6 ms·

On a side tangent, absolutely amazing how all this drama unfolded on Twitter/X. No Threads, no Mastodon, no Truth Social or Blue whatever. Say what you want ab

by nickpp 3y ago

On a side tangent, absolutely amazing how all this drama unfolded on Twitter/X. No Threads, no Mastodon, no Truth Social or Blue whatever. Say what you want about Elon’s leadership but his instinct to buy Twitter was completely right. To me it seemed like any social network crap but he realized it was important.

swyx 3y ago
i mean he also tried his hardest to back out of the deal until he realized he couldnt
- Gud 3y ago
  Only because he had to buy it while the stock market was tanking.
layer8 3y ago
Inertia is a bitch.
highwaylights 3y ago
Interesting take. By all accounts he paid about double what it was worth and the value has collapsed from there. Probably not a great idea to say anything overtly political when you own a social media company, as due to politics being so polarised in the US, any opinion is going to divide your audience in half causing a usage collapse and driving support to competing platforms. https://fortune.com/2023/09/06/elon-musk-x-what-is-twitter-worth/ https://fortune.com/2023/09/06/elon-musk-x-what-is-twitter-w...
- astrange 3y ago
  His worse problem is that he owns both a social media network and a bigger separate business that wants to operate in the US, Turkey, India, China, Saudi Arabia, etc. which means he can't fight any censorship requests in any of those countries. (Which the previous management was actually very aggressive about.) His worst personal problem is that he keeps replying "fascinating" to neo-Nazis and random conspiracy theorists because he wants to be internet friends with them.
- justcool393 3y ago
  well and he also tried very hard to not buy it until Twitter sued in order to have the contract upheld
veec_cas_tant 3y ago
Not trying to be a dick but: 1. He tried to not buy Twitter very hard and OpenAI’s new board member forced his hand 2. It hasn’t been a good financial decision if the banks and X’s own valuation cuts are anything to go by. 3. If his purpose wasn’t to make money…all of these tweets would have absolutely been allowed before Elon bought the company. He didn’t affect any relevance changes here. Why would one person owning something so important be better than being publicly owned? I don’t understand the logic.
- majestic5762 3y ago
  He bought Twitter for power, omnipresence and reputation. Allowing him to play the game his way.
  - DoreenMichele 3y ago
    Funny, I thought he bought Twitter because he shot his mouth off in public and the courts made him follow through.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]
- strikelaserclaw 3y ago
  I haven't seen this type of drama in years, surely thats not enough to sustain X
- nickpp 3y ago
  > Why would one person owning something so important be better than being publicly owned? Usually publicly owned things end up being controlled by someone: a CEO, a main investor, a crooked board, a government, a shady governmental organization. At least with Elon owning X, things are a little more transparent, he’s rather candid where he stands. Now, the question is “who owns Musk?” of course.
tigershark 3y ago
A huge amount of advertisers ran away, the revenue cratered and it is probably less than the annual debt servicing (revenue, not profit), the current valuation, accordingly to Musk math (https://fortune.com/2023/09/06/elon-musk-x-what-is-twitter-worth https://fortune.com/2023/09/06/elon-musk-x-what-is-twitter-w...), is 1/10 of the acquisition price. But yes, it was a masterstroke. I don’t remember any other masterstroke in history that managed to lose 40B with a single acquisition.
- nickpp 3y ago
  I’d be rather reluctant to question the financial decisions of one of wealthiest men on earth. Losing 40B could feel quite different to him than to you or me. Besides, it’s unrealized loss until he sells.
  - hardlianotion 3y ago
    Or goes bankrupt.
r721 3y ago
I think it's just this particular drama - OpenAI people are of the same tribe as Elon, and surely they prefer Twitter/X, not Mastodon or Bluesky.
- nickpp 3y ago
  What tribe is that? And why would they favor one network over the others?
  - iiv 3y ago
    The silicon valley/startups/VC tribe, and they favour Twitter because 1. that's what their friends use and 2. they like Elon Musk, they want to be like him.
    - nickpp 3y ago
      Many OpenAI employees expressed their support for Sam at some point also on Twitter. Microsoft CEO (based in Redmond) tweeted quite a lot. Tech media reporters like Emily Chang and Kara Swisher also participated. The last one is quite critical of Twitter and I am not sure they all like Musk that much. Are they all in the same “tribe”? Maybe you should enlarge the definition? How about us all IT people who watched the drama unfolding on Twitter while our friend are using FB and Insta, we are far from SV and have mixed feelings about Elon Musk while never in a million years wanting to be like him? Also same “tribe”?
    - ssnistfajen 3y ago
      Most of these people have been on Twitter long before Musk had his hands on it.
- Davidzheng 3y ago
  Have you used Mastodon? I don't think you can follow drama on Mastodon unless you're already part of the drama.
ssnistfajen 3y ago
What does this have to do with Elon again? FYI Twitter existed before October 2022. Account join dates are public. Every single person involved in this, incl. OpenAI staff posting for solidarity, joined Twitter years before Elon's takeover.
Sai_ 3y ago
His instinct was to walk away from his offer. He had to be forced to buy the company. His second wife apparently asked him to buy Twitter and fix its, in her opinion, liberal bias.

by nickpp 3y ago

swyx 3y ago

i mean he also tried his hardest to back out of the deal until he realized he couldnt

Gud 3y ago
Only because he had to buy it while the stock market was tanking.

layer8 3y ago

Inertia is a bitch.

highwaylights 3y ago

Interesting take. By all accounts he paid about double what it was worth and the value has collapsed from there. Probably not a great idea to say anything overtly political when you own a social media company, as due to politics being so polarised in the US, any opinion is going to divide your audience in half causing a usage collapse and driving support to competing platforms. https://fortune.com/2023/09/06/elon-musk-x-what-is-twitter-worth/ https://fortune.com/2023/09/06/elon-musk-x-what-is-twitter-w...

astrange 3y ago
His worse problem is that he owns both a social media network and a bigger separate business that wants to operate in the US, Turkey, India, China, Saudi Arabia, etc. which means he can't fight any censorship requests in any of those countries. (Which the previous management was actually very aggressive about.) His worst personal problem is that he keeps replying "fascinating" to neo-Nazis and random conspiracy theorists because he wants to be internet friends with them.
justcool393 3y ago
well and he also tried very hard to not buy it until Twitter sued in order to have the contract upheld

veec_cas_tant 3y ago

Not trying to be a dick but: 1. He tried to not buy Twitter very hard and OpenAI’s new board member forced his hand 2. It hasn’t been a good financial decision if the banks and X’s own valuation cuts are anything to go by. 3. If his purpose wasn’t to make money…all of these tweets would have absolutely been allowed before Elon bought the company. He didn’t affect any relevance changes here. Why would one person owning something so important be better than being publicly owned? I don’t understand the logic.

majestic5762 3y ago
He bought Twitter for power, omnipresence and reputation. Allowing him to play the game his way.
- DoreenMichele 3y ago
  Funny, I thought he bought Twitter because he shot his mouth off in public and the courts made him follow through.
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
strikelaserclaw 3y ago
I haven't seen this type of drama in years, surely thats not enough to sustain X
nickpp 3y ago
> Why would one person owning something so important be better than being publicly owned? Usually publicly owned things end up being controlled by someone: a CEO, a main investor, a crooked board, a government, a shady governmental organization. At least with Elon owning X, things are a little more transparent, he’s rather candid where he stands. Now, the question is “who owns Musk?” of course.

tigershark 3y ago

A huge amount of advertisers ran away, the revenue cratered and it is probably less than the annual debt servicing (revenue, not profit), the current valuation, accordingly to Musk math (https://fortune.com/2023/09/06/elon-musk-x-what-is-twitter-worth https://fortune.com/2023/09/06/elon-musk-x-what-is-twitter-w...), is 1/10 of the acquisition price. But yes, it was a masterstroke. I don’t remember any other masterstroke in history that managed to lose 40B with a single acquisition.

nickpp 3y ago
I’d be rather reluctant to question the financial decisions of one of wealthiest men on earth. Losing 40B could feel quite different to him than to you or me. Besides, it’s unrealized loss until he sells.
- hardlianotion 3y ago
  Or goes bankrupt.

r721 3y ago

I think it's just this particular drama - OpenAI people are of the same tribe as Elon, and surely they prefer Twitter/X, not Mastodon or Bluesky.

nickpp 3y ago
What tribe is that? And why would they favor one network over the others?
- iiv 3y ago
  The silicon valley/startups/VC tribe, and they favour Twitter because 1. that's what their friends use and 2. they like Elon Musk, they want to be like him.
  - nickpp 3y ago
    Many OpenAI employees expressed their support for Sam at some point also on Twitter. Microsoft CEO (based in Redmond) tweeted quite a lot. Tech media reporters like Emily Chang and Kara Swisher also participated. The last one is quite critical of Twitter and I am not sure they all like Musk that much. Are they all in the same “tribe”? Maybe you should enlarge the definition? How about us all IT people who watched the drama unfolding on Twitter while our friend are using FB and Insta, we are far from SV and have mixed feelings about Elon Musk while never in a million years wanting to be like him? Also same “tribe”?
  - ssnistfajen 3y ago
    Most of these people have been on Twitter long before Musk had his hands on it.
Davidzheng 3y ago
Have you used Mastodon? I don't think you can follow drama on Mastodon unless you're already part of the drama.

ssnistfajen 3y ago

What does this have to do with Elon again? FYI Twitter existed before October 2022. Account join dates are public. Every single person involved in this, incl. OpenAI staff posting for solidarity, joined Twitter years before Elon's takeover.

Sai_ 3y ago

His instinct was to walk away from his offer. He had to be forced to buy the company. His second wife apparently asked him to buy Twitter and fix its, in her opinion, liberal bias.