December 16, 2022

Here’s All the Ways Elon Musk Embarrassed Himself

And we’re just talking about just this week.

Taylor Hill/ Getty Images

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I’m sure most of y’all had better things to do in the final weeks of 2022 than watch the demise of Twitter, like prepping for the holidays or spending time with your loved ones. And honestly, good for you. But, if you’re curious about what’s happening on the bird app, allow me, a chronically online person whose job relies on paying attention to the discourse, to give you a rundown of Elon Musk’s latest social media meltdown.

In just one week, the bratty billionaire got booed at a Dave Chappelle show, banned a Twitter account that had been tracking his private jet travel, kicked several tech journalists off the platform, and was warned of potential sanctions by a European Union official. Meanwhile, Tesla stock continues to tumble. Take my hand as I guide you through the wild journey that was this past week.

On Sunday, Chappelle brought the Twitter CEO onstage at one of his shows, where Musk was reportedly booed by a crowd of thousands in San Francisco for nearly 10 minutes straight.

Musk, in a now-deleted tweet, appeared defensive. “Technically, it was 90% cheers & 10% boos (except during quiet periods), but, still, that’s a lot of boos, which is a first for me in real life (frequent on Twitter). It’s almost as if I’ve offended SF’s unhinged leftists… but nahhh.” 

Then on Wednesday, only one month after he said he wouldn’t do so, Twitter banned @ElonJet, an automated Twitter account that had tracked his private jet travel. The suspension marked yet another chaotic look into the process—or lack thereof—over Twitter’s new content moderation policies with Musk at the helm. 

The banning spree continued into the next day when Twitter abruptly suspended the accounts of several high-profile journalists, including Aaron Rupar and CNN correspondent Donie O’ Sullivan, both of whom have covered Musk and the social media company. Musk later popped into a Twitter Space with other journalists to explain the suspensions, but quickly left after confronted with only a few questions. 

Finally, to close what’s truly been a banger week, an official for the European Union appeared to threaten sanctions against Musk over the suspension of the journalists’ accounts. While the EU has not released many details about the potential sanctions, according to the Digital Services Act, companies can be potentially fined up to 6 percent of their global revenue for any breaches. 

Of course, the week’s not officially over; Musk still has time to unleash even more deranged actions. We’ll see.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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