Billionaires going insane is the modern day equivalent of mad kings. Billionaires are unchecked power and should not exist.
The Michigan secretary of state has accused the Musk-supported America Pac of tricking people into sharing personal data. Although the Pac’s website promises to help users register to vote, it allegedly asks users in battleground states to give their names and phone numbers without directing them to a voter registration site – and then uses that information to send them anti-Harris and pro-Trump ads.
Can somebody put this motherfucker in jail for fraud?
Supreme Court can’t say he has immunity from the law.
Not the point, but it’s so weird to me that this is the dad of Sam Reich from Dropout
He’s been here the whole time.
Was thinking exactly the same thing lol
Why is that weird?
Because most times the answer to “these two (relatively) famous people have the same last name, are they related?” is no. Unless they’re actors.
Who?
1 & 2: boycott Tesla and X. I think most people that would want to do this have already done so. It’s not like he suddenly became a horrible person.
3 & 4: prosecute him. He’s literally the richest person on the planet, so… Good luck.
5: break NASA contracts with SpaceX. Sadly, NASA can’t afford to do that.
6: don’t elect Trump. Yeah… OK, we’re working on that?
What a stupid article. Basically three suggestions stretched into six that amounts to “people should do something.”
As though saying “he should be arrested” and “he should have less money” is going to suddenly stop his political influence. Reich should be a Lemmy user for all the impotent outrage and unrealizable “ways to rein him in” he expresses.
Reich is prolific on Mastodon
Boycotting Tesla isn’t even a good solution. If you want a car, Tesla, with all its problems, is still the best option for certain uses.
But yeah, stop using X. The government could even ban it like Brazil did. It wouldn’t stop X but it would be a huge pain.
It is though. You’re directly contributing in an enormous manner to his wealth, which he is donating left and right to the Trump campaign and more bullshit. If you’re rich enough to buy a tesla, you can find an electric car from another company that works too.
If you’re rich enough to buy a tesla, you can find an electric car from another company that works too.
The alternatives are more expensive for less range, or just much less range. Or double the price for more range. Or should I buy a gas car and destroy the environment to mildly inconvenience Musk. Because his money is from stock, not from Tesla profits.
Despite what you were taught in high school, stock price doesn’t reflect company profitability. If it did, Tesla’s price would be 1/5 it’s currently price.
All else aside, Tesla is typically cheaper than comparable vehicles given the tax break, gas and upkeep savings, etc. “Rich enough to buy a Tesla” isn’t a very high bar.
Teslas range from 40k - 120k +
You can get a cheap EV for 25k ish that works nearly as well. Or get a midrange EV like a Hyundai Kona for 40k ish.
And yes being able to afford a tesla is rich. The average income for an american is 40k ish per year, the same price as the cheapest tesla.
Look around at the amount of 35K+ cars you see on the road. Auto loans are pretty standard. The average cost of a new car in the United States is currently over 47K.
I’ll be the first to tell you about all the idiots I know that have new cars or trucks that cost as much as their annual income. It’s incredibly common. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see bank troubles with all these high-risk auto loans frankly. If you’ve ever bought a car, you know the dealership will basically find a loan for anyone.
I know someone that currently owns a car that costs way more than his yearly income, and his car payments are more than his rent. That dude is so fucked. All he does is work, play video games, complain about having no money, and drive around. He literally sleeps on a mattress on the floor. But he sure loves his car.
Nothing new. In the 90s, I worked at luxury auto dealers in Lake County, IL. I heard from more than one person (porters driving people to/from home, mobile service vehicle, third parties who did work for people in the area) that there were a surprisingly large number of people who lived in crazy expensive houses in highly desirable zip codes and drove $100K+ cars (in 1990s dollars), where the inside of their house was just empty. Plastic lawn chairs and a table, cheap mattresses on the floor, that’s it. They’d sunk every dime they had into appearances.
Just to be clear, luring him into a basement and then bricking him into a small chamber in the wall is not a valid option, right? I just want to be sure we’re all on the same page.
We’re not on the same page, that is a valid option.
You can’t do that because he’s a billionaire.
For billionaires you have to charge them at least a few hundred thousand to be sunk to the bottom of the ocean in a small but very exclusive carbon fiber chamber.
I’m not even sure Musk would appreciate a good Amontillado.
“getting”
I mean he did earn the money. Why isnt it his free choice what to do with it.
Getting lucky on the stock market with the large trust fund your parents gave you isn’t exactly what I’d call “earning.”
And then manipulating bitcoin and stock market prices by making loud proclamations about them in order to force the price in specific directions. Pretty clear he didn’t earn much.
And manipulating stock market prices on social media…
And then refusing to pay for literally anything to any contractors
And then refusing to pay for literally anything to any contractors
I haven’t heard this one about him. He’s pulling a trump?
I looked it up to try and find the worst example but just searching “musk refuses to pay” gave me a different instance in every article listed.
Most notably he’s refused to pay his employees, his rent, and his vendors.
Alright the money he acquired then if ur so concerned with semantics. And whats wrong with nepotism loyalty to family and friends over loyalty to the state its brainwashing by the elites so you are loyal to the state.
defending Musk by blaming “the elites” this must be the most brain dead thing I’ve seen on Lemme to date. Maybe worse than vegan cat diets….
Im not defending him lol. I literally blame him for his censorship. I just believe he has freedom to use his wealth as he sees fit.
Nah boss. When you start bringing that “elite” language you are very much making your stances clear. Elite is a dog whistle for democrats. Coastal elites, pick your poison. It’s right under the use of “woke” to put your beliefs on full display.
I use words to convey the meaning of those words. I do not dog whistle cos im willing to say what i mean to say. I see no point in hiding behind soft language.
Also how fucking self important do yoy have to be to think you know what someone is saying better than they do. Its condescending at best.
So who are these elites that are telling us that billionaires shouldn’t spend their money in any way they see fit? I’m not self important, I’ve just seen this shit too many times where people try to hide their true feelings when they really wanna say something like “all these commie/socialist dems just want to steal these poor poor billionaires hard earned dollars to give to these welfare queens who aren’t job creators and just hold our great country back”.
If you’re a conservative then it’s supposed to be “God, country, family”, in that order.
Is that cos the conservatives think the sate is god?
Generational wealth transfer is the primary thing that’s keeping the working class subjugated.
as you should be.
Bruh Musk is the elite. He’s not some hardworking blue collar or even white collar worker. He started so far ahead of the rest of us financially, and just bought his way into everything, he’s not some coding genius who built PayPal from scratch, he’s not a rocket scientist who worked on the designs for SpaceX, he’s an emotionally stunted manchild with too much money and nobody in his circle to tell him no.
Nepotism isn’t loyalty to family, its corruption.
“earn”
