Musk sets $44 billion “on fire”
The billionaire planning to build a rocket ship to Mars is having trouble managing Twitter.
Catherine Rampell (Washington Post):
As Twitter advertisers run for the exits, the world’s richest man has apparently decided to set his $44 billion investment on fire.
Some might say Elon Musk, who last week became Twitter’s official new owner, has buyer’s remorse. But that implies he had actually wanted the thing before he bought it. Back in April, the mercurial billionaire made an overpriced takeover bid, which he then tried to back out of.
Perhaps understandably: Twitter has been plagued by problems for years, of both the monetary and moral kinds. When Musk made his offer, tech stocks were already tanking, and it was clear he had neither a plan for fixing the company nor the inclination to fritter away a big chunk of his fortune figuring it out. After some legal back-and-forth, he reluctantly agreed to complete the $44 billion acquisition.
Musk’s advocacy of unrestricted free speech on his private platform means his new toy saw a nearly 500% increase in use of the n-word within 12 hours of finalizing his acquisition.
Advertisers are either pausing their Twitter buys to see what happens or simply bailing.
Some consumer brands have already done so, including General Motors (a Tesla competitor). The Financial Times, citing inside sources, reported Wednesday that L’Oréal had also suspended its advertising spending on the platform; the company subsequently released a statement saying it had not made “any decision” about Twitter ads.
But one can understand why the global cosmetics and hair-care giant might feel conflicted about the issue: Skinheads probably don’t buy much shampoo, but they might be in the market for new sunscreen.
Musk’s initial response to advertisers’ concerns was to assure brands that Twitter won’t devolve into a “free-for-all hellscape” (too late, methinks). When that strategy didn’t work, he tried to cyberbully them into sticking around. In a Twitter poll posted Wednesday, he asked his followers whether advertisers should support “freedom of speech” or “political ‘correctness.’ ”
Yeah, Musk cannot even best a former bartender from the Bronx.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dragged Musk because her Twitter feed went down after she criticized him.
CBS News followed the exchanges:
Musk argued that charging users for their badge would allow the platform a revenue stream with which to reward content creators, and that those shelling out extra money would have access to additional in-app benefits, such as priority in replies, mentions, searches, extended video and audio posting privileges and reduced advertisements.
Musk replied to Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet, writing, “Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8.”
Shortly after the exchange, Musk tweeted a photo of a sweatshirt available on Ocasio-Cortez’s website, circling the $58 price tag. Ocasio-Cortez quote-tweeted the dig, writing, “My workers are union, make a living wage, have full healthcare, and aren’t subject to racist treatment in their workplaces,” referencing lawsuits which have been filed against Tesla by Black employees of the company.
Musk is out of his league as well as out $44 billion.
“Just a reminder that money will never [buy] your way out of insecurity, folks,” AOC tweeted.
One wonders now if Tesla will go the way of DeLorean.
The proper rejoinder to a rich asshole’s “If you’re so smart, why aren’t you rich?” is “If you’re so rich, why aren’t you smart?”
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