Elon Musk: What Went Wrong?

Frida Ghitis is a writer and journalist. She used to work for CNN. She writes about world affairs. Her opinions are her own. She writes for CNN, The Washington Post, and World Politics Review.

Elon Musk used to be a cool guy who people looked up to. Then he got Twitter and became more popular. He showed us that he isn't exactly the person we thought he was. He did some cool things with Tesla and SpaceX though.

Musk did bad things last week. These bad things may have big consequences. Musk also showed that what he says and what he does are different.

Musk likes attention, but we don't want to give it to him. He's been trolling, but we try to ignore it. We still need to say that he's harmful and a hypocrite, even if we don't like to. He used to be the richest man in the world.

During the past weekend, Musk gave in to the demands of Turkey's authoritarian government led by President Erdogan. This move is surprising since Musk has previously claimed to be a "free speech absolutist." He blocked some accounts and more than 400 tweets in the country.

Twitter followed the orders of a Turkish court. It may have helped Erdogan win his difficult election. Erdogan has imprisoned his opponents and critics, including journalists.

Enes Kanter Freedom, a Turkish ex-NBA player and opponent of Erdogan, was upset with Elon Musk for supporting free speech. Kanter accused Musk of submitting to the dictatorship. Twitter explained that they suspended accounts to keep their platform up during the national elections. Twitter disputed four out of the five court orders against them.

Musk tweeted mean things about George Soros after the election. Soros is a billionaire who supports liberal causes and is Jewish. Musk's tweets were concerning because they could encourage more hatred towards Jewish people and increase acts of violence. Some people say Musk's tweets make antisemitism worse.

He said bad things about a famous reporting group. He thinks it's not true that a person who did a violent attack and has signs of being a Nazi, and who also posted hateful messages against groups like women and Jewish people, is related to white supremacy.

The man who spreads crazy conspiracy theories to millions of people doesn't seem like the same thoughtful person from his earlier days.

He didn't follow the rules, and people didn't like it. Some thought he wasn't that great of a hero. However, many believed him when he said he cared about people and wanted to help.

In the past, people would write profiles about Musk that praised him excessively. They talked about his concerns regarding the biggest threats to humanity. They were amazed by his ability to run his companies and also work to protect the Earth.

Musk shares his opinions firmly. But sometimes they seem shallow. He doesn't consider the outcomes or maybe he doesn't mind.

He brought back many banned Twitter accounts. People still respect him for that. However, some of these accounts have posted racist and anti-semitic content. Researchers on the internet have recorded this.

Musk said he would allow more free speech on Twitter, but it seems he only supports those who agree with him, which is becoming more like a far-right activist. He wasn't completely committed to this promise.

In Turkey's election, the opposition relied on social media since the government controls most of the media. Twitter was a vital tool for free speech. The opposition needed to reach people, and social media was their chance. They were hoping that their message would spread and get through to people.

Musk said they had to either obey the government or have Twitter closed. However, there was another way.

Erdogan made demands before the 2014 election. He said he wanted to eradicate Twitter and didn't care about what others thought. Twitter fought back.

Turkey closed Twitter temporarily. Erdogan's allies spoke out against him. Twitter eventually reopened with its values unchanged. Erdogan's reputation was damaged by his behavior.

Musk is not fully committed to free speech. He believes it should align with the law. This means he might support a law that restricts criticism.

Musk is hypocritical about free speech. Also, people are starting to see him less as a wise future-thinker who cares about the future of humanity.

It's okay to not agree with George Soros. However, Elon Musk's criticism wasn't a deep discussion. Soros recently sold his Tesla stock, and then Musk attacked.

Musk compared the Jewish billionaire to a comic book villain. He even suggested the villain was Jewish and from Marvel. Someone argued that Soros had good intentions, but Musk launched into a description that resembled the "Protocols of Zion" and depicted Jews secretly scheming against the world.

Soros and Musk wrote on Twitter to 140 million followers. They said Soros wants to damage civilization. Soros hates people.

The way it's being presented falls in line with many theories that have been around for a long time that are against Jewish people. These theories portray them as evil, with secretive abilities that they use to try and take down society.

Soros supports liberal causes. These include democracy, human rights, and the environment. Musk does not support these causes. However, their disagreement is not the focus.

The ADL said Musk's words can make extremists more confident. Extremists already create anti-Jewish theories.

Musk likes promoting conspiracies, even if it's risky. He doesn't care that racist antisemites are causing harm. The amount of antisemitic attacks is at an all-time high since 1979, but he still does it.

Musk affirmed that he'll speak his mind, even if it means losing money. He's very courageous.

Musk is spreading messages from conspiracy theorists. This adds fuel to the fire. The social media environment is already fragile and Musk is making it worse. This makes the world more dangerous.

People used to not know much about Musk, but now they do. Some people on the far right really like him now.

He has become extremely famous. He is making a lot of news. This is all happening now.

It's possible that it is worth it for him.