I don’t think Bernie is the one with the compulsive need to prove his vitality. pic.twitter.com/rpGPZsQiSu
— Anand Giridharadas @ The.Ink (@AnandWrites) November 14, 2021
Since @elonmusk pulled his tax/twitter stunt, sold off $7B in @Tesla stocks & went on a rampage against #BernieSanders the entire surge in Tesla stock since mid-October has been erased. Way to go, Elon — all the pension funds and IRA-holders thank you. https://t.co/li906KfcyH
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) November 15, 2021
Better yet. Call it the Musk Tax. Showcase how the guy was born into privilege; joined a company others founded; took a shitload of money from the government; and then acted like an asshole after getting rich from other people’s money and labor.
— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) November 15, 2021
Jerzy Russian
I have often talked about the need for nut-kicking robots that would roam the streets and kick people like Musk in the nuts after they said/wrote something stupid. Perhaps Musk and start a new company to develop these robots, since he fancies himself a “visionary”?
phdesmond
off topic, but interesting:
Unlike in the trial of Kenosha vigilante Kyle Rittenhouse, the Georgia judge overseeing the trial of three white men accused in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery ain’t picking up what the defense is putting down.
On Monday, the lawyers for Greg and Travis McMichael and William “Roddie” Bryan for the second time tried to make an issue of Black ministers sitting in the courtroom in support of the Arbery’s family. And again, according to the New York Times, Judge Timothy Walmsley shut it down when they asked for a mistrial on the grounds that the Rev. Jesse Jackson was sitting quietly in a corner.
https://www.theroot.com/judge-shuts-down-defense-attorneys-for-ahmaud-arbery-s-1848070183
NotMax
the guy was born into privilege; joined a company others founded; took a shitload of money from the government; and then acted like an asshole after getting rich from other people’s money and labor
The classics never go out of style.
//
craigie
Isn’t that just the definition of Capitalism?
Richard
I have a friend who thinks he is the best, a misunderstood genius who will save the world. She thinks about him often. I don’t know what to do with that. My vecina has a crush on Elon Musk! Good grief.
Ruckus
@craigie:
Possibly the current US definition.
Quite possibly.
It does not need to be, but then humans are involved and quite often greed and ego get in the way of any economic system. Capitalism is no different. IOW it’s not capitalism itself that’s at fault, it’s the people involved at the current upper levels of trade and the political party that thinks capitalism means they get all the capital.
If you can figure out how to have an economic system that benefits humans and the planet without greed and ego, you will end up being famous, and the only one in all of history
What’s that old saying – “Capitalism is the worst economic system in all the world, except for all the others.” That was Sir Winston Churchill.
phdesmond
@Ruckus:
i believe that was said about democracy, not capitalism.
lowtechcyclist
@Ruckus:
As long as people have greed and ego, any economic system will have more than its share of both.
The problem is that economic power almost inevitably turns itself into political power. If you don’t have a tax system that keeps people from getting too wealthy, you’re gonna get where we are now.
Ruckus
@phdesmond:
He actually said it about both.
Ruckus
@lowtechcyclist:
Exactly.
People who think we can live without laws and especially laws about money are known as idiots. Taxes and an understanding of the word equality as it pertains to the law and money are crucial and the basis for most of the wars, failures of countries/governments and problems of humanity.
brantl
@phdesmond: It was, and capitalism is the worst economic system in the world.
Betty
As Senator Warren would say, unregulated capitalism is the worst economic system.
Mo MacArbie
@Richard: As others’ parents have been captured by FOX, I think youtube is making my father and Elon-gelist. The hero worship of Great Men is pretty much his investment strategy. Eh, it’s his money; I just nod when he talks of the massive inheritance he’s building and expect nothing.
Gin & Tonic
Didn’t B-J have a commenter for a while who was a very serious Elon fan-girl(? think I recall the gender.)
Anyway, anybody who knows how to read SEC filings knows that this Twitter-poll I-guess-I’ll-sell shtick was just hot air for the rubes in the cheap seats. This was a planned sale which he filed months ago.
Torrey
@Ruckus:
The “capitalism” version of the quote has been debunked.
Mai Naem mobile
NPR had a piece a few years ago of how Tesla expected injured workers at the CA Tesla factory to use Uber for transportation to the hospital. WTF? These techbros don’t even learn from a once in century pandemic . The Uber guys didn’t think the cab laws applied to them because the magic fairy is going to replace the $$$ provided to cities by cab companies for infrastructure. AirBnB doesn’t want any temp stay lodging laws applying to them because, again, the magic fairy is going to replace the taxes provided to the city by hotels. I am so sick and tired of these people thinking they’re above the law by pretending they’re ‘disrupting’ an industry. Oh, and most of these people are boomers or Gen Xrs who went to regular tax payer public schools and colleges at least partly supported by governmental financial aid.
Starfish
By having a very public Twitter, Elon is more visible than the other billionaires. The way he accused the British diver of being a pedophile because they did not try Elon’s stupid idea to rescue the kids was very bad.
Elon’s younger brother Kimbal is also a rich jackass. He had workers paying into an emergency fund that they were not allowed to access once COVID hit.
J R in WV
If I recall correctly, Elon inherited family wealth based upon ownership of an Emerald mine in southern Africa. Like all the gold and diamonds, of course, all stolen from the native peoples, just like all the ranches and mines in America. Only more recently, and maybe a little uglier.
Anyway, he managed to grow that fortune, unlike some people who inherit a bunch of money, like TFG, who mostly squandered his inheritance, and turned to laundering money through condo sales for the Russian mob. I suppose for some people it doesn’t matter how the money is made, or who you work for, as long as the money is big enough.
I will confess, it would be great to have so much money you could build a space-based business.
Bill Arnold
@J R in WV:
He has some talent as a capitalist. And many of his public statements e.g. twitter can be read as mocking the current state of capitalism and especially its game-ability. Too much money, sure; there are many (less lucky, just as driven) others who could better allocate the capital. But he does OK. And he’s focused (along with his employees) on real products, that can be transformative and matter (even just as competition) for real problems like global heating. With some success – Space-X in particular has drastically lowered launch costs.
TL;DR if we have to have (deca-/centi-)billionaire capitalists, a few more Musks and a few fewer Ellisons/Thiels/Waltons/Zuckerbergs would be a net good.