If Elon Musk has a tragic flaw, it isn't his temper, or his treatment of underlings, or his refusal to follow securities laws. Musk's tragic flaw is his inability to accept that he's extremely, painfully unfunny. At best, his brand of humor resembles dad jokes from the dad who thinks he can hang, as when he hosted Saturday Night Live, tried to start an Onion competitor, or sold novelty blowtorches for no good reason. At other times, the gags aren't just whiffs; they're also stunningly self-destructive.
These face-plants are becoming a serious problem for Tesla Inc., one of the world's most important and innovative companies. For years now, but especially over the past few months, Musk's automaker has had to reckon with the consequences of his excruciating attempts to tell a multibillion-dollar weed joke.
His failed 2018 effort to take Tesla private at $420 a share led to a Securities and Exchange Commission settlement and a shareholder lawsuit that brought Musk to the witness stand in federal court starting on Jan. 20. The second, more successful buyout attempt has led to far more strained bids for lulz. "Comedy is now legal," Musk tweeted in October, shortly after closing the $44 billion deal that gave him control of Twitter Inc. for $54.20 a share. Since then he's run all of Twitter with the same kind of needy trolling that animates his personal account.
The joke is on Musk. This became all too clear last month in San Francisco, when comedian Dave Chappelle called him onstage during a sold-out stand-up show at the Chase Center. "Ladies and gentlemen, make some noise for the richest man in the world," Chappelle said. It should've been a sympathetic crowd: The average Chappelle fan in 2023 isn't the sort to be offended by Musk's comments about the "woke mind virus" or his mocking of trans people's pronoun use.
Denne historien er fra January 30, 2023-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 30, 2023-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts
Running in Circles
A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking
The Last-Mover Problem
A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps
Tick Tock, TikTok
The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment
New Money, New Problems
In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers
