You don't think Elon tweeting: "My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci" doesn't reveal something about his personality or his values?
Maintaining the public face of these people is a full time job.
None of the people in the media are really like what they show us on our screens. It's all entertainment. Much of it in the service of business interests, like Elon. Do his politics lean right? Sure why not. Does he also lean left? Probably. We're all not 1 dimensional. Getting us to "fill in the blank" and project our own ideas into their personality is how they hook you.
The public / promotional image caters the 1-D chess crowd.
The fact people let this stuff influence major purchase decisions like a car is endlessly entertaining to me.
The appeal of celebrity used to be mostly confined to teenage spheres, bored housewives, and old people. But now in the digital era having a public image has become a spectator sport, and we get emotionally caught up rooting for the team we've chosen. This is how they win people.
For the younger of you reading this, I'm letting you know it didn't use to be this way. Nobody cares much about what car you drive or why.
In this case Musk is influencing people to not buy a Tesla. Fully embracing nihilism doesn't make you sophisticated.
Here's how Musk wants you to think of him:
- Musk likes to call people paedophiles: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/15/elon-musk...
- Musk says Americans are complacent and entitled, but China rocks: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/31/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-china-ro...
- Musk continuously lies about full self-driving: https://jalopnik.com/elon-musk-promises-full-self-driving-ne...
- Musk recommends Ukraine submit to Russia: https://futurism.com/the-byte/russia-loves-elon-musk-now
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/04/zelenskiy-hits...
- Musk recommends Taiwan submit to China: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/oct/08/elon-musk...
- Musk wants to "Prosecute/Fauci" and now says he's going to release some kind of "Fauci Files" from Twitter: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-anthony-fauci-responds-to-el...
- Musk called California's covid measures "fascist": https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/29/elon-musk-slams-coronavirus-...
- Musk had Tesla praise Shanghai's covid measures and say that it "always strived to fulfil its epidemic prevention responsibilities and that it believed Shanghai's COVID-19 measures helped lay the foundation for the city's future development": https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-...
It's all grubby.
> For the younger of you reading this, I'm letting you know it didn't use to be this way.
No, it's always been this way. People are the same as they ever were.
Tesla's current problems aren't due to Elon being on the political outs with the woke in-crowd, but the fact the rest of the auto industry has largely caught up, and that the irrational bubble of hype around his products has finally burst. Combine with high interest rates and the other financial problems most companies are facing in 2023. That's the only explanation needed.
By the same token the whole world was talking about Osama Bin Laden on 9/12/2001, that must have been positive for him?
In reality there is bad publicity , because although even haters know your name , it would take a 1:1 face to face meeting to turn them into supporters and you will never be able to meet everyone