Boreing: Twitter suppressing one side of ‘trans debate’
Daily Wire CEO Boreing accuses Twitter of joining other “tech superpowers” in their suppression of “one side of the [trans] debate.”:
Twitter canceled a deal with @realdailywire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of “misgendering.”
(“What is a Woman?” is an online film about gender and transgender issues presented by conservative political commentator Matt Walsh.) Boreing says he thought Twitter was “the perfect place to distribute the film” because of its “recent commitments to free speech,” adding:
Twitter responded with enthusiasm and offered us the opportunity to buy a package to host the movie on a dedicated event page and to promote the event to every Twitter user over the first 10 hours. After reviewing the film, though, Twitter let us know that not only could we no longer purchase the package they offered, they would no longer provide us any support and would actually limit the reach of the film and label it as “hateful conduct” because of “misgendering.”
When the Daily Wire noted that Twitter had actually removed its policy around misgendering, Twitter representatives allegedly “clarified they only removed ‘misgendering’ from their policy because they didn’t need to be that specific, but that they still consider ‘misgendering abuse and harassment,” and also said that the Daily Wire’s “own followers would not be able to see it in their feeds.” As Boreing puts it:
We brought all our shows to Twitter Tuesday because we believed Twitter was committed to free speech, especially on this issue. After all, the @TheBabylonBeewas silenced on Twitter over this very issue, and that in part prompted @elonmusk to purchase the platform. The other tech platforms have already decided where they stand in the trans debate and demonetize and deprioritize all those who disagree. Now, Twitter has joined the ranks of the other tech superpowers in ensuring one side of the debate is suppressed.
@elonmusk is not beholden to conservatives. He has the right to run his business as he sees fit. But if Twitter is going to throttle one side of one of the most important debates facing society, it cannot claim to champion free speech.
I hope @elonmusk will reconsider this awful policy. If we can’t debate these issues on Twitter, where can we debate them? If conservatives aren’t welcome on Twitter, where are they welcome? It’s unlikely another centibillionaire will come along to offer an alternative.
We plan to post the movie anyway tonight at 8:00 pm eastern. Will Twitter make good on their threat to throttle it and label it “hateful conduct,” or will Twitter live up to its great promise?
We’ll all find out together.
Twitter canceled a deal with @realdailywire to premiere What is a Woman? for free on the platform because of two instances of “misgendering.”
I’m not kidding.
Here's what happened:🧵1/16
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) June 1, 2023
Musk apologizes to Magneto for Soros comparison
In an interview with The Babylon Bee, Musk is asked about his comments comparing Soros to the Marvel character, Magneto, while claiming Soros ‘hates humanity:
Sorry Magneto. Y’know, I shouldn’t have said that. It was unfair to Magneto.
@elonmusk apologizes to Magneto for comparing him to George Soros. pic.twitter.com/hfEzvwCJai
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) May 31, 2023
Musk criticises NPR: ‘You don’t generally bite the hand that feeds you’
In an interview with The Babylon Bee, Musk talks about NPR leaving Twitter, after the company labelled it as state0funded media:
We’re trying to apply the rules consistently at Twitter. If we’re going to call some media state-affiliated, then we should apply the label equally. They got pretty upset at that, and said that ‘state-affiliated’ implies that the state has editorial authority and influence over the content. So you’re saying you don’t have that? How self-aware are you? NPR literally, on their own website, said government funding was essential to their operation. We even changed [the label] from ‘state-affiliated’, to ‘state-funded’. That’s literally a statement of fact. But they’re unhappy with that. They have got to their punches in criticizing the government. It’s just a guess, based on their extreme dependence on government funding. I mean you don’t generally bite the hand that feeds you.
How will we ever stay informed on Twitter without NPR? pic.twitter.com/wWNN0fv8uq
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) May 31, 2023
EU: Twitter ‘can run’ from disinformation obligations, ‘but can’t hide’
Twitter withdraws from the European Union’s Code of Practice on online disinformation. But Twitter is considered a “very large online platform” under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and is therefore obligated to assess and mitigate systemic risks to civic discourse and electoral processes, such as disinformation, under pan-EU law. Breaches of the DSA can attract penalties of up to 6% of global annual turnover, but VLOPs are given a three month deadline to comply. Internal market commissioner Thierry Breton:
Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation. But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide. Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA as of August 25. Our teams will be ready for enforcement.
Twitter leaves EU voluntary Code of Practice against disinformation.
But obligations remain. You can run but you can’t hide.
Beyond voluntary commitments, fighting disinformation will be legal obligation under #DSA as of August 25.
Our teams will be ready for enforcement.
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) May 26, 2023
Israel: Musk promoting ‘fake news’ about COVID-19 data
Israel’s Ministry of Health says Musk was promoting “fake news” regarding COVID-19 data when he replied to a tweet from ZeroHedge, claiming Israeli data showed “zero young healthy individuals died of COVID-19.” Musk wrote “Zero …” (Twitter added a note to the Zero Hedge tweet, saying Israel’s health ministry “has called this article ‘misinformation.’”) The health ministry writes:
Elon, unfortunately this is not what the whole data shows. fake news is dangerous. Israel Ministry of Health was asked on chronic disease data and explained that we don’t have access to clinical records. We know from clinicians that young healthy people did die from COVID and hopefully data on that will be available on the near future from our HMOs.
Elon, unfortunately this is not what the whole data shows.
fake news is dangerous.
Israel Ministry of Health was asked on chronic disease data and explained that we don’t have access to clinical records >>>
— משרד הבריאות (@IsraelMOH) May 29, 2023
Musk: Tesla might ‘open source more code’
Musk says Tesla might open up some of its operating system code to other automakers. Responding to Ford CEO Jim Farley, he says Tesla would:
…be helpful on the software front…In the same way that maybe Android is helpful to the phone industry as sort of a general standard, like we could potentially open source more code.
Musk and Farley also hinted at other potential partnerships in the future, including in the supply chain, and when Farley questioned him about Tesla’s Corpus Christi lithium refining plant, Musk said he does not believe there are enough entrepreneurs in the U.S. digging into raw materials mining and processing. He wishes Tesla didn’t have to pick up the slack. With its nickel-based cathode refinery in Austin, Tesla might also have to get involved in anode manufacturing, but “hopefully not,” Musk says. He also believes that there will be a huge market for synthetic graphite (graphite is the main material in most lithium-ion anodes).
Musk: Starship will lift 300 tons expendable, 180 tons reusable
Responding to a Twitter user, Musk says SpaceX Starship with improved Raptor 3 engines should lift 300 tons in expendable mode, or 180 tons in reusable mode. This compares with two years ago, when Two years ago Musk estimated a Starship would lift 250 tons to orbit in expandable mode and 150 tons in reusable mode. For comparison, the International Space Station weighs 450 tons and took around 50 Space Shuttle launches to complete. An earlier, SpaceX concept, called the Interplanetary Transport System, was planned to carry 550 tons expendable, 300 tons reusable.
Starship payload is 250 to 300 tons to orbit in expendable mode. Improved thrust & Isp from Raptor will enable ~6000 ton liftoff mass.
Starship payload is 250 to 300 tons to orbit in expendable mode.
Improved thrust & Isp from Raptor will enable ~6000 ton liftoff mass.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 24, 2023
Musk: Tesla will ‘strongly consider’ building Gigafactory in England
In an interview for The Wall Street Journal, Musk says Tesla is preparing to look for a location to build a new battery factory later this year and would assess England as an option.
I will strongly consider England for a future location of a gigafactory. We are not currently looking at new locations but we will probably towards the end of this year.
Tesla already operates several production facilities in Fremont, California, Austin, Texas, Berlin, Germany, and Shanghai, China. A factory in Mexico was announced in early 2023, but ground has not been broken yet.
Musk details succession plans
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Musk discusses his succession plans, including potential successors, how to handle ownership control of his companies, his plan for an educational institution to control his shares, and how he will not automatically give his children shares in his companies:
Succession is one of the toughest, age-old problems. It’s plagued countries, kings, prime ministers, presidents and CEOs, since the dawn of history. There is no obvious solution.
There are particular individuals that I’ve told the board, ‘Look, if something happens to me unexpectedly, this is my recommendation for who should take over.’ The board is aware who my recommendation is. It’s up to them of course.
I want to make sure the stewardship ultimately accrues the benefit of humanity. We’re not always successful in that, but that is aspirationally our goal. I have one idea that is partly in place, which is to create an education institution that would control most of my vote.
I am not of the school of automatically giving my kids some share of the companies, even if they have no interest, or inclination, or ability to manage the companies. I think that would be a mistake. It’s a very hard problem to solve.
Elon Musk on his succession plan: "There are particular individuals that I've told the board look If something happens to me unexpectedly, this is my recommendation for who should take over. The board is aware who my recommendation is. It's up to them of course." pic.twitter.com/uaDFXj5oQD
— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) May 23, 2023
Musk: AI could be ‘a danger’
Musk warns that AI could be a danger to humans, calling it “a double-edged sword” and saying it is not “necessary for anything we’re doing.”
If you have a genie that can grant you anything, that presents a danger…
He thinks AI advances the end of empires and expects governments to use it for weapons development before anything else.
There’s a little late-stage empire vibes right now…So just having more advanced weapons on the battlefield that can react faster than any human could is really what AI is capable of. Any future wars between advanced countries or at least countries with drone capability will be very much the drone wars.
On AI’s potential for peace, he says:
One way to achieve world peace is to take all the weapons away from the humans so they can no longer use them. I don’t think the AI is going to try to destroy all humanity but it might put us under strict controls
In terms of politics and the upcoming US presidential election, he says:
One of the first places you need to be careful of where AI is used is social media to manipulate public opinion. I think it’s something we need to be on the lookout for in the way of minimising the impact of AI manipulation. We’re certainly taking that seriously at Twitter and I think we’re putting in all the protections to detect large-scale manipulation of the system.
Reynolds, Musk trade deepfake ad likes
In response to a deepfake ad of Reynolds promoting Tesla:
How much do you think it would cost to own a car that’s this f–kng awesome?!…Whose balls do I have to fondle to get a Tesla instead of a s–t Corolla?”
Musk says:
Nice
Nice
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 17, 2023
Reynolds, in turn, responds to a deepfake ad featuring Musk promoting his Aviator Gin brand.
Nice
Nice
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) May 18, 2023
Musk: ‘Working from home ‘morally wrong’
During an interview with CNBC anchor David Faber, Musk criticises the hypocrisy of expecting service industry workers to go to work while others had the privilege of working from home, using a quote often attributed to Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France before the French Revolution.
There are some exceptions, but I think that the whole notion of work from home is a bit like the fake Marie Antoinette quote, ‘Let them eat cake’. It’s like, really, you’re going to work at home and you’re going to make the people who made your car come to the factory? You’ve got people who deliver your food, but they can’t work from home? The people that come fix your house, they can’t work from home, but you can? Does that seem morally right? It’s a productivity issue and a moral issue. Get off the goddamn moral high horse with the work-from-home bulls**t. The laptop class is living in la-la land.
Musk says that he works seven days a week, but doesn’t expect others to do that.
I’m saying put 40 hours in.
"I'm a big believer that people are more productive when they're in person," Elon Musk said Tuesday on the work from home trend. "People should get off their goddamn moral high horse with their work-from-home b*******." https://t.co/W1BjwKobX8 pic.twitter.com/FWzVHtZFEH
— CNBC (@CNBC) May 16, 2023
Musk: Tesla will have a ‘ChatGPT moment’ with full self-driving cars
Comparing Tesla’s self-driving AI to OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, which came to sudden public attention at the end of 2022, Musk says that a similar situation will happen when Teslas are able to drive themselves without human intervention.
I think Tesla will have sort of a ChatGPT moment, maybe if not this year, I’d say no later than next year…Suddenly, three million cars will be able to drive with no-one [at the wheel].
Musk says he envisions a future where millions of Tesla cars would operate autonomously, gradually expanding to three million, five million, and eventually 10 million self-driving vehicles. When owners are not using the vehicles, they will be used as Robotaxis, licenced by Tesla.
Comparing Tesla’s self-driving capabilities to Google’s Waymo, Musk says that while Waymo has achieved limited success in a tightly-mapped geographic area, Tesla has a more advanced and generalized solution. Musk argues that if Microsoft, and Tesla was tasked with producing a large language model akin to ChatGPT, his company would emerge victorious.
Musk may rehire fired Twitter staff
During an interview with CNBC anchor David Faber, which is also broadcast as a Twitter space, Musk says he may rehire some of the staff he fired when he took over the company. At that time, Musk cut Twitter’s headcount by 80%, from 7,800 to about 1,500.
Some people who were let go probably shouldn’t have been. Desperate times call for desperate measures… Unfortunately, if you do it fast, there are some babies who will be thrown out.
Musk responds to Soros tweet criticism: ‘I’m a pro-semite’
During an interview with CNBC anchor David Faber, Musk is asked about his tweets that compared Soros to Magneto, and claimed he ‘hated humanity’, which led to accusations of anti-semitism from the Anti-Defamation League. Musk says he is not an anti-semite.
This is freedom of speech — I’m allowed to say what I want…I’m like a pro-semite, if anything…
Musk also says he will continue to speak freely even if it hurts Twitter, and his other companies, financially:
You know, I’m reminded of a scene in ‘The Princess Bride,’ great movie, where [Mandy Patinkin’s character, Inigo Montoya] confronts the person who kills his father. And he says, ‘Offer me money. Offer me power. I don’t care…I’ll say what I want to say, and if the consequence of that is losing money, so be it.
Elon Musk is asked about his Tweet saying George Soros reminds him of Magneto 🤣 pic.twitter.com/4gfsURVGIF
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) May 16, 2023
Musk: Soros like Magneto, ‘hates humanity’
After Soros sells all his Tesla stock, Musk says that Soros reminds him of the X-Men character, Magneto:
Reminds me of Magneto
When a Twitter user says that Magneto, like Soros, is a Holocaust survivor and has ‘good intentions’, Musk responds:
You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.
You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the very fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2023
Musk: U.S.-China tensions ‘should be a concern for everyone’
Asked if he was concerned about “the growing belligerence” between the U.S. and China, Musk says that people should be concerned about tension between the two nations.
I think that should be a concern for everyone.
Musk believes China wants to take control of Taiwan – a country Tesla depends on for processors.
The official policy of China is that Taiwan should be integrated. One does not need to read between the lines…I think you should take their word seriously.
The Chinese economy and the rest of the global economy are like conjoined twins. It would be like trying to separate conjoined twins. That’s the severity of the situation. And it’s actually worse for a lot of other companies that it is for Tesla. I mean, I’m not sure where you’re going to get an iPhone, for example. There are some constraints on our ability to expand in China, and so we’re making as many cars as we can. It’s not a demand issue.
Nadella: Musk ‘not correct’ about Microsoft controlling OpenAI
Nadella says Musk is “factually not correct” about Microsoft controlling OpenAI. Musk cofounded OpenAI in 2015, but left its board in 2018 over potential conflicts of interest. He is now a vocal critic of the company, at one point saying it is a “maximum profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft,” which is “not what I intended at all.” Musk later repeated his claim:
In effect, Microsoft has a very strong say, if not directly controls OpenAI at this point.
Nadella says he is wrong:
First of all, I have a lot of respect for Elon and all that he does. I would just say that’s factually not correct. The last time I checked, we are the only for-profit company that is comfortable with a nonprofit company and a board controlling technology, and I would welcome others to do that as well.
"I would just say that's factually not correct," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says on Elon Musk's comment that Microsoft is now "controlling" OpenAI. https://t.co/qKdtoq56ET pic.twitter.com/20JJbPClEs
— CNBC (@CNBC) May 16, 2023
Musk: Virgin Islands Epstein subpoena ‘idiotic on so many levels’
Musk responds to the U.S. Virgin Islands government’s subpoena for documents in its lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase involving Jeffrey Epstein, calling it “idiotic” and “absurd.” and denying ever bsing advised by him. The government said its investigation revealed JPMorgan “knowingly, recklessly and unlawfully provided and pulled the levers through which Epstein’s recruiters and victims were paid.”
This is idiotic on so many levels:
1. That cretin never advised me on anything whatsoever.
2. The notion that I would need or listen to financial advice from a dumb crook is absurd.
3. JPM let Tesla down ten years ago, despite having Tesla’s global commercial banking business, which we then withdrew. I have never forgiven them.
This is idiotic on so many levels:
1. That cretin never advised me on anything whatsoever.
2. The notion that I would need or listen to financial advice from a dumb crook is absurd.
3. JPM let Tesla down ten years ago, despite having Tesla’s global commercial banking…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 16, 2023
Musk to personally approve all Tesla hires
Musk tells Tesla employees in an email that he wants to personally approve every new hire at the company (which hires about 30,000 people per year). He says that he wants to get a better understanding of hiring at Tesla.
No one can join Tesla, even as a contractor, until you receive my email approval.