Posted on 02/23/2021 6:26:44 PM PST by SeekAndFind
To borrow from an old Jim Croce song, you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, and you don’t mess around with Elon Musk. Particularly if you’re the Washington Post and you’re owned by Jeff Bezos, the erstwhile richest guy on the planet.
Did I mention the top spot currently belongs to the aforementioned Mr. Musk?
As our friends over at Twitchy noted, you’d think by now WaPo would know better than to purposely tangle with Musk. The two richest people on the planet — Musk currently sits on top with an estimated net worth of $197 billion, with Bezos in the two-spot at $182 billion, as updated by Investopedia on January 19 — have been at one another for years.
Our story begins with WaPo on Tuesday publishing a less-than-flattering piece about Musk, as it relates to Tesla, titled “Elon Musk moved to Texas and embraced celebrity. Can Tesla run on Autopilot?” with the subhead: Investors fear a world where Musk no longer leads the company. But his attention is already going elsewhere.”
Game on.
Elon Musk moved to Texas and embraced celebrity. Can Tesla run on Autopilot? https://t.co/IyubUhSEMt
— Post Business (@washpostbiz) February 23, 2021
Here are a few excerpts — for “color,” as they say.
Elon Musk says he is stretched too thin.
Twice in a matter of days recently, the 49-year old complained of what he called an “insane” work schedule, juggling responsibilities with his car company and aerospace firm and taking in “torrents of information” in wall-to-wall meetings.
But critics say the rigors of Musk’s personal schedule, and the seeming cult of personality that has developed around him, are beginning to show in the car company he runs — the one that he took from an upstart pioneer in electric vehicles to the world’s most valuable automaker.
Musk, they say, is drowning in outside commitments like his aerospace company and other endeavors while letting quality — and strategy — at Tesla fall victim. And there are familiar concerns.
The Post then quoted multiple “proof sources,” no doubt selected to bolster the desired conclusion it came to before the first line was written. One of those sources was Ross Gerber, a Tesla investor and supporter of Musk, who is close to the company.
“There have been years past where some of his behavior was horrifying and had huge costs, especially from his little tussle with the SEC. And he’s come a long way. What I’m worried about is his success makes him a little bit loose again.”
In a regulatory filing earlier this month, the company highlighted the risk it takes by relying so much on Musk, reported WaPo.
“We are highly dependent on the services of Elon Musk, our Chief Executive Officer and largest stockholder,” Tesla said in the filing, in language unusual for the way it cited a corporate CEO’s numerous outside commitments. “Although Mr. Musk spends significant time with Tesla and is highly active in our management, he does not devote his full time and attention to Tesla.”
And the following, from Ed Niedermeyer, author of “Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors”, the source of WaPo’s “cult of personality” reference:
“There isn’t a culture at Tesla really other than ‘let’s do what Elon wants to do.’ It [is] clearly reflected [in] Elon’s increasing isolation inside the company. He becomes more powerful and that power sort of isolates him more and more.”
In another example, WaPo went after Musk’s “public meltdown” during a Tesla earnings call in April — “raging against California officials’ shutdown orders in an expletive-laden rant.”
“To say that they cannot leave their house and they will be arrested if they do, this is fascist,” Musk said on the call, adding: “This is not democratic — this is not freedom.”
Amen, Elon — preach it.
The article took several more shots at Musk, and to be fair, included several acknowledgments of the success of the somewhat eccentric multibillionaire, but it was definitely a hit piece, Wapo-style, meaning “written in a professional manner while ‘subtly’ twisting the knife along the way.”
So imagine you’re Elon Musk, reading the article.
You’ve dislodged, at least for now, Jeff Bezos as the richest guy in the Universe, your car company is the most valuable car company in the world, SpaceX —your “rocket company,” as described by WaPo — has safely ferried American astronauts to the International Space Station and back, the first time that’s happened aboard an American spacecraft in ten years, and the newspaper owned by the “I’m number two!, I’m number 2!” guy, with whom you’ve had a running “spat” for years, does a not-so-subtle hit piece on you.
How would you react? Here’s how Musk reacted, via WaPo.
Tesla did not respond to repeated requests for comment. In response to emails seeking comment, Musk replied only: “
Give my regards to your puppet master.”
Game, set, match. Thanks for playing.
Quote of the day: "Give my regards to your puppet master [Jeff Bezos]," Elon Musk said in response to the Washington Post's request for comment on an article published by the newspaper today. pic.twitter.com/YItMCHiF2X
— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) February 23, 2021
As properly called by our friend Benny Johnson:
@Elonmusk just Rekt Bezos.
Pretty sure that left a mark.
.@Elonmusk just Rekt Bezos pic.twitter.com/vkKh2Fk43x
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) February 23, 2021
A brutal beatdown in just seven words. Of Jeff Bezos. Impressive. Gotta love that.
Funny..... imagine pecker head Bezos in a fight
He should have added “He, like your newsrags’ reporting will always be #2!”
That's why he came to Texas.
They pimp ‘bout to get stingy.
Elon and Jeff want to make sure they Biden’s Bottom Bitch.
Who does #2 work for?
Elon Musk gets points because his “partner” is indie rock star Grimes.
I only ever disliked his affinity for taking public dollars and profiting off of the green carbon credit BS.
Very, VERY hard to give him a pass on those crimes, regardless of his one liners and calling out CA liberals.
Yes he did. It was a great speech. We we very proud Americans that day. Daring to dream.
Give my regards to your puppet master.
—
Epic. With an echo of Heinlein, where His book “The Puppet Masters” revolved around aliens who controlled people thru a hive mind, much like modern day leftists.
RE: Elon Musk gets points because his “partner” is indie rock star Grimes.
They are both ODD people that’s for sure.
What parents in the world would name their child - X Æ A-Xii”? I can’t even pronounce the name.
According to an image of the birth certificate released by TMZ, the letter “X” is the child’s first name, and his middle name is “AE A-XII”.
Bezos IS a niedermeyer!
Musk rocks!
Thanks, Elon.
*** I only ever disliked his affinity for taking public dollars and profiting off of the green carbon credit BS.***
I think you and I are the only ones who recognize that fact.
He’s a 1st generation immigrant. He knows why he loves this country.
I never really understood why he built a plant in California in the first place - decades after all the major auto manufactures packed up and left in the 1970s and 1980s. They turned the old GM plant in Los Angeles into a shopping mall so we can buy cheaply made overpriced Chinese wares.
California has thrived in spite of itself. Scared off nearly all the auto and aerospace, the only exception being relatively small and specialty parts manufacturers. Lots of movies and TV are filmed in Georgia and Toronto these days. Somehow a miraculous new industry (e.g. tech) fills the void left by previous titans of industry. But I think it’s due to CA having more luck than brains as my mother-in-law often says. Sure, it’s a wonderful place to live if not for all the people and policies and regulations and taxes.
Taxpayers, through dumas politicians, created a way for him to sell $100’s of millions a year in carbon credits. Is he going to say no? I remember a few years back Tesla announced a surprise profit for the year, which was accounted for entirely by forward selling of carbon credits to automakers in Detroit at a discount. Something like $750 million to the bottom line. Nonsensical but nobody is going to turn that down.
Delos D. Harriman lives!
I have to say that over time I have become a big fan of Elon Musk.
I’d have grabbed the wads o’cash, too, if I could. Libtards all but giving it away.
I bet Musk has recovered every dime he ever paid in taxes, and then some. And every hapless sod who voted Democrat fully deserves to have their taxes dumped into the pockets of shrewd capitalists who aren’t afraid to step forward and take it when it’s offered.
And, as they bark at the moon about it, I’m A-OK donating my part to watch greeniacs get willingly fleeced over their blind adherence to their false gods.
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