Tweet, eat, repeat Musk's week on X and what his posts reveal about him
The Guardian|August 17, 2024
Elon Musk doesn't stop tweeting. Over just seven days last week, he made nearly 650 posts to the social network he bought in late 2022 and half-heartedly rebranded as X.
Alex Hern
Tweet, eat, repeat Musk's week on X and what his posts reveal about him

In addition, he spent nearly three hours battling through technical problems he would later attribute to an unproved hacking attack in order to host a "conversation" with Donald Trump, as well as livestreaming himself playing a couple of hours of Blizzard's swords-and-sorcery game Diablo IV.

The sheer volume of his content would be impressive enough on its own, but even as someone so addicted to posting that he spent more than the budget of the Manhattan project to buy the site, Musk's consistency is alarming.

For the week of tweets analysed by the Guardian, there was one 90-minute time period - between 3am and 4.29am local time - when he never posted on any day of the week. He posted at 4.41am on a Saturday morning, at 2.30am on a Wednesday night, and at 11pm six days out of seven.

Musk's longest continuous stretch without tweeting - with a different person, it might be safe to call this "bedtime" - was just seven and a half hours, with a lie-in until 8.10am after a late-night posting session.

His shortest overnight break, on Saturday night, saw him logging off after retweeting a meme comparing London's Metropolitan police force to the Nazi SS, before bounding back online four and a half hours later to retweet a crypto influencer complaining about jail terms for protesting Britons.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE GUARDIANView all
First mass 24-hour event to help people put down their phones
The Guardian

First mass 24-hour event to help people put down their phones

Haunted by a pile of unread books? Or taunted by outdoor kit lurking in the cupboard? If you are one of the British adults who spends on average five hours a day looking at screens rather than participating in pastimes, perhaps it's time to join the offline revolution.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 21, 2024
No longer the king of bling The staggering fall of rap star Sean 'Diddy' Combs
The Guardian

No longer the king of bling The staggering fall of rap star Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Brooklyn's grim Metropolitan Detention Center is, for the foreseeable future, home to Puff Daddy, AKA Sean Combs, one of the best-known voices in American entertainment and whose business empire once seemed to know no bounds.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 21, 2024
Brandenburg stakes Last-minute push by German far right in key regional election
The Guardian

Brandenburg stakes Last-minute push by German far right in key regional election

B jörn Höcke shielded his eyes from the lights as he peered from the stage into the crowds gathered on a square in front of a gothic church in central Cottbus.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 21, 2024
'It's guerrilla war' The fire teams facing arson chaos in Amazon
The Guardian

'It's guerrilla war' The fire teams facing arson chaos in Amazon

The occupants of the military tents at this remote jungle camp in Brazil's wild west T survey the hellscape surrounding them.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 21, 2024
"The horror of it' Trial of husband and 50 men accused of wife's rape shakes France
The Guardian

"The horror of it' Trial of husband and 50 men accused of wife's rape shakes France

On the narrow streets of stone houses with pastel-blue shutters, residents of Mazan were appalled that this picturesque village in Provence was being referred to in the media as \"the village of the rapists\".

time-read
4 mins  |
September 21, 2024
West End revival Will a traffic ban lure shoppers back to Oxford Street?
The Guardian

West End revival Will a traffic ban lure shoppers back to Oxford Street?

From the rooftop of John Lewis's flagship store, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, laid out the changes planned for Oxford Street below: \"We want a public realm that is world class, green, healthy and safe but also increases footfall in the shops.\"

time-read
2 mins  |
September 21, 2024
Live and let fly James Bond chopper firm awaits decision on £1bn deal
The Guardian

Live and let fly James Bond chopper firm awaits decision on £1bn deal

The Merlin helicopter sitting on a factory floor in Yeovil is a sight familiar to James Bond aficionados from the climactic shootout of the 2012 film Skyfall.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 21, 2024
The Guardian

Mental illness is Britons' biggest health concern, survey finds

Mental health has overtaken cancer and obesity as the health issue that is the biggest cause of concern for most Britons, a global survey reveals.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 21, 2024
Noise, crime, crowds Rise in tourism stokes tensions in bustling Lake District town
The Guardian

Noise, crime, crowds Rise in tourism stokes tensions in bustling Lake District town

Even on a weekday afternoon at the very tail end of summer, Bowness-onWindermere is bustling with life. Outside the town's pubs and bars, drinkers sip lager and sparkling wine in the warm September sun.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 21, 2024
EU's new proposals on youth mobility will put Starmer 'reset' to test
The Guardian

EU's new proposals on youth mobility will put Starmer 'reset' to test

Fresh proposals to allow young people to move between Britain and the EU will be presented to the British government within weeks, in what is seen as a significant early test of Labour's \"reset\" in relations with Brussels.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 21, 2024