Elon Musk, now dethroned as the world’s richest person, has been on an expensive descent into strangeness.
Having made his name on science and technology-based projects involving an environmentally-friendly car and private space projects, Musk’s personal brand has taken a hit.
His move to take over the Twitter social media platform and all the chaos that has unfolded since has hurt his Tesla vehicle company, as its competition is growing in the electric vehicle market.
A YouGov survey showed that consumer views of Tesla were now more negative than positive for the first time since 2016. The value of shares in the car-maker has fallen by at least 58 per cent since April.
Musk spent US$44 billion ($69b) to own Twitter, which has a role in shaping public debate, even though its audience is small compared to other platforms.
Since then there have been mass firings of Twitter staff; the move to reinstate former president Donald Trump and the accounts of others who had previously been banned; and bizarre tweets from the “Chief Twit”. Rival platform Mastodon says its user numbers have swelled from 3.4 million when Musk took over Twitter to 6m now.
His latest stunt was to poll users whether he should step down as Twitter boss. Millions wanted him to do so - 57.5 per cent of the 17.5m respondents - and he says he’s searching for his own replacement.
Last week prominent journalists were banned over the location of Musk’s private jet. Then they were reinstated.
The move had drawn criticism from the United Nations and the European Union. UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said: “The [media] move sets a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists all over the world are facing censorship, physical threats and even worse”. An EU official pointed out that the bloc’s Digital Services Act, which comes into force next year, required platforms to respect media freedom.
It was a brief clash of established and Trumpian-style approaches: official organisations with rules and written standards thundering at a niche news platform subject to one powerful man’s mood on any given day. While Twitter is Musk’s plaything, more Trump-like tantrums can be expected.
It reflects the general dumbing-down of public life in Western countries, the concentration of power, vast wealth gaps, and celebrity worship.
That can turn a few members of the 1 per cent class into figures treated as heroes - before they reveal themselves not to be - with too much attention and impact. It’s a ridiculously lopsided system when real heroes such as health workers struggle, and areas of life that matter to most people need more funds.
No wonder science fiction and bleak humour seem right for these times.
