Elon Musk

[Grifman]

LOL, just saw someone call Musk President and Trump Assistant Secretary of Golf!

[Max Peck]

Something about leopards and faces…

Maybe this election may actually turn out to be the best.
They all can't get what they want and maybe the entire thing will implode beyond repair.

Turns out billionaires and deplorables don't have much in common. Who could've imagined?

They have plenty in common. It isn't like Musk isn't just as racist and bigoted as any MAGAt, he just doesn't let it get in the way of leveraging H1-B visas to his advantage. It's a cheap source of tech workers who will put in 80+ hour weeks to avoid being shipped back to whatever circumstances that made working for Musk seem like the better alternative.

[Victoria Raverna]

Billionaires that support Trump are worse than those deplorables.

[Unagi]

LOL, just saw someone call Musk President and Trump Assistant Secretary of Golf!

Keep em' coming, I say. Anything to erode at that relationship is a plus.

[Blackhawk]

Billionaires that support Trump are worse than those deplorables.

People don't generally become billionaires by being friendly little hug buddies.

[Grifman]

America First!

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1 ... NcXCfN8s1g

So what do the MAGA nativists say now?

[Holman]

America First!

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1 ... NcXCfN8s1g

So what do the MAGA nativists say now?

I mean, where else does he get most of his wives?

[Max Peck]

Or his groundskeepers and poolboys. I'm pretty sure Trump doesn't have a lot of highly-skilled engineers working "on his properties."

[Unagi]

My honest, heart-felt, snark-free, and genuine advice to Elon Musk:


Shave it.
All of it.
It looks horrible.

[Victoria Raverna]

Trump sided with the billionaires on H1-B visa. He doesn't need those racist MAGA supporters now.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyv7gxp02yo

[Max Peck]

Trump can't run again (barring a MAGA coup, Constitutional amendment, or pliant legislative and judicial branches that agree that the Constitution is just a piece of paper), so it is technically correct to say that going forward he doesn't need to worry about pleasing the people who voted for him.

[Holman]

Trump sided with the billionaires on H1-B visa. He doesn't need those racist MAGA supporters now.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyv7gxp02yo

That just means Elon or Vivek was the last person to talk to him before he spoke to the reporter.

Stephen Miller will turn his head tomorrow.

[hepcat]

I think you underestimate President Elect Musk’s powers. He’s a Sith Derp Lord.

[Blackhawk]

Trump can't run again (barring a MAGA coup, Constitutional amendment, or pliant legislative and judicial branches that agree that the Constitution is just a piece of paper), so it is technically correct to say that going forward he doesn't need to worry about pleasing the people who voted for him.

It also means that we get to see lame duck Trump.

[Max Peck]

He'll only be a lame duck if the GOP manages to lose control of the House and/or Senate come the midterms.

[Kraken]

He'll only be a lame duck if the GOP manages to lose control of the House and/or Senate come the midterms.

Oh, I trust them to do that. A whole lot of people are going to be hurting two years from now, whether they realize who betrayed them or not. I don't dive deep into this stuff, but it's my understanding that the Senate map favors the Dems next time. I like their odds of taking both houses.

[LordMortis]

Musk spoke up in favor of legal immigration because he believes Americans are too stupid and want too much money compared to engineers from Asia (who can also be coerced to work extreme hours due to their immigration status vulnerability).

Vivek Ramaswamy went all-in on "we need H1-B workers because Americans aren't up to the job" to back up his Dogelord:

https://x.com/VivekGRamaswamy/status/18 ... 9945234507

The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over “native” Americans isn’t because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we’re really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH:

Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn’t start in college, it starts YOUNG.

A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers.

A culture that venerates Cory from “Boy Meets World,” or Zach & Slater over Screech in “Saved by the Bell,” or ‘Stefan’ over Steve Urkel in “Family Matters,” will not produce the best engineers.

(Fact: I know *multiple* sets of immigrant parents in the 90s who actively limited how much their kids could watch those TV shows precisely because they promoted mediocrity…and their kids went on to become wildly successful STEM graduates).

More movies like Whiplash, fewer reruns of “Friends.” More math tutoring, fewer sleepovers. More weekend science competitions, fewer Saturday morning cartoons. More books, less TV. More creating, less “chillin.” More extracurriculars, less “hanging out at the mall.”

Most normal American parents look skeptically at “those kinds of parents.” More normal American kids view such “those kinds of kids” with scorn. If you grow up aspiring to normalcy, normalcy is what you will achieve.

Now close your eyes & visualize which families you knew in the 90s (or even now) who raise their kids according to one model versus the other. Be brutally honest.

“Normalcy” doesn’t cut it in a hyper-competitive global market for technical talent. And if we pretend like it does, we’ll have our asses handed to us by China.

This can be our Sputnik moment. We’ve awaken from slumber before & we can do it again. Trump’s election hopefully marks the beginning of a new golden era in America, but only if our culture fully wakes up. A culture that once again prioritizes achievement over normalcy; excellence over mediocrity; nerdiness over conformity; hard work over laziness.

That’s the work we have cut out for us, rather than wallowing in victimhood & just wishing (or legislating) alternative hiring practices into existence. I’m confident we can do it.

Arguing that immigrants rule, Americans drool is a bold case to make to MAGA, but let's see how it works out for him. At least his blue checkmark is safe.

So what do the Tech Bros and Hedge Fund managers and inherited billionaire class think about think about better funding public education and moving education away from religious indoctrination and nationalism toward STEM and critical thinking a la the arts to create a better educated internal populace?

[Max Peck]

That requires long-term planning and investment. Do you really expect that from people who only care about the next quarter's financial statements? It's far cheaper to simply import a workforce as required and replace it as you burn it out.

On top of that, if you have an electorate that is largely educated and capable of critical thinking then how do you expect to maintain the oligarchy by convincing the plebs to vote against their own interests?

[Jaymann]

LOL, that escalated quickly.

https://youtu.be/y-jm_9wdX2Y?t=2

[Blackhawk]

He'll only be a lame duck if the GOP manages to lose control of the House and/or Senate come the midterms.

Oh, I trust them to do that. A whole lot of people are going to be hurting two years from now, whether they realize who betrayed them or not. I don't dive deep into this stuff, but it's my understanding that the Senate map favors the Dems next time. I like their odds of taking both houses.

This assumes that their voting 'reforms' don't change the math.

[Kraken]

He'll only be a lame duck if the GOP manages to lose control of the House and/or Senate come the midterms.

Oh, I trust them to do that. A whole lot of people are going to be hurting two years from now, whether they realize who betrayed them or not. I don't dive deep into this stuff, but it's my understanding that the Senate map favors the Dems next time. I like their odds of taking both houses.

This assumes that their voting 'reforms' don't change the math.

True, the odds of a black swan event are rising.

[Alefroth]

Trump can't run again (barring a MAGA coup, Constitutional amendment, or pliant legislative and judicial branches that agree that the Constitution is just a piece of paper), so it is technically correct to say that going forward he doesn't need to worry about pleasing the people who voted for him.

I think he still needs his base as a way tp threaten legislators who don't do his bidding. Part of the fear of Trump is having his base turn against you.

[Max Peck]

Trump can't run again (barring a MAGA coup, Constitutional amendment, or pliant legislative and judicial branches that agree that the Constitution is just a piece of paper), so it is technically correct to say that going forward he doesn't need to worry about pleasing the people who voted for him.

I think he still needs his base as a way tp threaten legislators who don't do his bidding. Part of the fear of Trump is having his base turn against you.

Perhaps, but he may just assume that his fans will stick by him no matter what, and they may well do that. Even if they don't, the billions of dollars that Leon is promising to spend in order to defeat anyone who doesn't toe the line might be enough to keep the House and Senate GOP subservient. If anything influences them more than the fear of being primaried, it would be money.

[Smoove_B]

You might want to sit down before reading:

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has reportedly hired foreign workers with H-1B visas after a wave of layoffs in the U.S.

Electrek reported on Monday that Tesla recently "ramped up its use of H-1B visas to replace U.S. workers it let go during a wave of layoffs earlier this year."

Current and former Tesla employees confirmed the car company's move in recent days, Electrek said. Tesla reportedly laid off at least 14% of its 120,000 workers in 2024.

Over the past week, supporters of President-elect Donald Trump's MAGA movement have been furious with Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chairs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy after they called for an increase in H-1B visas and suggested U.S. workers were inferior.

Musk is also Tesla's CEO and largest shareholder.

[Max Peck]

Leon seems to be self-identifying as the alt-right god-king now. And maybe indulging in a little crypto price manipulation.



Elon Musk changes his name to Kekius Maximus on X

The world's richest man, Elon Musk, has sparked speculation after changing his name on his social media platform X to "Kekius Maximus".

The tech mogul - and close confidant of US President-Elect Donald Trump - offered no immediate explanation for the name or his new profile image which depicts the character Pepe the Frog - a meme that has been used by far-right groups.

The move has sent ripples through the cryptocurrency world, sending the value of a memecoin - a digital currency inspired by internet memes - that shares the same name skyrocketing.

In the past, Mr Musk has influenced crypto prices with his social media commentary, but it was not immediately clear if he had any involvement in this particular memecoin.

What the Kek: Explaining the Alt-Right 'Deity' Behind Their 'Meme Magic'

You may have seen the name bandied about on social media, especially in political circles where alt-right activists and avid Donald Trump supporters lurk. Usually it is brandished as a kind of epithet, seemingly to ward off the effects of liberal arguments, and it often is conveyed in memes that use the image of the alt-right mascot, Pepe the Frog: “Kek!”

Kek, in the alt-right’s telling, is the “deity” of the semi-ironic “religion” the white nationalist movement has created for itself online – partly for amusement, as a way to troll liberals and self-righteous conservatives both, and to make a kind of political point. He is a god of chaos and darkness, with the head of a frog, the source of their memetic “magic,” to whom the alt-right and Donald Trump owe their success, according to their own explanations.

In many ways, Kek is the apotheosis of the bizarre alternative reality of the alt-right: at once absurdly juvenile, transgressive, and racist, as well as reflecting a deeper, pseudo-intellectual purpose that lends it an appeal to young ideologues who fancy themselves deep thinkers. It dwells in that murky area they often occupy, between satire, irony, mockery, and serious ideology; Kek can be both a big joke to pull on liberals and a reflection of the alt-right’s own self-image as serious agents of chaos in modern society.

Most of all, Kek has become a kind of tribal marker of the alt-right: Its meaning obscure and unavailable to ordinary people – “normies,” in their lingo – referencing Kek is most often just a way of signaling to fellow conversants online that the writer embraces the principles of chaos and destruction that are central to alt-right thinking, as it were.

Checks out.

[LawBeefaroni]

More malfeasance from the world's biggest con man:

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has sued billionaire Elon Musk, saying he failed to disclose his ownership of Twitter stock in a timely manner in early 2022, before buying the social media site.

As a result, the SEC alleges, Musk was able to underpay “by at least $150 million” for shares he bought after he should have disclosed his ownership of more than 5% of Twitter’s shares. Musk bought Twitter in October 2022 and later renamed it X.

A pretty strong non-denial from the Musk camp:

“As the SEC retreats and leaves office — the SEC’s multi-year campaign of harassment against Mr. Musk culminated in the filing of a single-count ticky tack complaint against Mr. Musk under Section 13(d) for an alleged administrative failure to file a single form — an offense that, even if proven, carries a nominal penalty,” Spiro added.

The SEC’s current chair, Gary Gensler, plans to step down from his post on Jan. 20 and it is not clear if the new administration will continue the lawsuit.

Rule of law? What is that?

[Zaxxon]

Why deny when his new best bud will be in charge in a week?

[GreenGoo]

LOL, that escalated quickly.

<snip video>

She's not nearly as charismatic as Beau.

She also talks about some evidence (not detailed) that Musk is messing around with the algorithm because he didn't like what was trending.

At least he's kept in check by an ethics and fact checking board/team. Freedom, I think it's called.

[hepcat]

Why deny when his new best bud will be in charge in a week?

President Musk does not need the help of peons like Trump!

[Jaymann]

Why deny when his new best bud will be in charge in a week?

President Musk does not need the help of peons like Trump!

But he is not above paying peons to play his accounts in video games.

[Smoove_B]

I feel like this belongs here:

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday, according to an official involved with planning the event.

They will have a prominent spot at the ceremony, seated together on the platform with other notable guests, including Trump’s Cabinet nominees and elected officials.

Musk said on X that he was “honored” to have such a prominent spot at the inauguration.

I keep saying it, but I don't think people are ready for what's about to happen.

[LawBeefaroni]

'His" PoE2 hardcore character is dead.

Of all the things to lie about .

[Max Peck]

[geezer]

'His" PoE2 hardcore character is dead.

Of all the things to lie about .

"...Musk revealed that Invoker Monk Percy_Verence was his character using his gaming-focused X profile; cyb3rgam3r420..."

Dafuq is this guy's problem? Does he actually think "X" and "420" are cool and edgy? What a f'n child.

[LawBeefaroni]

'His" PoE2 hardcore character is dead.

Of all the things to lie about .

"...Musk revealed that Invoker Monk Percy_Verence was his character using his gaming-focused X profile; cyb3rgam3r420..."

Dafuq is this guy's problem? Does he actually think "X" and "420" are cool and edgy? What a f'n child.

They're not only cool and edgy, they're S3XY!

[Zaxxon]

'His" PoE2 hardcore character is dead.

Of all the things to lie about .

"...Musk revealed that Invoker Monk Percy_Verence was his character using his gaming-focused X profile; cyb3rgam3r420..."

Dafuq is this guy's problem? Does he actually think "X" and "420" are cool and edgy? What a f'n child.

They're not only cool and edgy, they're S3XY!

S3XY was dumb but at least a tiny little bit entertaining. Now we have ASS (Actually Smart Summon), 69/420 references wherever possible, etc. Embarrassing.

[geezer]

'His" PoE2 hardcore character is dead.

Of all the things to lie about .

"...Musk revealed that Invoker Monk Percy_Verence was his character using his gaming-focused X profile; cyb3rgam3r420..."

Dafuq is this guy's problem? Does he actually think "X" and "420" are cool and edgy? What a f'n child.

They're not only cool and edgy, they're S3XY!

S3XY was dumb but at least a tiny little bit entertaining. Now we have ASS (Actually Smart Summon), 69/420 references wherever possible, etc. Embarrassing.

Somewhat related:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... uch-losers

[Holman]

S3XY was dumb but at least a tiny little bit entertaining. Now we have ASS (Actually Smart Summon), 69/420 references wherever possible, etc. Embarrassing.

Don't forget removing the "W" from the company name on Twitter HQ.

Musk is the funniest bro in the whole fifth grade.

[Zaxxon]

I have a fifth grader and am fairly confident neither she nor the bros in her class would find most of Musk’s humor all that funny.

[LordMortis]

I would say 12 year old so that would be boy in the 7thish grade and not so much funniest as the biggest attention seeker attempting what he thinks is verboten adult humor.