> The media has whipped redditors up into a comparable frenzy over a guy who doesn't like the large role social media companies have been playing in the suppres

> The media has whipped redditors up into a comparable frenzy over a guy who doesn't like the large role social media companies have been playing in the suppression of free speech as companies responsible for major ecological disasters. I think blaming this on "the media" and "redditors" is highly exaggerated. My entire social circle went from neutral leaning positive to negative leaning highly negative in about 5 years. My boomer dad, my friends from college who live in the bay area and own Teslas, my wife who is completely disconnected from tech, everybody. Every upstart goes through a phase where they transition from a hip, sort-of-underground brand to being Big Business and all the reputational risks that come with being Big Business. During that transition, it takes a lot of effort for brands to keep a professional image. How much money and effort does a $3Trillion company like Apple put into remaining somewhat cool despite being the very definition of Big Business? Google was once a do-no-evil darling and now struggles to keep their brand positive. Facebook was extremely cool and now practically synonymous with "evil". And what does Elon Musk do during this transition? He shitposts on Twitter daily, broadcasts political opinions, and starts flame wars. This guy is considered THE tesla guy, and he does absolutely nothing to keep Tesla's brand image during the hip-to-corporate transition. His antics were great in the mid/late 2010s when people would excitedly share on social media about flamethrowers or boring company swag. No fucking wonder Tesla's brand image is going down, and good riddance. The CEO who was right for Tesla the scrappy underdog isn't the same CEO that's right for Tesla the trillion dollar megacorp.