The world saw Elon Musk's phone yesterday. The CEOs of Tesla and SpaceX are fighting with Twitter, trying to abandon a deal to buy and privatize the platform. As part of the discovery process related to the case, the Delaware court released hundreds of text messages and emails sent to Musk. The redacted 151-page document is a fascinating and terrifying story of the world's richest (and weakest) man in a matter of months, and a rare glimpse into the layered worlds of Silicon Valley, media and politics. The lyrics are juicy, but not because they're bad, particularly offensive, or hints at Musk's master plan, quite the opposite. What's most telling about Musk's posts is how down-to-earth, inconsiderate, and kind the powerful people associated with Musk are. Anyone who says there are no bad ideas in brainstorming has never received a call from Elon Musk.
In no time, the articles became a hot topic of discussion among technologists and observers. "The overriding reaction in every thread I go to is that everyone feels stupid," one former social media executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of his connections to many of the people in Musk's posts, told me. "It was a general. Is this really how business is done?" There is really no systematic thinking or analysis involved. It is done impulsively and without any concern for the consequences.
What appears in the document is, in my opinion, a twisted status symbol (some people I've spoken to in tech and media circles only see their names). And what you immediately notice when reading the articles is that many of the same people have gone into Musk's articles this year, except for talking to the media. Joe Rogan said; William MacAskill, an efficient ultrasound, crypto-billionaire and Democratic donor Sam Bankman-Fried have arrived; Matthias Döfner, CEO of Excel Spring (and subject of a recent profile); Marc Andreessen, venture capitalist, NIMBY and master Twitter blocker; Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who recently announced his participation in the November 2020 appeal of Donald Trump's election loss; And, of course, Jack Dorsey, founder and former CEO of Twitter. Musk, perhaps the most veiled and annoying of them all, has an inbox that will serve the power level of the semi-polarizers who made the news last year.
Few of the men on Kasturi's phone consider him his equal. Many of the messages may seem silly, but they are likely to be serious. Either way, the reason is clear: Musk has seen power, and these tech industries want to get their hands on it. "I love your tweets," said Palanti founder Joe Lonsdale, before suggesting that "Twitter's algorithms should be open source," an idea he will bring up at an upcoming retreat for members of Congress. Antonio Gracias, CEO of GOP policy Valor Partners praised Twitter itself, telling the billionaire: “I'm with you 100% Elon. Regardless of the mattress.
Few people are on Musk's phone like angel investor Jason Kalakanis, who blasts his friend with sparks and random ideas for services. Within 30 minutes of Musk trying to take the company private, Calacanis unveiled a five-point plan on Twitter that included changes to membership levels, creator revenue sharing, the transparency algorithm and the company's operations. The company moved from San Francisco to Austin. After pledging his loyalty ("You have my sword," he texted Musk), Calacanis spent weeks pushing new ideas. "I had a great monetization idea," he wrote before suggesting a way for users to pay Twitter.
"Imagine if we let Justin Beaver come back and support his fans… he could instantly sell a million in merchandise or tickets. That's a possibility," he wrote. the record According to court documents, Musk did not respond. Musk later chastised Calacanis for trying to raise public investment to finance the purchase of the field. This leads to the message string that reads directly from the replacement :
Musk:
Morgan Stanley and Jared think you're not treating our friendship right
This makes me desperate.
please stop
Calacanis:
I just want your help.
During Musk's media meltdown in April, the billionaire repeatedly demonstrated a deep understanding of Twitter, proposing opposing policies such as banning spam and bot armies, but respecting "legitimate" content. (Spam, bot armies, and crypto-scammers are technically legal. Dopfner, head of several media companies, including Insider and Politico , offered Musk the run at Twitter, but he seemed unprepared for the job. In the novel-length piece, Dopfner tells the company That a "#Gameplan" is published, which resolves "1.) line item, free speech." He vaguely stated the idea of making Twitter censorship-resistant with "decentralized infrastructure" and "open APIs." Twitter is no different in the suggestion that it has an algorithmic "marketplace." "If you're a snowflake and don't want offensive content, choose a different algorithm," he wrote to Musk.
In early April, Musk seemed excited about his idea to replace Twitter with a blockchain-based payment and messaging system. In a series of text messages to entrepreneur brother Kimball Musk, he convinced them that his idea could be great and a way to get rid of spam while protecting free speech. In this absurd situation, users have to pay Dogecoin cryptocurrency to send or send. 10 days later, Musk sent another text saying "Twitter blockchain is not possible".
The articles also shed light on Silicon Valley's best and brightest investment strategies. Calacanis' over-the-top angel investment, and you've got great strategists like Andreessen, who Mook wrote in a pilot Twitter DM: "$250 million, no extra work required." "Thank you!" replied Kasturi. In another exchange, Musk asked Ellison if he wanted to invest in taking Twitter private. "Yes, of course," Ellison replied. "A billion…or whatever you suggest." Simple enough.
"This is one of the most telling things I've seen about how investing in Silicon Valley works," Jessica Lessin, founder of tech publication The Information , tweeted about Andreessen's stock. Indeed, two examples in the paper suggest that networks of power in the boys' club and tech worlds are at work. Is it any wonder that the rich (including one of the 10 richest people in the world) throw as much money at their friends as you do at a poker night? Not really, and especially not if that person is the richest person in the world. But the eagerness to bring Musk back and the sluggish quality of the deal reveal something deeper about the fragility of this investment ecosystem and how it is driven by vitriol and resentment rather than intelligence. Looking at these articles, it's easy to understand Andreessen Horowitz's recent $350 million investment in WeWork founder Adam Newman's new real estate venture, or Bankuman-Fried's admission that most venture capital investments are not "symbolic of an efficient market." . And mostly driven by FOMO and hype. "Like all models, they're in makeup, aren't they?" he lamented to Bloomberg last April.
What's immediately clear is that a lot of people on Musk's phone are having fun with his Twitter rants. This is your chance to throw some good dirt at the wall and see what sticks. They throw around phrases like "hard reset" and "day zero". Sharpen your blades, my children"—to get rid of what they see as perhaps unnecessary and ineffective work. They foresee great income opportunities and big changes that only they can take advantage of. For this group, early success in their previous business or career. Often a trailblazer, and their skills naturally transfer to whatever field they choose to excel in (including the magic solution of free speech .) But all they do is fly .
"I'm on 20 chats with people," one former social media manager told me. "And literally like shit, they threw him against the wall . The ideas people have written about who will be CEOs are pure fantasy baseball nonsense. For all the self-mythology and self-aggrandizing rhetoric, the men in these text messages are misguided, disorganized, and incapable of solving the social problems they think they can solve. they seem to be
Especially when it comes to the über rich and powerful, we tend to fantasize and imagine what we can't see. We create reflections of darkness or evil that may be worthy or wrong. So what's striking about Musk's posts is the similarity between his behavior behind closed doors on Twitter and his behavior in public. Perhaps the real revelation here is how shallow you can see.
