the jar. He just can't be at fault. When all evidence points to the contrary.
We could call it karma, but it's worse than that. It's bad business. Period. Believe me, if anybody else had purchased Twitter and done what Elon has they'd be excoriated, a pariah. But since he's Elon...
Since he's Elon so what?
This guy isn't even trying to make peace. He thinks he can win by sheer will. That's part of growing up, when you're in your teens you realize that just because you want it, just because you're focused on it, just because you're exerting your will, that does not mean it will go down the way you want it to.
Yes, Elon Musk's development has been arrested. He's an adolescent at best. And the last time I checked, Peter Pan does not run the country. The bros are derided. At some point you've got to become an adult.
Or else you lose.
The clock is running. This game plan is not working. Can Musk pull it out?
It's not looking like it. And even worse, most people who even care don't want him to. This is what happens, the world turns against you, only your hard core fans still believe. I could point to some "musicians" to prove the example, who are all over the news just like Elon, but why waste the time, they don't really count. The train-wreck is more interesting than the substance, assuming there is any.
The Elon/Twitter train-wreck has been fascinating, Twitter itself has just been an afterthought, and now that he's getting down to business... Twitter itself is being sacrificed in the process. And we may need food and water to survive, but we don't need Twitter.
Karma is a bitch.
But once again, this isn't about karma, this is solely about Elon the man and his actions. He's responsible. He can start by owning it, there's no fix without it, but Musk cannot reveal weakness, cannot admit he's wrong.
And it's not about whether Trump is on the service or not. It's about the CONTENT! Can lies and hatred be spread willy-nilly?
Turns out this is what most people in society do not want. They want limits, they want checks and balances, and without the people, the ultimate customer, the true power...
You've got nothing.
Corporations' success is based on people. And they don't want to piss them off and sacrifice their business.
How come Elon can't understand this?
Beats me.
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