# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** elon-musk\ **Created:** [August 13, 2024, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634 "2024-08-13T00:48:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 178
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3562 "2026-10-03T21:55:39Z")
That’s carrying a lot of water for Musk. Doesn’t DOGE ring any bells? He promised to make people’s lives better by finding and eliminating government waste. And it was a giant scam. Cost more money than it “saved” and just happened to selectively dismantle the parts of government responsible for overseeing and regulating his businesses. Morally culpable? Maybe there’s an argument it doesn’t apply to other billionaires (that I don’t buy, especially the Silicon Valley set with their “effective altruism” BS), but Musk, in particular, actively chose to stick his nose in and declare his actions were in service to the public. And then shat all over that. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3563 "2026-10-03T22:47:00Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > The idea that Elon Musk being rich _ **made** _ millions of people poor is, well, debatable. Perhaps. What is not debatable is that he made tens of thousands of people much poorer than they would have been without his actions in DOGE. This is not because of the amount of wealth that he has, but because (1) his wealth gives him more access than most to situtations where he can effect change, and (2) he has used that power to make things worse for other people. ---
**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:** [October 3, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3564 "2026-10-03T22:53:16Z")
To me, that’s not the point. It’s the moral culpability of inaction. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3565 "2026-10-03T22:53:31Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Doesn’t DOGE ring any bells? He promised to make people’s lives better by finding and eliminating government waste. And it was a giant scam. Cost more money than it “saved” and just happened to selectively dismantle the parts of government responsible for overseeing and regulating his businesses. If only that was all Musk did, > _A.I. overview_, > A study published in The Lancet projects that abrupt cuts to USAID funding by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could result in up to 14 million excess deaths worldwide by 2030. [https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(25)01186-9/fulltext](https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(25)01186-9/fulltext) > **[Tracking the Harm of DOGE Cuts | CLASP](https://www.clasp.org/doge-tracker/)** > > The DOGE Tracker, CLASP’s interactive data tool, is designed to help users explore and document the proposed reductions to federal programs under review by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This sortable, filterable spreadsheet compiles... ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3566 "2026-10-04T20:07:56Z")
On that note, his latest grift: > **[Musk-led war commission triggers alarms in Pentagon](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/02/pentagon-hegseth-musk-palmer-commission-01104908)** > > Two of the Defense Department’s biggest contractors will help lead a project that could directly benefit them. I don’t know about you, but I certainly can’t see any conflict of interest. Oh wait… ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3567 "2026-10-05T03:38:27Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > capitalism isn’t mere hoarding Reason #137 why the Muskrat is not a capitalist. Collect them all! ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2026, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3568 "2026-10-06T12:55:21Z")
True. Those who argue that there is nothing inherently wrong with one person, or a small group, having most of the money, should be reminded that in our system money is power, and there is certainly a problem with one person or a small group having all the power. Further, the high end, business tends to be a dog eat dog, nice guys finish last world, meaning that those who are at the tippy top have most likely than not sacrificed morals to get themselves there. And so are not the sort of people to whom you would want to give all the power. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3569 "2026-10-09T21:12:03Z")
> **[Alberta, Saskatchewan premiers shut down Elon Musk’s call for separation |...](https://globalnews.ca/news/12092032/alberta-saskatchewan-separatism-elon-musk/)** > > The trillionaire tech businessman said on his social media platform X that Quebec would benefit from independence, as would the two Prairie provinces. > [@](#): > > The premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan are shutting down a suggestion from U.S. tech titan [Elon Musk](https://globalnews.ca/tag/elon-musk) that the two provinces should split from Canada. > [@](#): > > Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who states she’s voting to stay in Canada in an upcoming provincial referendum, says she also strongly disagrees with Musk’s opinion. This surprises me - I always thought she was for joining the US. What do I know. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3570 "2026-10-09T21:26:45Z")
Is there any cause so progressive that it couldn’t be spoiled by having Musk endorse it? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3571 "2026-10-09T21:45:48Z")
The guy has the Midas touch of shit. The Merdes touch, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3572 "2026-10-09T21:45:54Z")
Albertan separatism is a progressive cause now? That’s…certainly a take. I can’t see it being much of a popular idea except among a few wingnuts up there (and, yes, I realize the Conservatives are split on the issue). It’s hardly shocking she would come out against something she’s already campaigned as being against. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3573 "2026-10-09T22:00:10Z")
EDITED: Sorry all, I was completely mistaking this for a different issue. N.M. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2026, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3574 "2026-10-09T23:42:27Z")
David Byrne and Daniel Pemberton wrote a song for the upcoming _Musk_ documentary, and the lyrics are entirely quotes from Elmo himself. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BzZfEbA1_Po/maxresdefault.jpg "Musk | "Let Me Sell You a Dream" Music Video | Bleecker Street") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzZfEbA1_Po) ---
**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:** [October 11, 2026, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3575 "2026-10-11T23:51:23Z")
The Ukrainian strikes on the Yandex data centers have put a serious ding in Russian bot activity. I have seen it claimed that bot activity on X has dropped literally half overnight. I cannot verify this but Musk did tweet that “Zelenskyy has gone too far” which does suggest it’s true and also is hilarious. > **[Russia's Yandex bot traffic nearly eliminated overnight after Ukraine drone...](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/data-centers/russian-disinformation-bot-traffic-nearly-eliminated-overnight-after-ukraine-drone-strikes-cripple-multiple-of-russias-google-data-centers-ukraine-intensifies-bombing-of-yandex-data-centers-in-response-to-moscows-strikes-on-kyiv-data-centers)** > > The world is getting a break from Russian bots thanks to Kyiv. Apparently pro-AfD chatter across social media has also plummeted to nearly nil in the aftermath, which shouldn’t be a surprise. ---
**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:** [October 12, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3576 "2026-10-12T00:14:44Z")
Meanwhile, Elon banned a Twitter user who debunked the latest far-right conspiracy theory that James Talarico was in a mental hospital for the last two weeks. > **[MAGA's bonkers James Talarico call scheme goes up in smoke after damning...](https://www.rawstory.com/maga-james-talarico/)** > > The Make America Great Again movement's full-tilt meltdown over a new story about Texas Senate candidate James Talarico may have rested on an entirely false premise, according to analysts.On Sunday, MAGA speculated that Talarico had been at a mental... ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3577 "2026-10-12T02:00:28Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I cannot verify this but Musk did tweet that “Zelenskyy has gone too far” which does suggest it’s true and also is hilarious. It’s reminiscent of Musk’s self-own late last year when he had Twitter/X list location information for posts, and it turned out possibly a majority of MAGA influencers were based in other countries. He had the feature turned off almost immediately. Of course, it’s a bit of a Catch-22. They would have to be more intelligent to understand how stupid they look being so easily manipulated. I remember the days when he claimed he wanted to rid the platform of such bot accounts. Nobody bought it back then, either. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3578 "2026-10-12T06:19:58Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > but Musk did tweet that “Zelenskyy has gone too far” Interesting that Elmo’s red line is attacking data centers as opposed to say, civilians. Ok, it’s not actually interesting or even surprising, it’s just macabre. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3579 "2026-10-12T09:19:42Z")
Not really. It is just that data-centers and Elon have a lot in common: soulless, ugly, resource intensive and people don’t want either of them in their neighborhood. Of course he has empathy for them. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3580 "2026-10-12T11:55:04Z")
There’s that but the real issue is that it reveals much of the network traffic Twitter/X gets, including at least half of his own followers, are fake bot accounts. That hits (1) his revenue and (2) pokes holes in the carefully maintained delusion of his own online popularity. He couldn’t care less about civilian casualties. But any cracks in the paper thin facade of his self-image? He can’t handle that in the least ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2026, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634/3581 "2026-10-12T12:41:40Z")
If there is any significant business left that advertises on X, I think they’ll be rethinking their cost per view numbers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634.md?page=177) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-2/1005634.md?page=179)