Musk needs to get some Mitsubishi’s and chill oot

Musk has made a total bollock of Twitter IMO.  Its went from being a simple, txt based news feed, into a hate filled death scroll of trolls and tinfoil hat wearers.    What he did with the verification system was just plain stupid.   So many  Tweets from previously interesting account now filled with replies from trolls.

Now with his plans to turn it into X - appears he wants to turn it into something like WeChat in China.

A real shame.  The guy should put himself into one of his rockets and fire himself at Mars.

Last edited by SlatefordArab (25/7/2023 12:51 pm)

Tek wrote:

Tek wrote:

Musk is gonna monetise it isn't he?

And there we have it. Six weeks later. 

That will be the end of what was once a great platform.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/19/elon-musk-twitter-x-subscription-fees-users-posts


 

 
Firstly, I have to confess, that, I am a big Musk fan. It wasn’t always that way. For at least three years I did not think he was fit to be CEO of anything. In Tesla he has created a product which is infinitely superior to its competitors. The battery and the charging system are so good, the competition has to use them. I would compare it to Apple

People get accustomed to a certain format and understandably resist change. (I still hate online banking). Changing the logo to “X” possibly was not a great idea, but, I doubt people will go elsewhere.

In terms of “monetising” the product, I’m actually not sure that’s what Musk is trying to do. Unlike Mark Ogren, The Glazers, 777 etc, I actually believe him when he says that it is about eliminating the bots. As I said, previously, I think Musk genuinely wants to create a superior “debating” platform.

Musk really is not motivated by money. People who think he is, really don’t understand the person.

I don’t disagree with you on the verification issue. It may well be that he has to charge a subscription to eliminate the bots. Whether the majority of people will pay it or not, I don’t know.

As I said, for some time, I disliked Musk intensely. That said, when you are investing, you have to be objective and not allow your prejudices trump your decision making. Any “disrupter” be it, Musk, Jobs, Brin, Theil or Murdoch are usually pretty obnoxious, disagreeable people. Most of us need some form of recognition or praise. These guys don’t. They single-mindedly pursue their vision despite everyone telling them, they are wrong. I recall in 1998, I couldn’t fathom why Google had a market cap of 2x Shell. Google had a annual profit of $100m, whereas, Shell made
$8.7bn a quarter. Tesla is a true technology company. They actually design their chips, rather than outsource them in the way legacy motor manufacturers do. They not only design their own components, but, design (and patent) the machines to make these components.

As regards to Musk usurping someone else’s idea, I would point out that the Tesla founders needed money. In the first VC round of funding they could only raise $7.5 m. Of that $6.5 was Musk’s. Without Musk, the founding members of Tesla, hadn’t a hope in hell of raising even VC money let alone Private Equity. When you turn up at Calpers or Ontario Teachers (pension funds), having taken $100m from a sale of PayPal and have Larry Page and Sergy Brin in tow, they listen to you.

You can make the same argument about Zuckerberg and the Winkelvii twins or even Ray Kroc and the McDonald brothers. Kroc’s genius was to make McDonald’s a property company (not a burger company.

It’s fine to hate Musk, but, one question: Would you short Tesla?