White denies Musk-Zuckerberg fight is a ‘gimmick’
Dana White denies that the Musk-Zuckerberg fight is a “gimmick.” In a video on Twitter, White can be seen wearing a UFC-branded t-shirt with the words ‘ZUCKERBERG -VS- MUSK’ on it. In the video’s comments section, some people suggest that the fight is a publicity stunt, to which White says:
This isn’t a gimmick fight. Gimmick is MMA guys going to Boxing and getting beat. We have seen it already and know how it ends. This is a fight between 2 of the most powerful / richest guys in the world. Who will win? Who has seen this before? NOBODY. It’s also a crossover fight that literally EVERY EVERYONE will watch.
Keep watching MMA vs. Boxer in boxing. Apparently u love those fights even though u KNOW EXACTLY who’s gonna win. All good.
— danawhite (@danawhite) June 25, 2023
White: Musk-Zuckerberg ‘cage match’ PPV would cost $100, bring in over $1 billion
White says he spoke with both billionaires about their cage match challenge:
Mark Zuckerberg hit me up first and said ‘is he serious?’
The Tesla CEO told him:
Yeah, I’m dead serious.
White says he is in the early stages of planning the fight, but said the $100 pay=per-view cost would bring three times more revenue than Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather in 2017, which brought in more than $600 million (Mayweather took home $275 million, McGregor 85 million .
This would be the biggest fight ever in the history of the world, bigger than anything that’s ever been done. It would break all pay-per-view records. I think it triples [Mayweather-McGregor]. There’s no limit on what this thing can make. I don’t think either one of them needs the money. These guys would raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity. If these guys are serious, I make fights that people want to see. That’s what I do for a living.
Biographer: Musk lacks empathy in ‘demon mode’
Musk biographer Walter Isaacson says Musk can enter into “demon mode” to become highly productive. After shadowing the entrepreneur for two years at home and in the workplace, Isaacson says Musk has a “maniacal sense of urgency” and a “dark streak” that can intimidate his employees. He thinks Musk’s criticism of employees is “problematic” about 20% of the time. Isaacson says going into “demon mode” causes Musk to be “dark” and act “with a real lack of empathy,” and says Musk told him that prioritizing empathy to a single person over a larger goal at hand is “egotism.”
He’d go dark and I’d know that he was just going to rip that person apart.
Peterson asks Musk if he’ll fight Zuckerberg naked
While reposting an article about the Musk-Zuckerberg cage match, Jordan Peterson asks Musk on Twitter whether they will fight naked or clothed. Peterson has been tweeting about the match between Musk and Zuckerberg in recent days and now that he is asking this, he also suggests that there should “be oil involved.” The article headline mentions Musk challenging Zuckerberg to the match, to which Peterson replies:
Naked or clothed? @elonmusk
And there should definitely be oil involved 🙂
And there should definitely be oil involved 🙂
— Dr Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) June 22, 2023
Andrew Tate to Musk: ‘I will train you’
Former professional kickboxer and light-heavyweight champion Andrew Tate offers to train Musk for his cage fight against Mark Zuckerberg, whom Tate calls “the enemy clans leader.”
I will train you @elonmusk. You will not lose.
Tate was banned from Meta’s platforms in 2022 and is currently on house arrest after being criminally charged with rape and human trafficking in Eastern Europe. Musk has not yet responded.
Meta banned me everywhere for telling the truth about vaccines.
But now we can restore honour with a strike at the enemy clans leader.
I will train you @elonmusk.
You will not lose.
— Andrew Tate (@Cobratate) June 22, 2023
Musk: Twitter ‘didn’t have a choice’ but to obey Indian government
In response to Dorsey’s claim that the Indian government asked him to block Twitter accounts covering the 2020-21 farmers’ protests, Musk says Twitter had no choice but to obey. The platform has to follow the laws formulated by governments, he says, or else they will shut it down. But, Musk adds that even though Twitter has to comply with regulations imposed by different governments, it will strive to ensure that users continue to have access to a platform with “the freest speech” possible.
Twitter didn’t have a choice, but to obey local government laws. We cannot apply America to Earth. There are different rules and regulations for different forms of governments, and we will do our best to provide the freest speech that is possible under the law.
Musk: ‘cis’ or ‘cisgender’ considered ‘slurs’ on Twitter
Replying to a user who claimed to have been targeted by pro-trans activists, Musk says the words ‘cis’ or ‘cisgender’ – which are used by transgender activists to label people who are not transgender – are now ‘considered slurs’ on Twitter. He considers their repeated use against others “targeted harassment” (though users may call themselves “anything” they want) and warns that people who use them that way will face account suspensions “at minimum.” Commenting on a poll in which the majority of respondents said they consider “cis” a slur, Musk also says that “people overwhelmingly reject” the term.
Repeated, targeted harassment against any account will cause the harassing accounts to receive, at minimum, temporary suspensions.
The words “cis” or “cisgender” are considered slurs on this platform.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 21, 2023
Musk: Biden’s tax plans will ‘upset a lot of donors’
A little over an hour after President Biden tweets:
It’s about time the super-wealthy start paying their fair share.
Musk responds:
I agree that we should make elaborate tax-avoidance schemes illegal, but acting upon that would upset a lot of donors, so we will see words, but no action. Those who will actually be forced to carry the burden of excess government spending are lower to middle income wage earners, as they cannot escape payroll tax.
In all seriousness, I agree that we should make elaborate tax-avoidance schemes illegal, but acting upon that would upset a lot of donors, so we will see words, but no action.
Those who will actually be forced to carry the burden of excess government spending are lower to…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 18, 2023
Musk: Tesla’s market cap directly tied to solving autonomous driving
At Paris’ VivaTech innovation conference, Musk says Tesla’s market capitalization is directly tied to whether it can solve autonomous driving. French businessman Antoine Arnault ribs Musk about Tesla’s $827 billion market cap, noting it dwarfs LVMH’s valuation. Musk says he has little insight into stock price movements and suggests that Tesla’s market cap is tied to whether the company is able to perfect autonomous driving technology (he has been saying for several years that Tesla is close to solving autonomous driving, but the company’s cars still only provide advanced driver assistance features).
Valuations are a strange thing. Sometimes I’ve said, ‘Hey, I think the stock price is too high at Tesla,’ and then the stock price goes up. I’m like, ‘okay.’…Really the value of the company is primarily on the basis of autonomy. If you look at our total vehicle output, it’s almost two million vehicles this year or something like that. But that’s still only 2% of total vehicle production. The potential for autonomy is that the value of autonomy is so high, that even if you have a discount, a percentage probability of autonomy happening, that is so incredibly valuable.
He also repeats the idea of Tesla owners turning their vehicles into a fleet of self-driving robotaxis, which he once said would be implemented by 2020.
Musk: ‘Battery supply constraints’ delaying Tesla Semi production
Speaking at an energy conference in Texas, Musk says Tesla does not expect to start higher-volume production of the Semi Class 8 electric semi-truck before late 2024. He cites battery supply constraints as the reason. Musk did not explain exactly what “higher-volume production” means for the Semi, a niche Tesla product built at Gigafactory Nevada that Musk considers essential for accelerating the company’s transition to more sustainable energy.
Yaccarino sends first memo to Twitter employees
Yaccarino sends her first communication to Twitter employees. In a 320-word memo, she writes that Twitter is “on a mission” to become a “global town square for communication” and says that the “success of Twitter 2.0 is all of our responsibility.” She also mentions thinking “big,” starting from “first principles,” and “building something new from the ground up.”
From space exploration to electric vehicles, Elon knew these industries needed transformation, so he did it. More recently it has become increasingly clear that the global town square needs transformation — to drive civilization forward through the unfiltered exchange of information and open dialogue about the things that matter most to us.
Hello Twitter.
People keep asking me: Why Twitter?
So, I’ll tell you. 👇— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) June 12, 2023
Musk: Unabomber ‘might not be wrong’
In response to a tweet quoting the “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, Musk says that he may not have been wrong in what he said. (Kaczynski was an opponent of modern technology who created homemade bombs that caused 16 explosions, killing three people and injuring 23 others between the years 1978 and 1995.) Kaczynski wrote:
The Industrial Revolution and its consequences have been a disaster for the human race.
Musk:
He might not be wrong
He might not be wrong
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2023
Musk laughs at Bill Miller’s Tesla short fail
Musk tweets a laughing emoji at the legendary investor Bill Miller for shorting Tesla stock when it was less than half its current value. In a CNBC interview, Miller said that he was betting against Tesla because of increased industry competition. At that time, the company’s market value was around $357 billion, but now it stands at $774.6 billion – a 116% increase. Its stock price was at $244.40 as of last market close. The increase was fueled partly by investor hopes that the Federal Reserve would ease its interest-rate-hike campaign, along with a pickup in demand for Tesla vehicles because of price cuts in China and the US. Miller:
I shorted it recently. I shorted more today. If it goes up, I’ll short more. Tesla is now losing market share. They’re cutting price. BYD is introducing a luxury version over in China. It’s a phenomenal company, but it’s not worth $380 billion, in my opinion. I just don’t think it’s worth more than the top five automakers in the world combined. And all of them are coming with electric vehicles.
🤣
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 10, 2023
Musk invites liberal TV hosts to Twitter
In a pinned tweet, Musk invites liberal television hosts (Rachel Maddow, Don Lemon and “others”) to bring their shows to Twitter to try and balance out Tucker Carlson’s presence on the platform. (This is the second time he has invited Lemon to start a show there.)
It’d be great to have @maddow, @donlemon, & others on the left put their shows on this platform. No exclusivity or legal docs required! You will receive our full support. The digital town square is for all.
It’d be great to have @maddow, @donlemon & others on the left put their shows on this platform. No exclusivity or legal docs required!
You will receive our full support. The digital town square is for all. https://t.co/v1Yse6TQ6u
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 8, 2023
Netanyahu ‘greatly’ appreciates Musk’s ‘contribution to humanity’
After speaking on the phone with Musk, Netanyahu calls him “a person whose intelligence and contribution to humanity I greatly appreciate.” In his account of their “long” conversation, the prime minister says the two discussed artificial intelligence – something Netanyahu says he wants more of for Israel, and plans to convene a team about it. He adds:
[Musk] expressed his view that Israel could become a significant global player in the field. Just as we turned Israel into a global cyber power, we will also do so in artificial intelligence.
Irwin confirms resignation
Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, confirms her resignation from the company in a pair of tweets. She does not say why she resigned, but the move comes just after Musk criticized Twitter’s handling of tweets about a documentary that questions transgender medical treatment for children and teens. Irwin says “one or two people noticed” that she left Twitter the day before and notes speculation about whether she was fired or quit. She also jokes about posting 24 tweets to explain her departure.
In all seriousness, I did resign but this has been a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so thankful to have worked with this amazing team of passionate, creative and hardworking people. Will be cheering you all and Twitter as you go!
Just kidding folks. 😂 There’s no thread. In all seriousness, I did resign but this has been a once in a lifetime experience and I’m so thankful to have worked with this amazing team of passionate, creative and hardworking people. Will be cheering you all and Twitter as you go!
— Ella Irwin (@ellagirwin) June 3, 2023
Musk predicts lawsuits against Target
Musk predicts lawsuits against Target after the company’s value sinks more than $15 billion following boycotts over its controversial “PRIDE” collection. Reacting on Twitter to conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, who wrote:
BREAKING: JP Morgan just downgraded Target’s stock, after its longest losing streak in 23 years citing “too many concerns rising’. Happy Pride Month Target!!
Musk says:
Won’t be long before there are class-action lawsuits by shareholders against the company and board of directors for destruction of shareholder value.
Kirk replied to Musk by encouraging legal action against the company.
Won’t be long before there are class-action lawsuits by shareholders against the company and board of directors for destruction of shareholder value
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 2, 2023
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
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