Musk's huge problem re the Twitter hostile takeover attempt

[jmowreader]

The hard right is salivating over the prospect of Elon Musk buying Twitter and allowing all the RWNJs who were kicked off for violating the Twitter TOS to rejoin the service.

If I remember correctly, Mr. Musk makes cars that are pretty popular among liberals.

So…what happens to Mr. Musk’s empire if he lets Trump, MTG and Juanita Broaddrick back on Twitter, and all the liberals who were buying Teslas decide they’d rather buy other brands of electric car?

[RKP5637]

1. He's going to get a lot of competition. n/t

[OhZone]

2. I wasn't aware he was a RW asshat until he started this twitter stuff.

I know my gf was considering getting a Tesla but has changed her mind now.

[ForgedCrank]

8. He's not a

right-winger really. He's more of a hard-core libertarian type in the end. Which I find odd considering he built empires using government subsidies and grants for his nutty tunnel highways and other stupidity. Tesla (which isn't his company really) was popular and got a foothold due to taxpayer subsidies and credits if you bought one.
What pushed him over the edge recently were the CA covid lockdowns, it was crushing business in the state and it bankrupted a lot of people (and wasn't exclusive to CA, it's just where he was at the time).
Musk is about profit, he's not going to do anything stupid with Twitter, he's just trying to make noise for the most part. Is it a bluff? Who knows with that guy, he's somewhat unpredictable with things like this.

[obamanut2012]

9. Yes, he is

[ForgedCrank]

12. Ok.

[brush]

16. It's been said that the difference between a winger and libertarian...

is that the libertarian likes to get high.

There's not much difference. He's a trumper.

[OhZone]

20. The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for Libertarians to let Trumpers lie on Twitter

[ForgedCrank]

28. It appears

that as a left-leaning libertarian who has always voted Democrat, my vote may not be any longer welcome.
Is that what you are saying?

[qazplm135]

41. I'll never understand

Why anyone would let what someone says randomly on a message board influence how they vote.

You're not going to vote Dem because some anonymous person doesn't like libertarianism?

I mean I personally think it's a juvenile political philosophy, but my opinion shouldn't matter to you either.

[OhZone]

42. Are you pro death like Elon?

[haele]

43. The problem is how libertarian is defined in the greater world.

A lot of small l libertarians are basically free market Democrats, somewhat socially liberal, but not seeing a need for government regulations because they're not in a market, location, or career where they obviously need government regulations.

A lot of Union workers and residents of small, relatively well off homogeneous towns are small "l" liberatarians.

However...
Libertarianism is a Neo-Liberal philosophy coined by Any Rand and her followers, and is a totally different, anti-democratic philosophy that basically considers the only legitimate Government function is to act as a police function to ensure social hierarchy and an unregulated Free Market monopoly system. It's also called "Objectivism" -a way of looking at individual results without considering any contributing factors, such as social or financial resources, capabilities (or lack of), native talents, and environmental restrictions.

Basically, Liberatarianism is an anti-Democratic political philosophy, and really has no economic basis behind it other than "if I can do it, why can't everyone else?".

I am sorry if you feel offended by an automatic poor reaction most liberals or progressives have to the term Libertarian, but the actual definition of that term and the platform of the capital "L" Liberatarian party is a socially destructive policy that worships income inequality and a skewed Survivor game-show type meritocracy with few winners and mostly "useless eater" losers.

Haele

[SalviaBlue]

24. Hard Core Libertarian / Right Winger

They just don't like to admit it. They think its more chill to say libertarian. They are still anti-democracy assholes.

[ForgedCrank]

30. Good enough

for me.
I think I'm getting the message from this place loud and clear at this point.

[Xoan]

35. Democratic ...

might have been a tell.

[ForgedCrank]

37. You know, I

align with Democrats about 95% on everything and have always voted that way.
But this is very enlightening. Apparently it's 100% purity or get lost. At least, that's the way I'm taking it right now.

[SalviaBlue]

46. We may have different definitions of libertarianism.

https://www.thomhartmann.com/blog/2014/08/you-dont-know-what-libertarian-means

“If you want to know what libertarianism is all about, don’t ask a libertarian, because most of them don’t know. A new poll from Pew Research found that only 11% of those surveyed who identified themselves as libertarian were correctly able to identify the very basic meaning of libertarianism as “someone whose political views emphasize individual freedom by limiting the role of government.” Even though that's often an oxymoron, that's what libertarians say, and their followers apparently don't know it.”

[haele]

47. No, again, it's the definition of libertarian that's getting the reaction.

Moderate and even "fiscally conservative" pro - business Democrats post here with no problems at all.
Plenty of more Radical Liberals get skewered here also - don't ever try to get in the middle of an argument with Bernie Bros and Democratic pragmatists...

However, Libertarian is an actual political party, based on Ayn Rand's Objectivism philosophy. It is an Anti-Democracy political philosophy, with no economic policy other than "take what you can and screw everyone else" behind it.

Seriously. Liberatarians are always trying to paint a friendly, comfortable face over their philosophy, but it's the same old "I want to be free to do what I want" attitude that leads to Monopolies and income inequality.

Haele

[MadameButterfly]

49. Is there anyone who self-identifies as a Bernie Bro?

I've heard Bernie Bros accused of stuff by people who don't like Bernie. I've never heard of someone who likes Bernie claiming to be a Bernie Bro.

[haele]

51. I've seen Bernie Bro stickers - I suspect they're supposed to be tongue in cheek...

However, the term is usually used to identify the more fanatic supporters of Senator Saunders who will talk over anyone who dare suggest he's not the perfect politician for our time.

Sort of like the term fanboy.

Oddly enough, both terms appear to be applied equally across genders, even though both terms began as the most aggressively vocal supporters tended to be young males.

Haele

[MadameButterfly]

58. and many things are attributed to Bernie Bros

that have nothing to do with Bernie supporters. So be careful about getting on that bandwagon, you might be repeating false accusations.

There might have been some real ones to start, but mostly it's been a term used to smear Bernie. Yes, there are some angry people who fell into the Bernie camp rather than the Trump camp--a more appropriate place to put their anger since Bernie would have really addressed the conditions they are upset about. But none of the actions attributed to Bernie Bros are encourage or supported by Bernie.

[Mr.Bill]

31. Musk is (by his own admission) Autistic.

I don't think he's a bad person, but he is politically a bit of a loose cannon. I just hope he doesn't run for Governor.

[ForgedCrank]

32. I'm not an

Elon Musk fan by any stretch and I never have been.
What is setting me back is the names I am being called here by Democrats.
At this stage, I'm starting to re-think a lot of stuff if this is what people think about me.

[jfz9580m]

38. Fwiw I think left-libertarians are cool

It is just that Musk seems more like a hard-right libertarian:

Wired: Lilly Wachowski Slams Elon Musk and Ivanka Trump for Matrix
Where to begin? OK, so, yesterday Tesla CEO Elon Musk—who has had a busy couple weeks of reopening car factories and becoming a father—sent a tweet: “Take the red pill,” it read, and included a rose emoji. Taking the red pill, for those who don’t know, is a reference to the film The Matrix, wherein taking the red pill means opening up one’s mind and escaping the simulated world known as the Matrix. In more recent years, “red-pilling,” has become, as WIRED’s Emma Grey Ellis notes, an internet “shorthand for having your eyes opened to a certain kind of ‘conservatism’” that’s generally nationalist and often tinged with racism and/or sexism.

Shortly after Musk sent the tweet, Ivanka Trump—President Trump’s daughter and adviser—retweeted it and added “Taken!” About an hour after Ivanka Trump sent that tweet, Matrix cocreator Lilly Wachowski replied with a simple “Fuck both of you.”

I think people just detest Musk..my guess is you caught a bit of the spill-over bile intended for Musk and not you ;-/. I was always a bit nonplussed by how so many of the same lefties who dislike zuckercreep, Bezos etc. were neutral on Musk.

Tim Cook is just about the only one of those guys I have some respect for. I always disliked Musk and am happy to see him dropping the mask.

[inthewind21]

54. Oh please

No one here has called YOU names. If you're this delicate, then politics and discussions about it you should avoid.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

56. Reminds me of Hillary's basket of deplorables

She said some, yet every Trump supporter thought she was talking about them.

[SmallFry]

36. In one sentence you said he wasn't a right winger and then called him out as an extreme right winger

"He's not a right-winger really. He's more of a hard-core libertarian type in the end."

Where on the political spectrum do you place "hard-core libertarian type(s)?

[ForgedCrank]

40. Pretty much

smack in the middle. Socially very liberal, mostly moderate fiscally. That is exactly where I land, but it appears that isn't good enough even though I am a registered Democrat.
Libertarians have run for office many times here, and I've never voted for one for obvious reasons. And now I get this.

[SmallFry]

45. There is no such thing as a moderate libertarian.

Such a thing does not exist. There is no such thing as a "socially very liberal" libertarian.

"Libertarians have run for office many times here, and I've never voted for one for obvious reasons."

Thank you for not voting for right wingers.

[maxrandb]

48. Need to stop trying to claim that libertarians are not right-wing nutjobs

They are!

The entire "libertarian" movement was created by Right Wing whack jobs that wanted to be able to say; "I'm not a racist asshat, I am a libertarian, so that means I have the liberty to be a racist asshat".

Libertarians are simply Nazi fucksticks who want to use the power of the state to make Nazi fucksticks acceptable.

Trying to "explain" the difference between Right-Wing Nazis and Libertarians is like trying to teach a goat to sing. It's a waste of time, and it pisses off the goat.

[MadameButterfly]

50. It seems inapproriate for a guy like that

to determine whether Trump belongs on Twitter.

I wasn't too keen on Musk when he was manipulating Bitcoin markets like it was his personal toy, but now he's playing with democracy.
Maybe we should stop being so paranoid about socialism and look at the dangers of oligarchy.

[Hugin]

19. Neither was TFG (a RW'er, that is. He's always been an asshat)...

Until he bumbled on to how effective blind rage, bigotry, and hatred are at delivering the loyalty and adoration his broken psyche craves.

He used to pretend to be a philanthropist.

Watch for Musk to follow the same pattern.

[Tree Lady]

21. Same here and I bet many others

Kind of like Aaron Rodgers.

He will still get a lot of sales until some other car company can make a electric car as good and as many miles per battery charge.

[exboyfil]

3. Hasn't been a problem so far

You would be surprised how many conservatives love Tesla (my SIL being one of them).

[Midnight Writer]

4. Guy's got nearly 300 billion. He can buy up major industries one by one.

Each new acquisition will just add to his wealth.

Eventually he could own everything, if that's what he decides to do.

The invisible hand of the free market will become the iron fist that rules us all.

Only in America!

[brush]

17. He doesn't have that in liquidity. It's in stock. Negotiations have...

to be made.

[SmallFry]

34. I don't think he needs to be liquid in order to do what Night said.

Many investors who built their wealth buying business after business weren't all that liquid. Very large daily cash flow but not necessarily liquid to the point of funding the purchases themselves.

[AZSkiffyGeek]

5. The pretzel logic I've seen from liberals to support buying Teslas is amazing

Yeah, it's good for the environment. Yeah, electric cars are the future. But yeah, you're giving money to a grifting Bond villain whose only redeeming quality is that he isn't natural born and can't run for president.

[obamanut2012]

10. Especially when there are plenty of other green cars to buy

That are not Tesla. They just want to be all cool and FOMO.

[Jerry2144]

6. Not natural born?

Does that mean he hatched from an egg? Or does his species come from spores from Uranus?

He doesn’t seem very human

[localroger]

11. Natural born is an archaic term for any characteristic acquired by birth

Musk is not a natural born citizen of the United States. This why he had to become a citizen by being "naturalized."

[Jerry2144]

15. Sorry, I guess my joke

Mixed its target. I do know what it means.

[localroger]

18. Ironically, I was just reading another comment

...about Birds Aren't Real when I clicked back and saw that you had left this reply to me.

[okaawhatever]

44. I know u were kidding, but I'm thinking there's some merit to the Uranus thing. nt

[hurple]

7. Didn't he already divest all his interest in Tesla?

I thought he was long gone from that company.

[obamanut2012]

13. No, he is the CEO

And major shareholder and owner.

[milestogo]

14. This man is desperate for something to spend money on.

[Joinfortmill]

22. Twitter will die. Screw Musk.

[Hugin]

27. Maybe he'll rebrand it "Truth Social".

A winning strategy.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

23. He's a racist union-busting piece of shit.

[Miguelito Loveless]

25. Twitter is a huge distraction from his core mission

which is the transition to EVs and sustainable nature. He has let his ego get too wrapped up in this skunk fight.

[Iggo]

26. He makes cars that are popular with people who shit money. Get it right.

[haele]

29. Tesla fanbois won't care about Musk taking over Twitter.

Maybe a few that are truly liberal will, but consider this -
While Tesla has the highest customer satisfaction rating, the cars also have the lowest reliability rating of all Electric vehicles owned.
That means Teslas have recalls and are in the repair shop more often than than other EVs. Also, the factories producing them have safety and workplace violation numbers higher than an Amazon warehouse.
Sooo - Musk isn't worried about Liberals who own Teslas or want to purchase Teslas abandoning him en mass. The Brand -he might as well call it Pandora or Rolex - is what sells his cars, and he knows it.

Haele

[SmallFry]

33. His cars should have no popularity among liberals.

His cars are for a singular purpose, data collection. Every progressive should be opposed to TESLA.

[Hoyt]

39. Do we know for a fact Musk is doing this to let trump, Greene, etc., back on Twitter?

[leftstreet]

52. No n/t

[jmowreader]

53. That's what the entire RW thinks

Whether it’s true or not I don’t know…but considering some of the other things he’s done, like the proposed over-the-road tractor with no sleeper, it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that’s his goal.

[Hoyt]

55. Would love to see the link to a "no sleeper over road tractor," unless it's driverless.

Here's a photo of their latest protype WITH A SLEEPER.

?v=1613294427

[ecstatic]

57. lol. They are sooo lame. If musk does a hostile takeover,

the cool folks will leave twitter, and twitter just becomes "truth social" part 2. For some reason, qOP types are not happy just being amongst themselves. They want to force sane people to view their nonsense.