If there¡¯s one thing about Tesla CEO Elon Musk it¡¯s that he¡¯s prone to dramatic and spontaneous reactions. If there¡¯s another, it¡¯s that he also has a very fragile ego.
Those two clearly do not mix well, as is evident in his recent tirade on Twitter.?
Images courtesy: Reuters
It all started with an innocent tweet yesterday quoting a story by Riveter CEO Amy Nelson for Forbes. In it, she talked about Musk¡¯s recent emotional interview with the New York Times, where she questioned how it would have been perceived if a female CEO had been as tearful as he was in an interview. Her (fairly accurate) take was that a powerful businesswoman or startup founder simply could not present themselves in such a vulnerable way without being taken for granted as the stereotypical ¡°weak¡± woman not in control of her emotions.
Musk didn¡¯t like that though. Not the takeaway from the story, he was more concerned about insisting he didn¡¯t cry during said interview.?
However according to Jalopnik, who reached out to an NYT spokesperson, that¡¯s not fully true. ¡°Mr Musk¡¯s emotion was audible,¡± they insisted in the email. ¡°It is not true that his voice only cracked once.¡± Of course, that little detail is beside the point. It doesn¡¯t matter if Musk cried. The toxic belief that men shouldn¡¯t cry is as absurd as the belief that women who do cry are therefore incapable. But what is important is that Musk just wouldn¡¯t have anyone believe he DID cry.
In response, another Twitter user sarcastically commented that the CEO¡¯s ¡°dedication to facts and truth¡± should have been kept in mind when he indiscriminately called a rescue diver that helped save the trapped Thai boys ¡°a pedo¡±.
Musk¡¯s response? That of course Vern Unsworth is a pedophile because he hasn¡¯t yet attempted to sue the billionaire with massive legal funds that slandered him. On top of that, he insists that it¡¯s really not his job to back up his wild claims, but the job of other random people to go out and investigate the insane stuff he spouts on Twitter everyday.?
To be clear, this particular claim has nothing to back it. The only evidence of anything on Unsworth, when this was said, is that he¡¯s willing to help rescue 13 people trapped in a flooded cave, and that he thought Musk¡¯s mini-submarine idea was stupid.
Also Read:?Russians Are Trolling Elon Musk's Inventions On Twitter With Ridiculous Lifehack Memes
Arrogance and impulsiveness aside, it seems Elon Musk has learned nothing from his troubles the past few months. If anything, his flip flop on taking Tesla Private without disclosing to investors what (if any) funding he had secured should have taught him that it¡¯s not great to try and get the last word when you really have nothing to say. And just in case you¡¯d forgotten, this is AFTER Musk made a weak non-apology to Unsworth on Twitter, one that was forced by pissed of investors.
If the man isn¡¯t careful, he might very well end up running himself off the board of his own companies in the future.