“Indeed, Every Billionaire Is A Policy Failure…”

Elon Musk has said his companies have been on the brink of bankruptcy many times over the past two decades. We mention at least 6 times he's said so publicly in this story, including when he recently described Twitter. It's all part of his MO. https://t.co/tKsufg5miJ

— Ryan Mac 🙃 (@RMac18) November 22, 2022

So...

lmao lmao lmao lmao lmao lmao lmao lmao lmao lmaooooooooo pic.twitter.com/crhgYNFBPa

— Best of Dying Twiter (@bestofdyingtwit) November 22, 2022

"Musk is fond of saying that the most entertaining outcome is the most likely. Restoring Trump to Twitter, only for the ex-president to never use it, feels like an outcome fitting that description."

Great recap of the Trump Twitter disaster: https://t.co/CFH6nTPuEN @CaseyNewton pic.twitter.com/rwk9Huaoaj

— Jenn Takahashi (@jenntakahashi) November 22, 2022

For anyone still wondering how content moderation is going to work on here now, here’s what Elon Musk said at an employee Q&A about his planned moderation council:

“This is an advisory council. I will hear what they have to say and I will either agree with it or I won’t.”

— Alex Heath (@alexeheath) November 22, 2022

Trent Reznor has left Twitter as well, citing “the arrogance of the billionaire class,” a pretty clear reference to new owner Elon Musk (who proceeded to call Reznor a “crybaby”). https://t.co/wPB0mfOwXC

— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) November 21, 2022

he’s going to tell his mommy on you, trent! https://t.co/WopQJRaLEU

— Best of Dying Twiter (@bestofdyingtwit) November 22, 2022

The Elon Musk fandom is 100% composed of the guys on the right pic.twitter.com/iu2nEtRyPr

— Read Jackson Rising by @CooperationJXN (@JoshuaPHilll) November 19, 2022

Musk is recapitulating Trump. Space X and Tesla make a product that people buy. Twitter is the product, but Musk is supposed to sell it to advertisers. Trump tried to treat politics like business. Musk is treating Twitter like it makes widgets.

Reports are he’s laid off 4800 employees, and now wants to fill some of those positions. But will he find people who will be loyal to him (i.e., “hardcore”)? And can he do it before Twitter loses more product (eyeballs he can sell to advertisers), and becomes more toxic to advertisers? Or if Twitter breaks, costing more eyeballs, how will Elmo’s MO fix the problems he’s created then?

2/ I think everyone agrees Tesla stock price was greatly overvalued. And this decline is in a more general market downturn. But Tesla isn’t like most other tech stocks. A substantial amount of the downturn is tied to Musks being a freak and not being focused on Tesla.

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 22, 2022

That seems to be a very concrete example that the answer is: “No.” And maybe Tesla was overvalued. But as an individual investor, I’m glad I don’t own any Tesla stock.

Tesla stock is now down 49% since Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter in April, losing over half a trillion dollars in market valuation.

Just in the three and a half weeks since Musk took over Twitter on October 28, Tesla stock is down 27%, losing $190 billion in value. pic.twitter.com/xoMQHQVbQV

— 🦀 Jon Schwarz 🦀 (@schwarz) November 21, 2022

But that’s why I wouldn’t own stock in a company owned by such a flamboyant goof. It would make as much sense to invest in cryptocurrency.

Especially when that goof is tanking one stock in order to smash another company he bought with that stock:

Precisely this. There may be some rationale for allowing contemptible speech on a private platform. But there’s no good rationale for high fiving bigots and antisemites and people who make war on the US govt. Thats Musks choice and his degenerate values. https://t.co/sY8fPVf1oP

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) November 22, 2022

Not exactly designed to bring advertisers back.

Elmo Mush spent $44B to have his dick sucked in public by incels.

That, my friends, is a helluva kink.

— Driftglass, Guardian of Inconvenient History (@Mr_Electrico) November 21, 2022

Nor is that, though I think that’s very much a lesser concern.

Elmo Mush answers the question, "What if Veruca Salt had taken over the Wonka Factory instead of Charlie Bucket? And then, just for fun, shot all the Oompa Loompas in the head? And then, just for fun, decided to take a shit in every bar of chocolate leaving the factory?"

— Driftglass, Guardian of Inconvenient History (@Mr_Electrico) November 21, 2022

Not exactly the same thing as “move fast and break things” or “threaten bankruptcy and demand hardcore work hours.” But a very accurate description of Twitter now.

As this is a good description of Elmo:

.@AOC mocking @elonmusk for getting his feelings hurt by her calling him out for his idiotic twitter takeover is fucking hilarious. pic.twitter.com/iTKpi0Nbah

— Andrew Wortman (@AmoneyResists) November 4, 2022