Category Archives: Elon Musk

Elon Musk has insisted that his companies are "good for the future of humanity."

The 50-year-old business magnate - who is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and recently paid $44 billion to take over social network Twitter - claimed that he does "a lot of things philanthropically" and claimed that his companies "accelerate" sustainability.

He said: "I do do a lot of things philanthropically. Really, my companies are intended to do good for the future of humanity,. With Tesla trying to accelerate the advances in sustainable transport and energy and SpaceX is um providing internet to the lesser [served] people of the world."

The entrepreneur - who is ranked as the richest man in the world with an estimated net worth of almost $265 billion - added that he is able to help war-torn country Ukraine and that his business ventures will ultimately help the "future of civilisation."

Speaking on the red carpet at the 2022 Met Gala on Monday (02.05.22), he told Entertainment Tonight: "We are able to help Ukraine with the Starlink terminals and give connectivity, particularly in some of the hardest hit areas. So, aspirationally, I am trying to do good for humanity and the future of civilisation."(sic)

The billionaire - who split from pop singer Grimes in September 2021 - took his mother and former model Maye to the glamorous event, who joked that although she told him not to "take on the universe", he "never listens" to her.

She said: "I told him not to take on the world and the universe and he didn't listen. He doesn't listen to his mom!"

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Elon Musk: My companies are good for the future of humanity - Inside NoVA

Which super-wealthy person comes to mind when you think of wise investing advice? I suspect that the top answer would be Warren Buffett. But there's another rich businessman who's dispensing some investing wisdom these days as well.

Elon Musk currently ranks as the wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth estimated at $246 billion. He's known more as an entrepreneur and maverick than he is as an investor. However, Musk just provided some great investing advice that you and I should absolutely follow.

Image source: Getty Images.

Musk is a prolific user of Twitter (TWTR -0.55%). Over the past weekend, though, he only tweeted once. But it was a tweet that every investor should read -- and heed.

We could sum up Musk's advice as three principles and a promise:

The first principle has a couple of important components. Note that Musk recommended buying "stock in several companies." Although he didn't specify how many stocks to buy, diversifying your investments across multiple stocks is a good idea.

The multibillionaire also provided his thoughts on what kinds of stocks to buy. He advised to invest in companies that make products and services that you believe in -- with an emphasis on the word "you."

Musk has practiced what he preaches on this front. Most of his net worth is in Tesla (TSLA 0.70%). Even his detractors probably would agree that Musk appears to truly believe in Tesla's electric vehicles and solar panels. Musk seems to be fully on board with Tesla's stated corporate mission "to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy."

His plan to acquire Twitter also fits. Although Musk has criticized some of Twitter's policies in the past, his public comments indicate that he values the potential of the platform.

Other Musk investments line up with this philosophy as well, including privately held SpaceX and The Boring Company.

Musk advised to only sell stocks when the products and services of the companies that you invest in "are trending worse." My interpretation of this is that he thinks the time to sell stocks is when your original premise for buying the stocks changes. In other words, if the point comes where you no longer believe in a company's products and services, sell the stock.

The third principle that Musk gave dovetails with his second principle. He urged that investors not panic when the market does. That's excellent advice.

Just look back to early 2020. Some investors did panic then when the stock market plunged. However, those who didn't do so went on to reap huge gains.

Granted, the stock market doesn't rebound so quickly after every major sell-off. But history shows that it does always come back.

Musk closed his tweet with a promise that following the principles he laid out "will serve you well in the long term." I think he's exactly right. And his specific mention of "the long term" is important. The best way to succeed with investing in stocks is to have a long-term mindset.

Musk is in good company with his investing advice. I'd even say that he's in great company.

Legendary investor Peter Lynch popularized the idea of "buying what you know." Warren Buffett has always focused on investing in businesses that he understands. Both views are similar to Musk's take to buy stocks of companies that make products and services you believe in.

Musk's advice lines up even better with the view of David Gardner, co-founder of The Motley Fool. Gardner's pinned tweet on Twitter since early 2021 states, "Make your portfolio reflect your best vision of our future."The advice to only sell when your underlying premise changes and to ignore market moves also match up with The Motley Fool's investing philosophy.

So does Musk's promise that following his principles will pay off over the long term. It's understandable for investors to be afraid and worried when stocks sink. But if you still believe in the company's long-term business prospects, stay the course.

Musk sometimes talks about the days several years ago when Tesla almost went bankrupt. He stuck to his guns then because he continued to believe in the company. If he hadn't, it's unlikely that he'd be the richest person in the world right now.

You probably won't agree with everything that Elon Musk says. I don't. However, I think that his latest investing advice is spot on. And -- as he tweeted -- following it "will serve you well in the long term."

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Elon Musk Just Gave Great Investing Advice You Should Absolutely Follow - The Motley Fool

As Elon Musks crusade against Twitter Inc. escalated from a war of words to a full-on takeover, he was egged on behind the scenes by a mix of voicesfrom fellow billionaires to internet trollswith their own beefs with the social-media platform.

In Mr. Musk, a serial entrepreneur with a hard Twitter habit, these men found a vessel for pent-up animosity over the companys content moderation and management. One of them had a very personal stake: Twitters co-founder and former Chief Executive Jack Dorsey, who resigned last year under pressure from his board, was whispering in Mr. Musks ear that Twitter should be a private company, people familiar with the matter say.

Now that Twitters board has accepted Mr. Musks $44 billion buyout offer, the Tesla Inc. CEO and worlds richest person is positioned to act on years of grievance and mold the platform in his own maverick image.

Mr. Musk declined to be interviewed, and it isnt clear whether he took any of their advice to heart or merely followed his own gut. Likewise, he has been cagey about his plans for the platform should he complete the deal, beyond his oft-stated feelings that speech on Twitterwhich he has said he views as the town square of the digital ageshould be unfettered so long as it doesnt violate the law.

People who have spoken to him and his team recently say Mr. Musk remains dismayed that former President Donald Trump is still barred from the platform.

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If Mr. Musk, as he has signaled, moves toward a true Twitter free-for-all, it could unleash other even more schismatic personalities. The right-wing provocateur Charles C. Johnson, banned in 2015 for tweets asking for fundraising for taking out a prominent Black Lives Matter activist, has already seized on the chance for clemency.

When Mr. Johnson saw Mr. Musks offer to buy the company, he texted Mr. Musks point man on the deal, Jared Birchall, head of the billionaires personal investment office.

When do I get my Twitter account back? Mr. Johnson asked.

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Hopefully soon, Mr. Birchall responded.

In an interview, Mr. Johnson said that, while he does want to regain his account, he doesnt plan to return to regular tweeting, noting: Im over Twitter.

Before and during Mr. Musks breakneck takeover of Twitter, a close-knit group of libertarian-leaning activists and businessmen have been encouraging him to get involved. This group includes the so-called PayPal mafiaformer executives at the online payments company who include Mr. Musk, the investor Peter Thiel and entrepreneur David Sacksas well as ancillary figures like the venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, an early Tesla investor who once served on the auto makers board; and Mr. Musks brother, Kimbal, a Tesla board member, according to people familiar with the matter.

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Their involvementand Mr. Musks continued willingness to hear them outmay help explain one of the great mysteries of his Twitter obsession: With all the problems in the world, why has Mr. Musk decided he alone can fix it?

Mr. Musks dalliance with Twitter began uneventfully enough. His first tweet, in June 2010, announced his presence on the platform. The second came about 18 months later: Went to Iceland on Sat to ride bumper cars on ice! Just 30 people replied.

By 2015, tweeting had become a near-daily habit for Mr. Musk. He often posted in the middle of the workday during a period in which Tesla was struggling to make its first electric SUVs. He sometimes replied to major public figures, like Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and the D.J. deadmau5, but otherwise stuck mostly to updates on Teslas vehicles and rocket launches at his Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX.

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His tweeting soon rose rapidly. He began regularly interacting with fans and detractors and tweeted more than six times a day on average in 2018. Your math isnt very good, he wrote to one journalist who was critical of Tesla. Asked by another why he was spending so much time tweeting, he wrote: Because Twitter is fun.

His interest in the platform grew even as it helped land him in legal trouble. Memorable tweets included ones suggesting a British cave explorer was a pedophile and another saying he was considering taking Tesla private and had funding secured to do so. He successfully fended off a lawsuit on the former, after arguing his taunt wasnt meant to be taken literally, and paid $20 million to securities regulators in a settlement related to the latter.

To a public-relations consultant who urged him to keep a lower profile on the platform, Mr. Musk in 2018 wrote in an email subsequently made public in litigation, Will tweet as I wish and suffer the consequencesso it goes.

His tweeting has only increased since that settlement, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.

It wasnt long after, friends and associates say, that Mr. Musks agita with the platform began to grow. He was tweeting an average of nine times a day in 2020 when former Twitter executives say they became aware of his budding friendship with then-CEO Mr. Dorsey.

While Mr. Dorsey was on stage at a Twitter all-hands event in Houston in early 2020, he called Mr. Musk on FaceTime. Mr. Dorsey plugged his iPad into the stages jumbo screen, and employees cheered as Mr. Musks face lighted up the room.

Mr. Dorsey asked Mr. Musk to choose a single tweet to represent himself.

I put the art in fart, replied Mr. Musk, then 48 years old.

The two billionaires occasionally replied to each other on Twitter, and often traded private messages. One former Twitter executive said Mr. Dorsey would sometimes appear to space out in meetings because he was messaging Mr. Musk during the workday.

The two mens shared interests, the former executives said, included exploring whether Twitter could be run more effectively as a private company, as it had been for its first seven years, after Mr. Dorsey launched it with several co-founders. Messrs. Dorsey and Musk were focused primarily on Twitters role as a potential public good, rather than a business focused on short-term profits.

After his exit, Mr. Dorsey turned openly critical of the company and its board of directors, many of whom he put in their roles.

The storming of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 last year created a fissure between Mr. Musks views and the companys. In the lead-up to the riot, Mr. Trump posted tweets that Twitter executives viewed as inciting violence. Mr. Dorsey initially opposed banning Mr. Trump from the platform, but grew to see the move as necessary under Twitters rules, people familiar with the decision said.

The move riled Mr. Musk, who had previously described himself as half Democrat half Republican and endorsed Andrew Yang for the Democratic nomination in 2020.

Mr. BirchallMr. Musks de facto No. 2in a text message to an associate described his bosss view as: He vehemently disagrees with censoring. Especially for a sitting president. Insane. Mr. Trump has said he has no plans to tweet again.

Despite their disagreement over how to handle Mr. Trumps account, the friendship between Messrs. Musk and Dorsey persisted. They stayed in contact over the past year as Mr. Dorsey, who typically keeps a long beard and a nose ring, started spending much of his time in French Polynesia, Hawaii and Costa Rica, where he pursued a meditation practice, according to people close to him.

Elon is the singular solution I trust, Mr. Dorsey tweeted on April 25, the day Twitter accepted Mr. Musks bid. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.

If Mr. Musk makes good on his bid, Mr. Dorsey, who didnt respond to requests for comment, stands to walk away with nearly $1 billion for his Twitter stake.

This January, as Twitters stock languished near two-year lows, Mr. Musk began buying up shares, according to filings. Though his stake would remain a secret for more than two months, his interest in the platform was palpable to some around him.

One investor in Mr. Musks companies who spoke to him during the buildup said the Tesla CEO was agitated by what he viewed as Twitters pattern of plausible deniabilityof blaming content moderation decisions on an algorithm. That argument, broadly shared by those on the political right, posits that Twitter favors certain tweets and buries others further down on user feeds.

Twitter has said its platform is designed to surface high-quality information.

In March, Mr. Musk placed a call to Seth Dillon, the CEO of the Babylon Bee. The Bee, a right-leaning satirical publication modeled after The Onion, had been suspended from Twitter for a tweet that mocked a prominent transgender female government official as Man of the Year. During the call, according to Mr. Dillon, Mr. Musk asked to confirm that it was true that the website had been suspended for the infraction, and mused that he might need to buy Twitter.

His stake was already public by April 13, the day before Mr. Musk was slated to sit for an interview with TED leader Chris Anderson at the TED conference in Vancouver. After flying into the city, Mr. Musk headed to a Nordstrom store to pick up a suit, according to a person familiar with the matter. That evening, he gathered with a small group, including Mr. Anderson and Mr. Jurvetson, who parted ways with his namesake venture-capital firm in 2017 after the firm launched an internal investigation about his behavior toward women, among other matters. He later left the Tesla board, but continues as a director of privately held SpaceX.

Over dinner in a private dining room at a local restaurant, Mr. Musk didnt show much interest in talking about Twitter, one attendee said. Instead, he asked those at the table to share their theories about the meaning of life.

The next day, Mr. Musk disclosed that he was seeking to take over Twitter.

Since then, further requests have publicly rolled Mr. Musks way, including from the halls of Congress. Sen. Josh Hawley, (R., Mo.), this week congratulated Mr. Musk on his catch and urged him to investigate the companys decisions to suspend users and to downrank stories about a laptop belonging to President Bidens son. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, (R., Ga.), whose personal account was banned for repeating Covid-19 misinformation, said she would apply for reinstatement.

Mr. Musk is now engaged in a crusade about a reinstatement of a different sort. On Wednesday, he wrote, presumably in jest, that he would buy the Coca-Cola Co. in order to restore cocaine to its formula. On Thursday, he repeated the joke, tagging Cokes official account this time.

Inti Pacheco and Siobhan Hughes contributed to this article.

Write to Rob Copeland at rob.copeland@wsj.com, Georgia Wells at georgia.wells+1@wsj.com, Rebecca Elliott at rebecca.elliott@wsj.com and Liz Hoffman at liz.hoffman@wsj.com

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The Shadow Crew Who Encouraged Elon Musks Twitter Takeover - The Wall Street Journal

Unlike most business magnates and celebrities, Elon Musk has been incessant with his tweets. On Monday afternoon, the worlds richest man replied to an engineering-related tweet that confused the internet.

A Twitter account World of Engineering, which goes by the Twitter handle @engineers_feed, shared picture of a chart that showed different types of values and simply captioned it Types of valves.

The innocuous tweet, whose target audience must have been engineering enthusiasts, suddenly went viral after Musk, who recently acquired Twitter for $44 billion, commented on it.

Replying to the tweet, Musk wrote, Sphincter valve? and soon his replay gathered over 20,000 tweets in less than four hours, while the tweet by World of Engineering got over 17,000 likes.

Verywell Health, a website that covers health and medical issues, says sphincter valves are circular muscles that open and close certain parts of the body. Sphincters in the digestive tract open to allow food, bile, or digestive enzymes to go from one part of the body to another.

The netizens were confused about why Musk mentioned a biological valve when the conversation was clearly about machine values used in engineering.

I feel like you @elonmusk bought tweeter to make these kind of inside jokes. Am I right? If yes its such a genius move , a Twitter user commented. While another person remarked, How many of you just googled sphincter valve coz Elon said it?.

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Elon Musk replied to a tweet related to valves, and the internet is confused - The Indian Express

Twitter Inc(NYSE:TWTR) said that according to an internal review conducted by the company, false or spam accounts during the first quarter of 2022 represented fewer than 5% of its monetizable daily active users (mDAUs).

What Happened:The social media platform said in the Monday filing with the U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) that it had made improvements in its spam detection capabilities, which has led to the suspension of a large number of spam, malicious automation, and fake accounts.

Twitter said it intends to continue making such improvements.

See Also:How To Buy Twitter (TWTR) Shares

Why It Matters:Twitter said it had 229 million mDAUs, which is ayear-over-year increase of 15.9%.

After we determine an account is spam, malicious automation, or fake, we stop counting it in our mDAU, or other related metrics, said Twitter on Monday.

Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEOElon Muskis all set to take Twitterprivatein a $44 billion deal.

Last month, Musk tweeted that if the bid led by him succeeded, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying!

Recently, billionaireMark Cubansuggested usingDogecoin(CRYPTO:DOGE) totackle Twitter spam. Musk liked the idea of the Dallas Mavericks owner.

Price Action:On Monday, Twitter shares closed 0.3% higher at $49.18 in the regular session and rose 0.1% in extended trading. On the same day, Tesla shares closed 3.7% higher at $902.94 in regular trading and rose 0.45% in the after-hours session, according todata from Benzinga Pro.

Read Next:Elon Musk Reacts To WSJ Report That 'Shadow Crew' Of Billionaires Including Peter Thiel Pushed Him To Buy Twitter

2022 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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Elon Musk Plans Crusade On Twitter Spam And Bots New Data Reveals The Size Of His Problem - Benzinga - Benzinga

In a recent U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, Tesla Inc. reiterated its pro-Bitcoin position stating that bitcoin has long-term potential and is a liquid alternative to cash.

The filing also confirmed that the electric car maker did not sell any of its bitcoin holdings since the quarter prior.

During the first quarter of 2021, Tesla invested an aggregate of $1.5 billion in bitcoin, per an SEC filing at the time. Within that filing, Tesla provided information explaining how the investment would provide us with more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash that is not required to maintain adequate operating liquidity.

Tesla also stated its intentions to accept bitcoin as a means of payment for goods and services in the future in the Q1 2021 filing. News of the investment spread across all forms of media and Elon Musk, the companys CEO, became more active in discussions involving bitcoin.

On April 26, 2021 the initial investment for means of liquidity was strengthened when Musk took to Twitter in order to defend Teslas choice to sell 10% of its bitcoin holdings during Q2 2021 stating:

Tesla sold 10% of its holdings essentially to prove liquidity of Bitcoin as an alternative to holding cash on balance sheet, he wrote.

The SEC filing referencing the aforementioned sale netted Tesla a gain of $128 million. However, in June 13, 2021 Musk capitulated to market environmental concerns as he stated bitcoin needed to use more clean energy, thereby removing the option to receive bitcoin as payment until there was verifiable information showing confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend, he said.

On October 14, 2021 it was reported that Tesla was up over $1 billion on its initial investment into bitcoin. More recently, April 8, 2022 Tesla announced a partnership with BlockStream and Block, noting that Tesla energy equipment would be leveraged for a $12 million bitcoin mining facility.

In full circle, Tesla entered the bitcoin ecosystem with a massive $1.5 billion BTC buy, took action for the environment as it believed was necessary, held its BTC reserves, and returned to the ecosystem as a clean bitcoin mining participant.

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Bitcoin Is A Liquid Alternative To Cash Says Elon Musks Tesla - Bitcoin Magazine

Elon Musk has lined up a new CEO for Twitter and told banks that agreed to help fund his $44 billion acquisition offer about his plans to monetize tweets, according to a new report from Reuters. A source told Reuters that Musk has decided on who he plans to appoint as the new chief executive of Twitter, but the source didn't name the person. Twitter's current CEO Parag Agrawal, who took the role after Jack Dorsey stepped down in November, is expected to remain as CEO until the deal is completed.

Reuters reports that Musk told Twitter chairman Bret Taylor that he does not have confidence in the company's management, which is a sentiment that he also stated in SEC filings. Agrawal would be set for a significant compensation package if the deal closes and Musk brings in new management, as he would receive $38.7 million due to a clause in his contract, according to the companys latest proxy filing.

Reuters reports that Musk told banks that he plans to develop more ways to make money from tweets. For example, he said that he plans to create a way to monetize tweets that go viral or include important information. He also suggested the idea of charging a fee when third-party websites quote or embed tweets from verified accounts.

The Washington Post reports that Musk also brought up the idea of paying influencers to create content for the platform, which is a business model that has proven to be successful for TikTok. Musk is also said to be interested in the idea of subscription services that the company could offer.

In deleted tweets from earlier this month, Musk suggested significant changes to Twitter Blue, which is the social media giant's subscription service that is currently priced at $2.99 per month. Musk suggested cutting the price, adding a way to pay in dogecoin and banning advertising. In another now-deleted tweet, Musk said he wants to move Twitter away from its dependence on advertising for much of its revenue.

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Musk had also told the banks he could crack down on executive and board pay at Twitter to slash costs. Reuters also reports that in his pitch to the banks, Musk said Twitter's gross margin is much lower than other social media services, such as Facebook and Pinterest, and argued that there are ways to run the company in a more cost-effective way.

Bloomberg News reported this week that Musk spoke to bankers about job cuts as part of his pitch to the lenders. Musk reportedly won't make decisions on job cuts until he receives ownership of the company.

Twitter says the transaction, which was unanimously approved by the board, will likely close this year following shareholder and regulatory approval and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Musk will have to pay Twitter a $1 billion termination fee if he doesnt go through with his acquisition of the social network, per a recent SEC filing. The filing, which details the terms of the agreement, indicates Twitter would have to pay the same fee under specific circumstances.

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Elon Musk has reportedly lined up a new Twitter CEO ...

CEO of Tesla Elon Musk says he confronted fellow billionaire Bill Gates about whether he was shorting Tesla's stock. Musk is seen here at the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing "Cyber Rodeo" grand opening party on April 7, 2022.

Suzanne Cordeiro | AFP | Getty Images

Elon Musk has accused Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates of shorting Tesla.

In a tweet on Friday, the Tesla CEO admitted that he asked Gates if he was short-selling shares of the electric carmaker. When investors short a stock, they are betting that the price of the asset will fall.

"I heard from multiple people at TED that Gates still had half billion short against Tesla, which is why I asked him, so it's not exactly top secret," Musk said in the tweet.

He was responding to a Twitter user's question on whether a screengrab of a supposed text conversation between the two billionaires was real.

The Tesla chief's response was: "Yeah, but I didn't leak it to NYT. They must have got it through friends of friends."

The account that inquired about the text messages, @wholemarsblog, heavily promotes Tesla and Elon Musk, and is among the few handles that Musk most interacts with on Twitter.

The person who runs @wholemarsblog, Omar Qazi, is a co-defendant with Elon Musk in a libel and harassment lawsuit brought by Aaron Greenspan, founder of the public records database Plainsite, who has also shorted Tesla stock and been a vocal critic of Elon Musk.

In the text exchange, which couldn't be independently verified by CNBC, Musk asked Gates: "Do you still have a half billion dollar short position against Tesla?"

To which Gates replied: "Sorry to say I haven't closed it out. I would like to discuss philanthropy possibilities."

Musk shot back: "Sorry, I cannot take your philanthropy on climate change seriously when you have a massive short position against Tesla, the company doing the most to solve climate change."

The New York Times has not reported on Gates' Tesla trades yet, or the text messages referenced in @wholemarsblog's tweet.

A spokesperson for Bill Gates was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

Gates told New York Times opinion writer Kara Swisher last year: "It's important to say that what Elon did with Tesla is one of the greatest contributions to climate change anyone's ever made. And you know, underestimating Elon is not a good idea."

But he went on to add that what Tesla was doing was "easy stuff, like passenger cars." Gates emphasized the need to make a greater impact on climate change by tackling other industries.

"We're basically not doing enough on the hard stuff: steel, cement, meat," he said at that time. "And sadly, the things people think about the electricity, passenger cars are a third of the problem. So we have to work on the two-thirds."

"If all you pay attention to is those short-term metrics, not the green premiums across the board, then you miss out on what is the longest lead time, which is the hard stuff."

It's not the first time the two men have had a public disagreement.

When Gates revealed in 2020 that he bought himself an all-electric Porsche Taycan,a Twitter user asked: "I wonder why Bill Gates decided to go with the Taycan instead of a Tesla."

Musk responded in a tweet: "My conversations with Gates have been underwhelming tbh [to be honest]."

Musk has also previously speculated on the possibility of Gates shorting his company's stock. Asked about those comments and whether he was short Tesla, Gates told CNBC last year: "I don't talk about my investments but I think he should be very proud of what he's done."

In a Bloomberg interview also in February 2021, Gates said that he wished he had "been more on the long side" of Tesla when asked about Musk's claims.

CNBC's Lora Kolodny, Todd Haselton and Ryan Browne contributed to this report.

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Elon Musk tweets that he confronted Bill Gates about ...

These tweets split the SpaceX-time continuum.

Elon Musks $44 billion Twitter takeover wasnt the first time he owned the platform. Like an NBA team owner who used to kill it on the court, the Tesla boss has been a Twitter fixture for years: from his highly publicized, ongoing beef with Bill Gates to his flippant quips about hot-button topics like the COVID-19 pandemic and gender pronouns.

Musks nonexistent Twitter filter is perhaps fitting, as he apparently plans to make the platform a place where almost anything goes.

Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated, declared the 50-year-old social media mogul.

In fact, following the SpaceX honchos Twitter takeover and privatization, many conservative pundits claimed their follower counts skyrocketed. Right-wing watchdogs questioned whether the phenomenon was due to the company releasing them from digital house arrest.

Without further ado, here are 12 badass Elon Musk tweets that left a mark.

Musks non-rhetorical flamethrower was on display in 2018 when the entrepreneur retweeted a fake news article claiming that hed bought the popular video game Fortnite and deleted it to save kids from eternal virginity.

Had to been done ur welcome, quipped the centibillionaire in the tweet with more than 1.1 million likes.

The nerd-bashing barb didnt sit well with the games developer, Epic Games, which mocked Musk for his mission to colonize Mars.

However, it appears the two have since quashed their apparent beef: The Tesla CEO showed his support for the pixel purveyor after it challenged Apples fees on its App Store.

DudeI just lost $10k because of this tweet. Wtf is wrong with u

Musk is infamous for seemingly torpedoing Tesla stock with tweets so outrageous they would probably make Wall Street want to enlist the Easter Bunny to stop him from typing.

In a particular stock-block from 2020, the Twit-wit sent the car companys shares plummeting after tweeting: Tesla stock price is too high imo.

One ticked-off trader responded: Dude I just lost $10k because of this tweet. Wtf is wrong with u.

In the realm of stock-tanking antics, nothing holds a candle to Musk smoking pot on the Joe Rogan Experience in 2018. The Nueralink visionary recently retweeted a meme of the high-minded moment after acquiring a 9% stake in Twitter earlier this month.

Twitters next board meeting is gonna be lit, read the meme.

Ethical qualms aside, its probably safe to say Twitter wont be a boring company under the Musk regime.

Biden is a damp puppet in human form

Musk was unsurprisingly displeased with President Joe Biden for neglecting to mention Tesla in a recent speech about car manufacturing in the US.

Following the alleged snub, the electric car trailblazer tweeted that the leader of the free world was a damp [sock] puppet in human form using blue sock emojis for emphasis. Sick burn, bro.

You have my full support!

Musk apparently believes that Kanye West would be better suited as president than Biden, having endorsed Yes short-lived 2020 presidential campaign.

We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future, the Jesus Walks singer had tweeted. I am running for president of the United States.

Musk retweeted the announcement with the caption, You have my full support!

The worlds richest man is apparently not above mixing it up with the online hoi polloi, as evidenced by this hilarious exchange with a fan over Tesla merchandise.

Short shorts coming soon to Tesla merch, teased Musk, who added in a follow-up tweet that theyd be paired with thigh-high sockboots. He was referring to a line of red satin short-shorts that he released to celebrate Teslas stock climbing which ironically crashed the online store.

A bemused user subsequently wondered whether the company big-wig would be modeling the apparel, to which he responded, Of course.

Alas, the entrepreneur never put his money where his mouth is.

While many CEOs take pains to tiptoe around sensitive topics, Musk has remained steadfastly politically incorrect in his online discourse.

In one of his more controversial Twitter barbs, the Tesla boss said, Pronouns suck which earned him an online tongue-lashing from then-partner Grimes, who identifies as non-binary.

I love you but please turn off ur phone or give me a call [sic], scolded Grimes in a now-deleted tweet. I cannot support this hate. Please stop this. I know this is not your heart.

Musk sparked the ire of the transgender community again later that year over a tweet labeling pronouns an aesthetic nightmare.

The coronavirus panic is dumb

Pronouns arent the only hot topic Musk has thumbed his nose at. The visionary has been infamously dismissive of COVID-19 lockdowns and even stated the coronavirus panic is dumb in a tweet with more than 1.5 million likes.

The rumor that Bill Gates & I are lovers is completely untrue

The car magnate has savaged fellow billionaire Bill Gates on multiple occasions, most recently roasting the Microsoft co-founder after Gates seemingly sold Tesla stock short during a tiff about a commitment to fighting climate change.

He posted a tweet likening Gates in a side-by-side comparison to anemoji of a pregnant man with the caption, in case you need to lose [an erection] fast.

Musk previously mocked Gates after the latter called him out on his views regarding the coronavirus pandemic.

Elons positioning is to maintain a high level of outrageous comments, Gatestold CNBC in July 2020. Hes not much involved in vaccines. He makes a great electric car. His rockets work well, so hes allowed to say these things. I hope that he doesnt confuse areas hes not involved in too much.

In response, Musk quipped:Billy G is not my lover a play on the lyrics to the Michael Jackson hit Billie Jean.

The rumor that Bill Gates & I are lovers is completely untrue, Musk tweeted.

I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will own no house.

Musk whos worth a cool $240 billion, according to Forbes confused his Twitter followers after announcing in 2020 that he was selling almost all physical possessions and would own no house.

My gf @Grimezsz is mad at me, he quipped, referencing then-partner Grimes in a follow-up tweet describing his proposed downscaled lifestyle.

The business magnate apparently wasnt blowing smoke: Earlier this month, Musk said he doesnt own a home and sleeps in his friends spare bedrooms, for the most part.

In June last year,Musk tweeted that his primary residence is a rental from SpaceX, worth about $50,000. Whats more, the home was conveniently near the companys Texas location. In the tweet, he also admitted to owning an events house in the Bay Area.

At least 50% of my tweets were made on a porcelain throne

Perhaps Musks off-the-cuff posts are altogether unsurprising given that he has claimed he primarily tweets on the toilet. At least 50% of my tweets were made on a porcelain throne, the tech boss boasted in a November Twitter post.

The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all

Some of Musks most epic tweets followed his Twitter acquisition, a move that prompted sparking threats of exodus by left-leaning celebs. They claimed that the social media platform would become a cesspool of hate with the Tesla boss at the helm.

Musk was quick to dismiss critics with an allusion to COVID resistance, writing: The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.

Nonetheless, Musk said he hopes his worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.

Alas, the Twitter heads principles might not jive with his buyout agreement, which prohibits the tech boss from tweeting criticism about the company.

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12 times Elon Musk proved he owned Twitter before he bought it - New York Post

By staking a hefty chunk of his wealth to take the company private, Musk could also free Twitter from the stock-markets short-term pressures for advertising growth, letting the company explore new business models like subscriptions, perhaps that may be more conducive to long-term sustainability. Or he might think of wholly new ideas for fixing up the place and I, for one, am excited to see what he comes up with.

Musks detractors often paint him as motivated by little more than money and politics. But Musk is at best a fair-weather ideologue. His politics are all over the place he has lobbed silly attacks at Democrats (Please dont call the manager on me, Senator Karen, he tweeted at Senator Elizabeth Warren after she called for him to pay more taxes), but he also criticized Trumps immigration policies and resigned from presidential advisory councils after Trump quit the Paris climate agreement.

Many of Musks entrepreneurial passions are long shot bets that could have easily blown up his fortune, and may yet still. In 2002, after earning more than a hundred million dollars by selling PayPal to eBay, Musk could have become a venture capitalist and lived the good life. Among the least financially advisable projects imaginable for someone in that position would be to start a rocket company, Ashlee Vance, the Bloomberg reporter and author of a terrific biography of Musk, once wrote. But starting a rocket company is what Musk did and, after also pouring money into another money-burning venture, Tesla, Musk came very close to losing it all after the Great Recession.

Musks real genius isnt in making money, but in making unusually ingenious products. Not long ago I drove a Model S Plaid, Teslas top-of-the-line sedan, on a long-weekend trip up the California coast. Tesla unveiled the original Model S in 2012. Back then it was a quixotic machine, a luxury electric car that looked like a plaything for tech execs and presented hardly any threat to the worlds gas-guzzling automakers.

In the decade since, Tesla has grown into a remarkable force. Year by year, it improved its products, expanded its product range, and built out a global production infrastructure that has become the envy of the automotive world. Its growth spiked, then exploded, then went supernova: In 2012, it delivered about 2,650 cars. In 2021 it sold nearly a million. And even though the rest of the auto industry, seeing Teslas growth, jumped on the electric vehicle bandwagon, Tesla has maintained an indomitable lead. According to Experians Automotive Market Trends, in the fourth quarter of 2021, Tesla had just under 70 percent market share of electric light-duty vehicles on U.S. roads; every other manufacturers share was in the single digits.

Driving the Plaid, I could see why. The car is a dream. Its one of fastest accelerating vehicles on the market today at about $130,000, it is said to have the acceleration normally found in multimillion-dollar hypercars. At the same time, like cheaper Teslas, the Plaid is also one of the most environmentally friendly vehicles you can buy. It has a range of up to 405 miles on a single charge and is as efficient as a gas-powered car that gets 101 miles per gallon.

What I found most remarkable was how ordinary Tesla has made electric driving. I was in sparsely populated areas of California, but wherever I went I was not very far from a Tesla Supercharger. The whole thing was effortless. As Ive written before, the electric car is not a transportation panacea but the world is undoubtedly a better place thanks mainly to Musks doggedness in making this outlandish dream a reality.

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Opinion | Is Elon Musk Really That Bad? - The New York Times