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I have a hard time seeing this as being anything other than a fun how-can-I-fuck-with-people-today kind of game for him. I mean, yeah, sure on the surface it's

I have a hard time seeing this as being anything other than a fun how-can-I-fuck-with-people-today kind of game for him. I mean, yeah, sure on the surface it's economically rational and all, but really--you're already nominally in charge of at least 3 different large companies, yet this is how you choose to spend your time and energy? Nickel-and-diming Twitter for lulz? edit: and before someone points out what a big difference a few dollars in the share price would make towards the acquisition price: if he really believes that Twitter has so much untapped potential (economic or otherwise), then a few dollars either way shouldn't matter much. But by going to such lengths to slightly reduce the cost and jeopardize the deal, he shows that he doesn't think it has much potential and/or he's just screwing around.

dahdum 4y ago
Twitter is incredibly important to him, without it he’d never have been able to craft his Tesla or SpaceX narratives and garner so much retail support. Buying Twitter guarantees him a (bully) pulpit and raises his profile ever higher. His antics could easily get him banned in the future, with devastating results.
- usefulcat 4y ago
  Using Twitter may be important to him, but buying it? Looks to me like the jury is still very much out on that.
- simondotau 4y ago
  I've heard this said many times but it doesn't align with my own observations of Tesla and SpaceX's success. Is there any evidence that Tesla vehicle sales and SpaceX launch services are driven by Musk's personality? SpaceX's success is easy to explain: they could do the same task as competitors for a substantially lower price. As for Tesla's market success, I think that's predominantly driven by the product itself. They won countless car of the year awards. Customer satisfaction levels at near-unprecedented levels. Record-breaking 0-60 times provide an angle for gushing media coverage. And a decade of having no competitors in the market subset of desirable EVs. I've personally never heard anyone mention Elon when describing why they're interested in—or purchased—a Tesla vehcile.
  - DharmaPolice 4y ago
    They're talking about retail support for the stock price, not Tesla's operational performance in the real world. People aren't buying Tesla cars because of Musks antics but they are (or were) buying Tesla shares on that basis.
  - zerocrates 4y ago
    Tesla's success in the market for cars is not driven by buyers' love for Elon (much), but I'm not sure that's the case for Tesla's vastly disproportionate success in the stock market.
  - Someone 4y ago
    IMO, a significant contributor to Tesla’s market success was that they were willing to sell cars at low margins. That’s what got them a decade of having no competitors in the market subset of desirable EVs. They also intuited/gambled/stumbled upon (pick your verb depending on what you think of it) that “electric and fast” was enough to compete against non-EV cars with much better finish.
mise_en_place 4y ago
This whole dog and pony show is showing us what we knew all along - these tech valuations were batshit insane and now we can finally see that these money losing companies are not worth the stock certificates they're printed on
- ovi256 4y ago
  > these money losing companies Which companies would that be ? Neither Tesla nor Twitter are losing money.

dahdum 4y ago

Twitter is incredibly important to him, without it he’d never have been able to craft his Tesla or SpaceX narratives and garner so much retail support. Buying Twitter guarantees him a (bully) pulpit and raises his profile ever higher. His antics could easily get him banned in the future, with devastating results.

usefulcat 4y ago
Using Twitter may be important to him, but buying it? Looks to me like the jury is still very much out on that.
simondotau 4y ago
I've heard this said many times but it doesn't align with my own observations of Tesla and SpaceX's success. Is there any evidence that Tesla vehicle sales and SpaceX launch services are driven by Musk's personality? SpaceX's success is easy to explain: they could do the same task as competitors for a substantially lower price. As for Tesla's market success, I think that's predominantly driven by the product itself. They won countless car of the year awards. Customer satisfaction levels at near-unprecedented levels. Record-breaking 0-60 times provide an angle for gushing media coverage. And a decade of having no competitors in the market subset of desirable EVs. I've personally never heard anyone mention Elon when describing why they're interested in—or purchased—a Tesla vehcile.
- DharmaPolice 4y ago
  They're talking about retail support for the stock price, not Tesla's operational performance in the real world. People aren't buying Tesla cars because of Musks antics but they are (or were) buying Tesla shares on that basis.
- zerocrates 4y ago
  Tesla's success in the market for cars is not driven by buyers' love for Elon (much), but I'm not sure that's the case for Tesla's vastly disproportionate success in the stock market.
- Someone 4y ago
  IMO, a significant contributor to Tesla’s market success was that they were willing to sell cars at low margins. That’s what got them a decade of having no competitors in the market subset of desirable EVs. They also intuited/gambled/stumbled upon (pick your verb depending on what you think of it) that “electric and fast” was enough to compete against non-EV cars with much better finish.

mise_en_place 4y ago

This whole dog and pony show is showing us what we knew all along - these tech valuations were batshit insane and now we can finally see that these money losing companies are not worth the stock certificates they're printed on

ovi256 4y ago
> these money losing companies Which companies would that be ? Neither Tesla nor Twitter are losing money.