# 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:** 462
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9226 "2024-03-14T02:02:20Z")
Free should ask to be introduced to Lunch. (If there is such a thing.) ---
**Author:** ![Jihi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jihi/32/17768_2.png) [@Jihi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jihi)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9227 "2024-03-14T02:56:10Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Professor Elmo says that birth control makes women sad, so they need to find an outlet for their compassion, which is BAD FOR CIVILIZATION. My god, with that kind of jumping ability Elmo should be playing center for the knicks. I’m counting at least three incredibly problematic assumptions in that train of thought. (Talking about Elmo of course not Smapti just to be clear) ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9228 "2024-03-14T03:32:31Z")
To be fair, the “the fact that saving humanity made me the richest person on the planet is just a coincidence” gambit has worked for him in the past. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9229 "2024-03-14T05:06:14Z")
I would like comment that for the record, I am a mammal, and I have had no children. I am pretty much pathologically happy. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9230 "2024-03-14T17:28:23Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > I would like comment that for the record, I am a mammal, and I have had no children. I resemble this remark, and, point out that in contrast to my brother (who does have children) that despite being older, I have more hair, and more color in said hair as a direct result (or so I claim)! Seriously though, Elon’s crack reminded me of our current Pope (who is steadily losing my prior grudging respect) who started bitching about people giving love to their pets instead of kids. “Go out there and breed us some followers!” Of course, in Elon’s case, it’s “Go out there and breed us some more ubermench (like me) and servants for your betters scum!” ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9231 "2024-03-14T19:40:08Z")
I was in the hospital over the weekend, and one nurse and I were talking. I mentioned that I’d been retired for a while, so she checked my age on her computer screen and said I didn’t look my age. I just said ‘thank you,’ but I wanted to say ‘that’s because I don’t have kids.’ ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9232 "2024-03-14T20:11:30Z")
When I went to check in for my cataract surgery, the nurse told me I couldn’t check in for my mother, she’d have to come to the desk herself. It made my day. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9233 "2024-03-14T20:16:01Z")
LOL. That _is_ great. ---
**Author:** ![Capn\_Carl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Capn\_Carl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capn_Carl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9234 "2024-03-14T21:39:29Z")
Yeah, that’s the best form of compliment: accidental and honest. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9235 "2024-03-14T21:40:32Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > I get an email daily from Bloomberg, and this was the opening paragraph: > > > It’s not a new story that Tesla is no longer a red-hot growth stock. But even by that standard and with its growth forecasts sinking rapidly, a grim sales prediction from a key analyst of Elon Musk’s electric-vehicle maker was still shocking. There’ll be zero growth in sales volumes for the electric-vehicle maker this year, Wells Fargo’s Colin Langan said Wednesday. And in 2025, it’ll be worse yet: volumes will drop. Shares of the company reacted appropriately, dropping 4.5% to close at a 10-month low. The stock has now fallen 32% this year, missing out on a broader rally that has pushed the S&P 500 Index up 8.3%. One thing that should be noted is that the Tesla charger was chosen as the national standard and Tesla has the lead on charging stations by a mile. Their primary business doesn’t need to be the car. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9236 "2024-03-14T22:12:09Z")
I was surprised to read this piece this morning. **Excerpt (Toronto Globe & Mail)** _[Mr. Musk] who attended Queen’s University and whose mother is Saskatchewan-born, has registered massive achievements: in respect to the climate crisis, he runs the world’s leading maker of electric vehicles; in planetary exploration, he oversees the creation, from scratch, of magnificent rockets with his SpaceX company; and in neuroscience, he is the founder of Neuralink, which develops brain-computer interfaces. He was onto artificial intelligence as a threat to humanity a decade ago, and is working to alleviate that threat._ _“There is no one in our time,” said Microsoft founder Bill Gates (in Walter Isaacson’s recent 700-page Musk biography), “who has done more to push the bounds of science and innovation than he has.”_ _But the engineering wunderkind, who vies with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos as the world’s richest man, is condemned as much as he is celebrated. As if everything he was doing wasn’t staggering enough in its breadth, Mr. Musk had to take a prime role in mass communication with his US$44-billion purchase of Twitter. A great mass communicator he is not, and the move has left many to wonder if he is a force for good – or something else._ …_Wild mood swings have led to rash outbursts, a prime example being his public endorsement, for which he later apologized, of an antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jewish communities harbour “hatred against whites.” He proposed a peace plan that sounded Kremlin-hatched, advising Ukraine to surrender all territories occupied by Russia. He has taken harsh stands against immigration._ …_Mr. Musk was a Democrat who campaigned for Barack Obama. But he was pushed rightward by the COVID lockdowns, and by wokeism, which he detests. He opposes Mr. Trump on the environment and other issues, but the former president has been courting Mr. Musk recently and has invited him to speak at the Republican convention in July._ _That’s worrisome, as is the [overhaul](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-elon-musks-x-worth-715-per-cent-less-than-at-the-time-of-purchase/)Mr. Musk has brought to the former Twitter, now X. A free-speech absolutist, Mr. Musk has removed content moderators, reinstated users previously banned, and brought changes, such as user fees, that have left most wishing the takeover had never happened…_ _But there should be no question about whether Elon Musk is a force for good. Of his work in moving the world to electric vehicles, he says, “I’ve done more for the environment than any single human on Earth.” It is a credible boast…_ > **[Opinion: Is our troubled genius, Elon Musk, still a force for good?](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-is-the-troubled-elon-musk-still-a-force-for-good/)** > > We can only hope that his genius mind, if not given over to the dark side – to Trumpism – will light remarkable new paths ---
**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:** [March 14, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9237 "2024-03-14T22:27:43Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > A free-speech absolutist, Any publication presenting that as fact and not a self-issued boast is at this point automatically suspect. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9238 "2024-03-14T22:32:34Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I was in the hospital over the weekend, and one nurse and I were talking. I mentioned that I’d been retired for a while, so she checked my age on her computer screen and said I didn’t look my age. > > I just said ‘thank you,’ but I wanted to say ‘that’s because I don’t have kids.’ Opposite for me. Nothing like dancing to kids’ show theme music and chasing Pokemons and taking your kids to see post-punk bands to keep you young. Meanwhile, on topic, I’m partially disappointed that SpaceX did so well today, because I think Elmo is dangerous and would like to see him sink into obscurity (uh, oh, I’m on a Retribution List now, aren’t I?). ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9239 "2024-03-14T22:33:37Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > …\*Wild mood swings have led to rash outbursts, a prime example being his public endorsement, for which he later apologized, of an antisemitic conspiracy theory that Jewish communities harbour “hatred against whites." Any publication which states this as something he did once and apologized for should have its fact-checking department fired. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9240 "2024-03-14T22:35:16Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Nothing like dancing to kids’ show theme music and chasing Pokemons and taking your kids to see post-punk bands to keep you young. That’s not the parts that make you old. It’s not all fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2024, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9241 "2024-03-14T22:40:01Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > > > A free-speech absolutist, > > Any publication presenting that as fact and not a self-issued boast is at this point automatically suspect. Wanted to repeat @Smapti’s excellent post with applause and emphasis. Musk’s ongoing, repeated and egregious censoring of those who criticize him is _one_ of the overwhelming hypocrisies and contradictions that require we carefully evalute his actions on a whole, not on just a single issue, which this article appears to do. Not to mention the “genius mind” - I mean, I’ll grant him credit for above average, and even some minor genious at self promotion and enthusiasm building, but the engineering at all of the above aren’t his own work. In fact, it seems evident that in many cases, his vision _detracts_ from the final product over the objections of smarter, more able men and women. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9242 "2024-03-15T00:37:30Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > What’s the problem, 15 stripes to represent the original 15 colonies, it’s perfect. There was an official version of the flag that had 15 stripes (1794-1818), at which point they figured out that adding a stripe and star was going to get unwieldy pretty fast if new states kept getting added. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9243 "2024-03-15T00:43:16Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > One thing that should be noted is that the Tesla charger was chosen as the national standard and Tesla has the lead on charging stations by a mile. > > Their primary business doesn’t need to be the car. It appears that the market isn’t impressed with that. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9244 "2024-03-15T04:51:36Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > When I went to check in for my cataract surgery, the nurse told me I couldn’t check in for my mother, she’d have to come to the desk herself. Heheh, I’m pretty much the absolute converse. When I was 17 and working at Kroger, I had a co-worker ask me as I was leaving, “Hey, man, can you buy me beer?” I responded, “Yes, but not here, where I work. I can buy it across the parking lot at Conoco, because they don’t know we’re the same age. Plus, you should pay attention. I’m the guy with long dyed black hair in your algebra class.” Later, I figured out I basically had face blindness. Change your hairdo, and you have a really good chance of being able to pretend you’re someone I’ve never met before. That poor kid probably had it too. So, I have always looked older than I am since puberty arrived. I should have been shaving twice a day from 13 on, and the process has accelerated since. That combined with the fact that I have no children has caused confusion among acquaintances and co-workers, because I kind of behave like a silly motherfucker and look silly on a similar level, and appear older than my already fairly advanced age. “Scabpicker, how old _are_ you?”, is a question I’m often asked. > [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > “There is no one in our time,” said Microsoft founder Bill Gates (in Walter Isaacson’s recent 700-page Musk biography), “who has done more to push the bounds of science and innovation than he has.” Jeebus, is he in a race where they’re scoring really rich people saying stupid things, or something? ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/9245 "2024-03-15T17:39:19Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > When I went to check in for my cataract surgery, the nurse told me I couldn’t check in for my mother, she’d have to come to the desk herself. > > It made my day. Some years ago, there was concern about the possibility of a scabies outbreak at our hospital, so all of the staff had to go get tubes of scabies ointment from Infection Control and learn how to apply it. When I went to sign the documentation that I had received the ointment and the instructions, the nurse with the clipboard told me sternly that “high school volunteers need to have a parent sign off for them.” A second later she saw my MD badge, and apologized profusely. Everyone else thought it was very funny. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=461) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=463)