Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s tactics include public embarrassment of NDA and alleged enemies
If Elon Musk is able to take charge of Twitter Inc., his biggest promise is to transform it into a platform for freedom of speech, with some restrictions – which he calls “essential for effective democracy.” Kasturi, however, who is notoriously sensitive to criticism, has a mixed record as a champion.
The 50-year-old billionaire has donated more than 6 million to the American Civil Liberties Union over the past five years, making him one of its most notable donors, and he has spoken openly with the organization’s executive director at numerous events. But in his tweets, public comments, and the policy of the business he conducts, Musk shows little tolerance for speeches that make him or her company unprepared, or reflect the criticism of employees at work.
At Tesla Inc. and at SpaceX, Mask has a long track record of publicly criticizing or punishing anyone who criticizes a project or practice. Employees must sign non-disclosure agreements and arbitration clauses that prevent their employer from taking them to court.
Meanwhile, Musk uses his Twitter account, which has more than 80 million followers and a fan base that he can publicly ridicule others, from local health officials in the early days of the epidemic to current Twitter CEO Parag Agarwal. .
Musk defined Twitter’s goal at a TED event last week: “A good sign of freedom of speech is: are you allowed to tell someone you don’t like something you don’t like?” If so, we have freedom of speech. “
But those who have said things that did not like the mask have seen their reputation trash in public. Vernon Unsworth, a British caveman who helped rescue 12 boys trapped in Thailand, described Musk’s efforts to help a “PR stunt” in 2018. Musk retaliates by calling him “Pedo Guy” He then paid $ 50,000 to a suspected personal investigator to dig into Unsworth’s background in the UK and Thailand. He also fired a reporter, Ryan Mack, who was covering Unsworth’s defamation suit against Musk.
That same year, Musk went after Martin Tripp, an employee at the Tesla battery plant in Nevada. Tripp sees himself as an idealist trying to improve the company’s operations; Musk saw him as a dangerous enemy who was involved in sabotage and shared data with the press and “unknown third parties”.
Tesla’s public relations department spread false rumors that Tripp was probably a homicide and threatened to “shoot the place”, although authorities had already determined that Tripp did not face any immediate threats and was not armed.
Another employee was fired six days after a YouTube video of its Tesla Model 3 went off the traffic pile while Tesla was using an “FSD beta” version of software that rolled out to approximately 100,000 people.
And then there’s the case of Jack Sweeney, a teenager from Florida who tracks private jets. A few months ago, Musk reached out to him and offered $ 5,000 to close the “Alonso Jet” account, Sweeney said. Musk sees this as a security risk. Sweeney wanted $ 50,000, which Mask refused. The billionaire then blocked some social media accounts linked to Suu Kyi.
If Musk was in charge of Twitter policy, he said he believed people should be blocked only as a last resort, according to his comments on TED. If it is a gray area, his choice would be to leave the content, he said.
It is difficult to get clarity on the statement made by Musk on Twitter as he has basically disbanded Tesla’s communications team in the US and rarely responds to financial newspaper inquiries. Several journalists covering Mask’s companies blocked him on Twitter. Mask did not respond to a request for comment via email.
In March, Musk called himself a “free speech absolutist” when he tweeted that Starlink – SpaceX’s satellite-based Internet service now operating in Ukraine – would not block Russian state-run news sources, which is supported by some social media platforms. Was cut. On time
Anthony Romero, ACLU’s executive director, said in an email that “he and I have talked about free speech issues on many occasions, and I know he is very passionate about defending freedom of speech.” Romero attended the TED conference in Vancouver last week, and he and Musk exchanged messages shortly after the on-stage conversation. “I believe Elon is a true civil libertarian.”
But Musk has already cited some examples where he believes content should be blocked on Twitter. At TED, he said Twitter should continue to remove content on a geographic basis, as the company is “bound by the laws of that country.” In Germany, for example, denying the Holocaust is against the law, so Twitter hides those tweets in that country.
Musk also said he wanted to ban cryptocurrency scammers from the site. The billionaire’s personality – and his popularity with crypto investors – has been used in the past to deceive people.
And on Thursday, he vowed to beat the spam bot “or try to die” if his Twitter bid succeeds.
Presenting a position similar to past statements by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platform Inc., Musk tweeted on Tuesday, “The policies of a social media platform are better if the extreme 10% of the left and right are equally dissatisfied.”
The risk is discouraging some people from using a platform because it feels insecure or vulnerable to abuse.
Emma Lanso, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, says Musk focuses on the idea that free speech does not mean excluding anything. But if people stop talking for fear of intimidation or harassment, “it could actually exclude large groups and communities from participating in online discussions.”
While it is not clear if any of Musk’s tweets have been deleted by Twitter, his account has come under intense scrutiny by third parties, including the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which has been suing Musk since August 2018 for fraud for his infamous “fund-protected” tweet. The word was part of a message that he was considering taking Tesla personally and that it was sending shares growing.
Musk and Tesla ended the dispute by agreeing to pay প্রতি 20 million each without admitting wrongdoing. Musk agreed not to tweet about specific issues without prior approval from Tesla’s lawyer.
Another tweet from Musk was verified by the National Labor Relations Board. That post, from 2018, threatened workers that they would lose stock options if they formed a union.
But it is Twitter’s own attempt to curb the rhetoric that has recently drawn criticism from Musk. He says the company should resort less frequently to ban users. This has led to speculation that Musk could reinstate former President Donald Trump’s account if he owns Twitter.
“It’s always difficult when you give people the responsibility to decide what should be given or what should not be allowed,” said Clay Calvert, director of the First Amendment Project at the University of Florida’s Marion B. Brechner. “One answer for those who object to Twitter’s content moderation policy is to form your own company.”
Or, in the case of masks, buy Twitter.
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