Alex Bruno
Isn’t it just another day, another Elon Musk story? However, when the world’s wealthiest man acts in such a way, it’s certain to draw notice, especially given his aim to run one of the world’s biggest and most prominent social media sites. Musk met with Twitter staff for the first time on Friday to discuss this (NZ time). After arriving late, the flamboyant millionaire spoke about aliens, how only great individuals should work from home, and his desire to cut the number of staff, among other topics.
However, one paragraph in Reuters’ story on the meeting jumped out. “At the conclusion of the Q&A, when he shut off his camera, his avatar seemed to be two hands in the form of the number 69, an obvious allusion to a sex position, according to the source.” It might be a great encapsulation of Musk. The guy who is ready to spend $44 billion on a firm that he is willing to repeatedly criticize the same platform employs an avatar that most people ceased finding amusing after high school.
Before the end of the month, Musk will be 51 years old. It’s easy to see why Twitter workers are concerned about the possibility of the Tesla CEO taking over the firm. They aren’t the only ones, either. Employees of one of Musk’s other firms, SpaceX, have penned an open letter to bosses slamming his behavior, according to the website The Verge. According to the leak, staff “across the spectrum of gender, race, seniority, and technical positions” worked on the letter.
“Elon’s public behavior has been a regular cause of distraction and humiliation for us, especially in recent weeks,” the statement said.”As our CEO and most visible spokesman, Elon Musk is widely regarded as SpaceX’s face; every Tweet he sends serves as a de facto public statement from the firm.” “It’s vital that our staff and prospective talent pool understand that his message does not match our work, purpose, or values.”
‘THIS NEEDS TO CHANGE.’
Employees claim that the company’s present culture does not reflect its claimed principles. “Many workers continue to face uneven enforcement of our oft-repeated ‘No Asshole’ and ‘Zero Tolerance’ standards,” the statement said. “Something has to be done.” Dealing with Musk was towards the top of a list of specific steps that workers wanted SpaceX to do. The workers wrote, “Publicly confront and denounce Elon’s damaging Twitter behavior.”
“SpaceX must clearly and quickly distinguish itself from Elon Musk’s personal brand.” Other steps seemed to be aimed at Musk, such as ensuring that everyone at SpaceX was treated equally. “Whether from the CEO or a new employee on their first day, SpaceX must develop safe pathways for reporting and impose clear punishments for any inappropriate behavior,” it stated.
DOGE DROPS
As if that wasn’t enough for one day, an investor in the Dogecoin cryptocurrency sued Musk for $258 billion, accusing him of conducting a pyramid scheme to inflate its price. Plaintiff Keith Johnson filed the lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan, alleging that Musk engaged in racketeering by promoting Dogecoin only to see its price plummet once it had been pushed up.
“Defendants knew Dogecoin had no value since 2019 yet marketed Dogecoin to benefit from its trade,” according to the lawsuit. “Musk exploited his position as the World’s Richest Man to profit from, expose, and entertain himself by operating and manipulating the Dogecoin Pyramid Scheme.”
The cryptocurrency has lost roughly US$86 billion in value since Musk appeared on Saturday Night Live in May of last year. Musk did a number of comedy on the broadcast in which he made derogatory references to Dogecoin. It was afterward referred to as a “hustle” by him.
This resulted in a 20% reduction in value in less than an hour. It’s currently 91 percent cheaper than it was at its peak. Musk was expected to take Dogecoin ‘to the moon,’ according to investors. Unfortunately, it collided with a stalled emergency car, as one of his Teslas approached. That was the story from yesterday, not today. What awaits us tomorrow? One thing is certain: it will make headlines, and that will not change anytime soon.
Source: NewsHub
