53 Weeks of Elon Musk

As bad as Twitter has become, things are about to get worse.

I was recently interviewed by Sara Rancaño Rivas, NY correspondent for RTVE, Spain’s public broadcaster, about Musk’s year of owning Twitter. When she asked if I had one positive thing to say about the Musk era, I couldn't come up with one single thing! · Sree’s newsletter is produced with Zach Peterson (@zachprague). Digimentors Tech Tip from Robert S. Anthony (@newyorkbob). Our sponsorship kit.

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“I’VE GOT TO STOP WRITING ABOUT HIM.” That’s what I wrote just last month about Elon Musk as I looked at the state of social media and news. But here I am, three weeks later, writing about him again.

I promise this is my last essay about him in 2023, and am only writing about him now because we’ve hit a milestone — one year of his ownership of Twitter — and journalists keep asking me how I think he’s doing.

If you look back at my essays since he first floated the idea of buying Twitter, you will see I was hoping I’d be wrong about my predictions about what he’d do — but he’s been far worse than even my worst predictions. And when he appointed Linda Yaccarino as CEO, I was again hopeful, but she has helped make things even worse and has ushered in multiple new problems.

• Social Media and News No Longer Mix (Oct 16, 2023)

• In 2018, I wrote that Musk should get off Twitter. Now he owns it 🤦🏾‍♂️ (Aug 6, 2023)

• If Linda Yaccarino Can't Save Twitter, No One Can (May 24, 2023)

• Six months of Elon, the Boss Baby (April 14, 2023)

• Elon Musk and Right-wing Grift: A Match Made in Heaven (Dec. 5, 2022)

• Elon Musk Era Begins at Twitter (Nov. 4, 2022)

• Elon Musk Can Be a Force For Good, But… (May 5, 2022)

Musk has become something unique. He’s now a caricature of a guy who is about a bad day and a half away from doing something truly destructive. He certainly has the means to do so. He has a rocket company, a battery company that sells cars, a satellite internet company, a company that digs big holes for no real reason, and he owns his own media platform.

Musk has been lurking in trollville for a long time, but his do-you-dare-me acquisition of Twitter, his napalming of the platform and the business behind it, and his incredible ability to just tweet through it, have combined to show us a picture of a man who is the poster boy for the egregiousness late-stage capitalism has wrought.

His brand of modern know-nothingness is not anything special. Find a possibly-smart tweet, look at the replies, sigh to the heavens — this three-step process tells you everything you need to know about the movement of white men we’ll call the “I’m Just Asking Questions Crew.” You know them, they’re the ones out there doing their own research.

This is his central struggle with what he’s done with X — his strident personal stand against anything that even remotely questions his vapid personal worldview has run up against the reality of the toxicity of unmoderated social media and major brands’ collective aversion to it. Getting a bunch of guys with handles like @Tesla_4_ever to pay $8 a month to be bumped up in reply threads simply can’t replace multimillion-dollar ad deals with big brands. They don’t want their promoted tweets to be sandwiched between tweets from a guy openly sharing pro-Nazi messages.

Meanwhile, Yaccarino has shown she’s not a serious person by saying things like this:

It wasn’t much of a shock when Twitter quickly devolved into an even worse cesspool of misinformation and harassment than it had been when Musk took over, but he seems to very genuinely not see it that way. It’s not a misinformation problem, it’s a “Woke Mind Virus information police” problem to Musk.

This is the irony of the whole thing in some way. He is willing to so overtly trade credibility for attention when he seems to be clawing for credibility whenever he can. The kicker here is that, especially with SpaceX, Tesla, and to a lesser extent Starlink, he actually has credibility. Reusable rockets fundamentally changed space flight. Say what you will about Tesla’s cars, it spurred on a stagnant auto industry. And, fast, reliable satellite internet is a gamechanger (as long as he doesn’t take Russia’s side when Ukraine needs the service).

After all, now he’s just a reply guy for accounts like this:

We live in a time of volume — volume wins. Amazon is an example of volume’s propensity for victory just as Matt Gaetz is. With Twitter, Musk doesn’t have one megaphone, he has a few million, and he has proven more than willing to amplify the absolute worst of the worst. In doing so, he’s empowering and egging on legions of super fans who, online at least, seem to be young men suffering from acute toxic masculinity. With it comes the attendant trolling and harassment, and with that comes the politicization of the facts, and the squeezing of reasonable discussion and debate.

He’s making researching disinformation research on the platform harder than ever, as this Reuters report by Sheila Dang shows. "Social media researchers have canceled, suspended or changed more than 100 studies about X, formerly Twitter, as a result of actions taken by Elon Musk that limit access to the social media platform."

Musk has chosen to become a leading light in a right-wing media movement that is committed to destroying the world with longform nihilism and misinformation. He sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate because they pointed out rampant hate speech on Twitter/X. Misinformation has been rampant during the atrocities committed in Israel and the Occupied Territories over the last month. Go follow him on Twitter/X and check who the algorithm recommends you follow next — it’s an all-star cast of right-wing hatemongers.

So many of things that make the world worse are embodied in this cabal of awfulness, and I think we’re far from turning the corner. Over the next year, we will see crucial elections in the US, India, UK, Indonesia and more — and Twitter, one of the most important platforms for news and information, will fail every test.

One last point about Musk. He claims to care about the planet and its future, but he’s actively enabling, propping up and helping Republicans who don’t believe in the climate crisis and are doing all they can to NOT protect the environment. No amount of Tesla sales will reverse the permanent damage they — and Musk — are inflicting on us.

— Sree / Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | YouTube | Threads

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DIGIMENTORS TECH TIP: Power Stations Come to the Rescue When Whiteouts Cause Blackouts

By Robert S. Anthony
Each week, veteran tech journalist Bob Anthony shares a tech tip you don’t want to miss. Follow him @newyorkbob.

Hurricane season is over, and the first blizzards of winter aren’t here yet, but now is not the time to relax when it comes to backup power. Sudden, unexpected power outages aren’t fun, but fortunately many power backup solutions can help you stay out of the dark and in touch with others until utility crews restore power.

A small power station won’t power your entire home in case of a power disruption, but can provide enough juice to keep cell phones, laptops, radios and lighting alive for hours, which is often all that is needed.

Even though it’s no longer owned by Sears, the DieHard battery brand is alive and well and covers more than just automobile batteries thanks to brand licensing. The DieHard 300-Watt Portable Power Station isn’t too hefty, but provides a 120V AC outlet, three USB-A ports, one USB-C port, a 12V car cigarette lighter port and two small 12V power ports.

The top of the unit provides a nice convenience: A wireless charging pad for cell phones and other compatible devices. An LED flashlight is built into the back. The DieHard 300-Watt Portable Power Station can be charged via an AC adapter, by connecting it with a car or with an optional solar charging panel. The unit, previewed at a Pepcom media event in New York, is expected to reach stores in early 2024.

Anker’s 200-watt PowerHouse 521 power station provides two 120V AC outlets, two USB-A ports, a USB-C port, an auto cigarette lighter outlet and a front-mounted LED lamp. According to Anker, the unit can provide up to 20 cell phone charges, 3.5 laptop charges, 31 hours of lighting or five hours of use of a mini refrigerator.

The Anker PowerHouse 521 can be recharged to 80 per cent capacity in just 1.5 hours when charged via its USB-C AC adapter, according to Anker, a nice feature in case bad weather is approaching quickly. The DieHard and Anker power stations are also well-suited for outdoor use in less-than-emergency conditions like a camping trip or backyard party.

One more bad-weather hint: If the danger of a power disruption is high, charge your primary cell phone plus one or two old, out-of-service cell phones. Why? Even if a phone has no SIM card or service and can’t make regular phone calls, it can still call 911. Don’t test this. It works. It’s a safety provision built into all North American smartphones.

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🤖 New AI workshop in NYC and REMOTE! Join us for my workshop and an all-star panel (Aimee Rinehart, Mikhael Simmonds and more) about all things AI. Thursday, Nov 9, 6-8 pm ET in Manhattan and online. If you can't attend in person, you can purchase an online ticket and watch online. Both tickets offer a recording you can watch later. Here’s a code for 25% off! Use code “newsletter” and tell your friends… bit.ly/sreeainov9

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