5 ms·

This reads like pretty classic infighting between a dictator and one of his more powerful cronies. I am surprised at how fast it happened, though. Usually this

This reads like pretty classic infighting between a dictator and one of his more powerful cronies. I am surprised at how fast it happened, though. Usually this comes towards the end of a dictatorship. Maybe our dear leader is just as incompetent at being a dictator as he is everything else.

solardev 1y ago
I hope it escalates into a pay per view cage match.
- tjpnz 1y ago
  The last time Elon proposed a cage match he pussied out.
  - hermitcrab 1y ago
    And then lost a fight to 5 year old son?
    - tjpnz 1y ago
      To a 62 year old.
  - sumeno 1y ago
    His mommy wouldn't let him do it
    - jeffbee 1y ago
      I bet a lot of readers think you are joking here.
- BLKNSLVR 1y ago
  Elon already has a black eye so I think the cameras weren't invited.
username223 1y ago
> Usually this comes towards the end of a dictatorship. It doesn't seem that way to me, e.g. Putin arrested Khodorkovsky (the richest man in Russia) in 2003. The way I see it, the politician needs the oligarch's money to gain political power, but then he has actual state power, including guns and the judicial system. At that point the oligarch has no purpose -- after all, the politician can just make new ones -- so it makes sense to cast him out or destroy him. Trump could bankrupt SpaceX with the stroke of a pen and bleed Tesla dry by revoking EV credits. He could even try to revoke Musk's citizenship over (real or fake) issues with his immigration status in the past. If Elon thought he was buying the presidency in exchange for favors, he wasn't thinking things through.
- steveBK123 1y ago
  > If Elon thought he was buying the presidency in exchange for favors, he wasn't thinking things through. This is the funniest part to me, in the context of THIS president. The guy that demands fully loyalty but gives none? I can't imagine being the richest guy in the world, and embarrassing myself to such a degree all for.. what? He paid maybe $300M to help elect the guy, wore all the stupid hates, lavished orange man with praise.. and for what. What was ever the upside? The possible downside was obviously asymmetric to any clear eyed viewer. And so that asymmetric downside now begins.
  - roxolotl 1y ago
    This crop of billionaires was created from a time when capital was ascendant and state power was on the decline. I think as a result they’ve come to believe that the state is mostly there for their benefit especially during Republican administrations.
    - steveBK123 1y ago
      I think it's also a mark of the self delusion some of these "Great Men" tend to have, before you even get into the surrounding yes-men & ketamine. Probably some sort of "well I am worth $400M, but if I can get that to $2M, I can do my Mars space colony with enough room for my harem, for sure". vs "Gee I have more money than one can ever spend and remain mortal.. I could go enjoy my life like Bezos before it all evaporates..."
awalsh128 1y ago
I was not as surprised. It is a lot like the pattern in his previous term with people that he brought on and then had a fallout with and they became the enemy like cabinet members, VP, etc. This second term is markedly different in that he appointed only due hard yes men. I think the only difference is that Musk was very useful for his money and independent sway.

solardev 1y ago

I hope it escalates into a pay per view cage match.

tjpnz 1y ago
The last time Elon proposed a cage match he pussied out.
- hermitcrab 1y ago
  And then lost a fight to 5 year old son?
  - tjpnz 1y ago
    To a 62 year old.
- sumeno 1y ago
  His mommy wouldn't let him do it
  - jeffbee 1y ago
    I bet a lot of readers think you are joking here.
BLKNSLVR 1y ago
Elon already has a black eye so I think the cameras weren't invited.

username223 1y ago

> Usually this comes towards the end of a dictatorship. It doesn't seem that way to me, e.g. Putin arrested Khodorkovsky (the richest man in Russia) in 2003. The way I see it, the politician needs the oligarch's money to gain political power, but then he has actual state power, including guns and the judicial system. At that point the oligarch has no purpose -- after all, the politician can just make new ones -- so it makes sense to cast him out or destroy him. Trump could bankrupt SpaceX with the stroke of a pen and bleed Tesla dry by revoking EV credits. He could even try to revoke Musk's citizenship over (real or fake) issues with his immigration status in the past. If Elon thought he was buying the presidency in exchange for favors, he wasn't thinking things through.

steveBK123 1y ago
> If Elon thought he was buying the presidency in exchange for favors, he wasn't thinking things through. This is the funniest part to me, in the context of THIS president. The guy that demands fully loyalty but gives none? I can't imagine being the richest guy in the world, and embarrassing myself to such a degree all for.. what? He paid maybe $300M to help elect the guy, wore all the stupid hates, lavished orange man with praise.. and for what. What was ever the upside? The possible downside was obviously asymmetric to any clear eyed viewer. And so that asymmetric downside now begins.
- roxolotl 1y ago
  This crop of billionaires was created from a time when capital was ascendant and state power was on the decline. I think as a result they’ve come to believe that the state is mostly there for their benefit especially during Republican administrations.
  - steveBK123 1y ago
    I think it's also a mark of the self delusion some of these "Great Men" tend to have, before you even get into the surrounding yes-men & ketamine. Probably some sort of "well I am worth $400M, but if I can get that to $2M, I can do my Mars space colony with enough room for my harem, for sure". vs "Gee I have more money than one can ever spend and remain mortal.. I could go enjoy my life like Bezos before it all evaporates..."

awalsh128 1y ago

I was not as surprised. It is a lot like the pattern in his previous term with people that he brought on and then had a fallout with and they became the enemy like cabinet members, VP, etc. This second term is markedly different in that he appointed only due hard yes men. I think the only difference is that Musk was very useful for his money and independent sway.