• ShittyBeatlesFCPres@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Maybe his politics are complicated. Did y’all consider that? That a white South African industrialist who dabbles in eugenics, treats employees like shit, and thinks catturd2 is funny might be a complex enigma?

    • DogPeePoo@lemm.ee
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      3 months ago

      Unwashed deviant asshole who Putin holds kompromat over forced to help another pedophile, who Putin also holds kompromat over.

      Both met with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell…

      • LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Don’t forget about Elon’s significant financial ties to Saudi Arabia

        https://www.axios.com/2022/11/01/elon-musk-twitter-saudi-arabia

        “The Saudis could have cashed out, like most everyone else. That would have been the financially sound thing to do. Instead, they allied with Musk … There’s a clear political motivation to their decision, and CFIUS should get to the bottom of it.”

        A source familiar with the situation adds that Murphy’s concern is exacerbated by the large amount of debt that Musk/Twitter now must service, and what demands that may enable Saudi to make. Particularly given that Musk, at least for the moment, is Twitter’s sole director.

        Murphy on Monday asked the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) to investigate “potential national security concerns” arising from Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s involvement in Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter.

        Saudi Arabia and members of its extended royal family are regular investors in U.S. tech companies, both directly and via private equity and venture capital funds. But they’ve been largely ignored by CFIUS, which investigated just six Saudi-involved deals between 2019 and 2021. CFIUS is empowered to recommend to the President that mergers be blocked on national security grounds, including for transactions that have already closed. Many of its recent recommendations to that effect have involved China.

        https://fortune.com/2023/01/23/elon-musk-says-he-had-saudi-backing-tesla-trial-testimony/

        Elon Musk returned to federal court Monday in San Francisco, testifying that he believed he had locked up financial backing to take Tesla private during 2018 meetings with representatives from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    At this point, how is owning a Tesla car not just like walking around wearing one of those stupid red hats?

    • AlecSadler@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      I agree and I drive a Tesla, unfortunately it’s paid off so for the time being it just makes sense to keep driving it because it costs me basically nothing.

      But I feel like a POS in public and it sucks.

      • Jarix@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Well fucking stop feeling like a POS.

        Please?

        Its just a car, and regardless of who elon turned out to be.

        And ya know what? Elon is the reason they arent better cars. He is not the reason they are as good as they are.

        Take politics out of it for a minute and just remind or consider, how is your tesla a better car than the ICE car you did and/or would have instead.

        You can feel good about that. Its okay. Elon is a piece of shit. He didnt always seem that way and that does suck. You dont, he does.

        When you decide to get a new car you are going to have so many awesome options next time.

        And you wouldnt have those options then, if Teslas werent/hadnt pushing everyone else in the world into getting away from ICE

        • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          Yes. They should be. Fuck the downvotes, I’m done with this shit.

          Sell your fucking Tesla if you own one. It’s a dog whistle.

          • skeezix@lemmy.world
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            3 months ago

            Effecting change in this world sometimes requires personal sacrifice. Things are the way they are because too many don’t want to inconvenience themselves. Downvote away.

      • M500@lemmy.ml
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        3 months ago

        I’m sure there is a bumper stick that’s says “I got this before musk was crazy”

        • v_krishna@lemmy.ml
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          3 months ago

          Those bumper stickers are bullshit. Musk was a nut job who profited from apartheid and then bought his way into the public mind as some kind of low rent Tony Stark from the get. San Francisco 2012 people thought I was nuts for claiming he was a huge charlatan and now those same people rock those bumper stickers.

    • synae[he/him]@lemmy.sdf.org
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      3 months ago

      I have a friend with a tesla who put on a bumper sticker along the lines of “I got this before he became a raging asshole”

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Could say the same about any American made truck, except they’ve had the association with stupid rednecks for decades so it’s just not talked about as much.

      • vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        Please dont associate us stupid rednecks with those wannabe rich fucks with the brand new rams. We much more prefer Toyota trucks or old Fords from the 90s backwards. Im personally also partial to Kei trucks and old Jeep trucks personally.

    • BarbecueCowboy@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      He’ll turn back to the left as soon as the he gets too clingy with his current audience and they turn on him.

      Musk is worse, he doesn’t care about his political leanings, he only cares about where he can have the most people simping for him.

      • idiomaddict@feddit.de
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        3 months ago

        He used to be different politically, because that was cool. Now he has enough money that people will tell him he’s cool no matter what his politics are, so he now supports the causes that benefit him. I don’t think he’s ever going back.

    • Jarix@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Because you seem to think, and my apologies if im mistaken, that people think about politics as much as your question suggests. Most people just dont really dont have the capacity to also factor in other peoples politics when making large practical purchases.

      A minority of people vote in the us. I believe its around 39%

      And slightly more than half of those people are deciding who the president of the US is.

      You might be surprised to learn that most of the time, a car isnt a political statement or adorsement. It could be, and can be, sometimes it even is.

      If you want an EV because you care about the environment you still want a good vehicle. Teslas are seen as the best EVs that most people have access to and are comfortable with… Inspite of why they might not be.

      Maybe its a surprise to hear that practical benefits of EV ownership, whether it’s due to not having to pay for gas, they want to support fighting climate change, or just enjoy cool new tech are likely why someone owns a tesla, not because they are fans of elon

      How is owning a tesla car not just like walking around wearing one of those stupid red hats?

      Because more than 90% of owners didnt buy their car to be political statements, but 90% of owners of those stupid red hats did buy them and wear them for the sole purpose of being political statementa

      • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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        3 months ago

        How much does one have think about politics to feel shame at driving around in a car sold by a Nazi?

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        I’m just stating the reality of things. At one point, a Tesla was maybe a signifier for the left, or most likely neutral. Given how much Elon keeps inserting himself into the public eye, and not in a good way, the brand is now a signifier for things a lot of people despise.

        I realize he didn’t even start Tesla, and I realize many people bought their cars long before all this came to light. But I also remember when it was considered risque to buy “foreign”. People absolutely DO think about what a car says about them when they buy a car, and people do make snap judgements about who is driving that car.

        I’m just lamenting the fact that one of the most common EVs is now associated with a shithead like Elon. Which is unfortunate, because we need things like EV more than ever…

    • Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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      3 months ago

      It’s the same. I can them Muskmobiles in my small town. Fuck anyone who owns them. I don’t care when you bought your Tesla… Fuck you.

      • qarbone@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Yeah! Fuck you if you jumped onboard and invested in one of the earliest, popular, commercial EVs.

        If you can’t find the funds to get a different car, you’re a shithead according to this guy. Switch back to petrol if you have to! This guy will hate you for continuing to own those vehicles!

      • Serinus@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Tesla is still the best EV sedan. Maybe the Ionic 6 will be good in a couple years, but it doesn’t qualify for the tax credit.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        TBF - Tesla was not even started by him. Unfortunately, he cannot seem to keep his disgusting politics to himself, and now the Tesla brand is as tarnished as a red hat.

        Someone I know who works for Tesla gave me a Tesla shirt some time ago. I would never wear such a shirt now in public. It is a dogwhistle, just like the car itself.

        Sadly.

  • ulkesh@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    The world will be much better off without these pieces of cum-flavored shit on the planet. I hope to see the day.

  • LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Conservatives own at least 2 media companies (X, Truth Social), Trump got reinstated with Meta… Imagine doing all this for a man who raped a 12 year old

    • TurtleJoe@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I was going to start listing other examples, like Rupert Murdoch and Sinclair broadcasting, but in reality billionaire conservatives own and operate all major legacy media outlets at this point. That includes CNN and NYT.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Of course he did.

    Musk just substituted “free speech absolutist” for “billionaire absolutist”…a world where nothing stands in his way.

  • مهما طال الليل@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    Elon Musk peddles the racist replacement theory among other things. It is absurd a white settler from South Africa is afraid to be replaced by the indigenous people.

    • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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      3 months ago

      It’s been clear for years now that Musk is is a full mask-off Nazi. I don’t understand how anyone doesn’t see it yet.

    • TurtleJoe@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Mush is so paranoid about this, that he started his own anti-woke AI. Why? Because he believes that in the future, a sentient AGI will emerge and that if that AGI is trained on “wokeness” then it will cull white people in order to fulfill “diversity quotas.”

  • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Putting this guy’s shitty politics aside for a moment, Trump and the GOP have be shitting on EVs extra hard over the past year. Tesla is hurting right now, and if Trump wins the dead heat, that company could be fucked. Moreover, he also has a bunch of government contracts keeping Space X and Starlink alive.

    If Musk doesn’t pay up and kiss the ring, he could be screwed if Trump wins.

    • Tinidril@midwest.social
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      3 months ago

      Elon will be fine with his massive bonus that he totally earned for all the great work he’s done for Tesla.

    • LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Elon doesn’t care if Tesla succeeds, he’s just using it as a way to launder financial gifts from other billionaires/millionaires and using poor people to help subsidize.

      Eg if his friend, MBS from Saudi Arabia, has 2-5 people with trading algorithms and a few million dollars, they can inflate the stock. This makes it look appealing to regular buyers who think the stock is actually organically reaching that price. Then they invest more, increasing the price, and MBS can start to withdraw some of his money out, but Elon will still have that funding/money from the real investors. If the stock starts to deflate, they can just pump it again.

      At some point, the stock will correct. Either when Elon stops convincing rich people (eg MBS) he can deliver on his promises, or when it becomes clear to the public it was a grift the whole time. I think Elon assumes it will be soon, which is why he took out so much recently (like 40 billion, right?) and risked removal from the company.

      It’s entirely possible Elon is worried about crimes he’s committed and supports Trump explicitly for a pardon (which we know Trump is selling).

  • jpreston2005@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Ah, well that just flipped the switch in my head from “wow that musk guy is an egotistical asshole devoid of even the most fleeting sense of altruism,” to “I actively hate this dude now.”

  • Fedizen@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    surprising nobody. Guy who made nearly all his money in corporate buyouts and government contracts backs the anti union guy who wants to ban electric cars. It just shows you this is about class warfare.