# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442 "2022-04-25T22:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 332
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6626 "2023-09-11T17:07:01Z")
Check: did big strong men come up to him with tears in their eyes and call him “Sir”? Because I believe that’s an indicator it really happened. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6627 "2023-09-11T17:09:45Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > I’ve been trying to follow this, but I lost track. Are we sure that he really did this, and it wasn’t just a made-up wish-fulfillment daydream? I don’t know the exact sequence of events, but it is absolutely true that[Ukrainian naval drones washed up on Crimean beaches last September](https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2022/09/22/mystery-vessel-may-be-new-ukrainian-attack-drone/?sh=7bd7cc887a77). The photo shows something that looks an awful lot like a Starlink receiver mounted near the stern. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6628 "2023-09-11T17:47:37Z")
A TPM reader opines: > I do think what gets lost in the recent coverage about Musk and Ukraine, is that if you look at the value of Starlink to Ukraine and the good that it has done, it is worth noting that Musk has done far more good in Ukraine and for Ukrainians than not. Starlink has saved thousands and thousands of military lives and helped the Ukrainians fight. Agreed. > Having said all that, he is a total asshole and nincompoop for not allowing turning on Starlink in Crimea for the reasons that he’s stated. Well there’s that. Also, “The negative side of the ledger has extra weight from the destruction and lives lost that may have been avoided from whatever ships that may have been destroyed or disabled and the missiles not fired from them.” > I used to admire the man a lot for his accomplishments. SpaceX is, frankly, an astonishing company and Tesla is even more important since it is dragging the entire auto industry to an emission free future. I wrote to you before that **I can forgive Musk for almost anything since solving global climate change is the most important issue in the world and since he’s doing the most of any human in doing something meaningfully positive in that direction** , but he’s turned into such an insufferable jackass that I can barely square that fact. I guess it’s like separating artists from their art. Emphasis added. An important silver lining is that he’s hacking away at the very salient risk of climate policy becoming captive to cultural signaling. It’s too bad that this apparently entails giving platform to Nazis. As for other silver linings, maybe we’ll get a Bond film out of this mess, a bad one. [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/more-on-musk-starlink-and-ukraine](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/more-on-musk-starlink-and-ukraine) ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6629 "2023-09-11T17:58:13Z")
Elon thinks he’s real-life Tony Stark, but is actually real-life Ted Faro. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6630 "2023-09-11T20:53:55Z")
I could certainly be wrong about this point. I am unaware exactly who was dependent on Starlink and to what degree. Although business should be charitable and altruistic, it rarely is. I might prefer it to be, but it is not my expectation or general experience. Musk was probably in a position to do better. Most people go to work and advance the interests of their employer. They make a contribution. They receive some compensation. I respect different interpretations, but I personally don’t always expect contributions to be selfless. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6631 "2023-09-11T21:29:41Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > > I used to admire the man a lot for his accomplishments. SpaceX is, frankly, an astonishing company and Tesla is even more important since it is dragging the entire auto industry to an emission free future. I wrote to you before that **I can forgive Musk for almost anything since solving global climate change is the most important issue in the world and since he’s doing the most of any human in doing something meaningfully positive in that direction** , but he’s turned into such an insufferable jackass that I can barely square that fact. I guess it’s like separating artists from their art. > > Emphasis added. An important silver lining is that he’s hacking away at the very salient risk of climate policy becoming captive to cultural signaling. It’s too bad that this apparently entails giving platform to Nazis. As for other silver linings, maybe we’ll get a Bond film out of this mess, a bad one. > > [More on Musk, Starlink and Ukraine - TPM – Talking Points Memo](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/more-on-musk-starlink-and-ukraine) I want some of what this guy’s smoking, it must be some really good shit. Considering that Elmo, you know, doesn’t think climate change is a big deal. As far as he’s concerned the number one threat humanity is facing is underpopulation of rich, white folk. Number two is the threat posed by Artificial Intelligence. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6632 "2023-09-11T23:49:25Z")
> ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6633 "2023-09-12T00:06:28Z")
That pro-Russia Malaysian guy is one of Musk’s favorite stans and he often interacts with him: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F5wDKTMXgAAjVge?format=jpg&name=medium) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F5wDKTMXgAAjVge?format=jpg&name=medium) Here he is on Russian state-controlled international news television network Russia Today: > ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6634 "2023-09-12T00:12:07Z")
Funny how even RT won’t tell people to “Follow Ian on X”. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6635 "2023-09-12T01:06:17Z")
More food for thought… > **[What Russia Got by Scaring Elon Musk](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/09/elon-musk-let-russia-scare-him/675282/)** > > The billionaire isn’t the only one who’s been frightened into holding back help for Ukraine. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6636 "2023-09-12T03:56:43Z")
Paywalled. Summary? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6637 "2023-09-12T04:03:10Z")
**Excerpt from Atlantic link, see two posts above:** _Like the more famous air drones, sea drones are a central important part of Ukraine’s idiosyncratic way of waging war. Unable to compete plane for plane or ship for ship against the much larger Russian military, Ukraine is using tiny, high-tech, custom-designed, and relatively cheap devices that can take large, expensive artillery, tanks, and ships out of the game. Many of these devices are built by groups that are not quite part of the military, but not exactly private either…_ _…although his drones didn’t destroy the whole Black Sea fleet, they have had an impact on the war. Russian military ships became more cautious. Instead of physically blocking Ukrainian grain transports, as some observers expected them to do, they have stayed in port. “We made them scared,” he told me. They were happy to confirm that if a Russian warship does try to block a cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain, they will hit it._ _Musk was wrong, in other words. Instead of inspiring World War III, the sea-drone attack helped reduce violence, protected commerce, boosted Ukrainian farmers, and maybe even ensured that some people outside Ukraine didn’t go hungry. If not for Musk’s hubris, those effects might have been felt earlier. Maybe the first attack could have eliminated more of the ships whose missiles have been killing civilians in Ukrainian cities. Maybe fewer people would have died as a result. And maybe the war, which will be over when Ukraine takes back its own territory, and ends the torment of its own citizens on that territory, would be closer to its end._ _…But it’s also a story about fear, seeded and promoted by the Russians, deliberately designed to shape broader Western perceptions of this war. Musk is not alone: Many people in Washington, and in Berlin, Brussels, and other European capitals, including people who support Ukrainian sovereignty and who want Ukraine to win the war, have also been cowed by conversations with Russian ambassadors, by [threats issued by Russian leaders and by the pictures of nuclear explosions [shown on Russian state television]. Long before he spoke with any real Russians, Musk likely encountered that same propaganda in the Russian-influenced far-right echo chambers that he frequents. In 2016, Donald Trump probably [got the idea] to accuse Hillary Clinton of wanting to start World War III in that same social-media milieu._ _The Russians do this for a reason: Fear of escalation is designed to create self-deterrence—and it works. In 2014, Western leaders, fearing escalation, advised Ukraine not to fight back when Russia invaded Crimea. This advice led to misery for the people arrested, imprisoned, and chased away from the peninsula. It also persuaded the Russians to continue their invasion of eastern Ukraine. They stopped only when the Ukrainians fought back._ _From 2014 to 2022, the United States and European nations, fearing they might provoke Russia attack, limited or banned weapons sales to Ukraine. This, too, proved to be a terrible, consequential mistake: Had the Russians actually been afraid of the Ukrainian army, they might never have launched the full-scale invasion at all._ ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6638 "2023-09-12T04:24:39Z")
> [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](#): > > That pro-Russia Malaysian guy is one of Musk’s favorite stans and he often interacts with him: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F5wDKTMXgAAjVge?format=jpg&name=medium) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F5wDKTMXgAAjVge?format=jpg&name=medium) Elmo was up all night trying to think of any possible way to de-escalate the war a month after he shut down the Ukrainian naval drone attack and 20 days before they successfully carried out the attack by not using a system that Elmo had a kill switch for. Why just think of how many more kalibr missiles the Black Sea Fleet could have fired [onto fucking grain storage silos](https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15367.doc.htm) in Ukrainian port cities if Elmo had been able to thwart that Ukrainian drone attack and subsequent attacks as well. Oh, the irony, it’s almost as ironic as Jews being at fault for antisemitism! ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6639 "2023-09-12T05:37:43Z")
> ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6640 "2023-09-12T20:51:29Z")
Elmo decrees that criticizing him is treason against the United States. > ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6641 "2023-09-12T21:20:54Z")
So, are those tales of his other citizenships kind of link those stories about how his father owned an emerald mine and had a private plane, and Elmo wants to know who spread such tales? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6642 "2023-09-12T21:21:41Z")
I thought he was gonna die on mars ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6643 "2023-09-12T21:22:53Z")
Much more likely he dies on ketamine ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6644 "2023-09-12T21:27:28Z")
Maybe choking on a Mars bar. [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nF7-x2bPL.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nF7-x2bPL.jpg) Someone doing so many drugs has got to get overwhelming munchies now and then. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/6645 "2023-09-12T22:50:12Z")
Whatever, Such. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=331) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=333)