Elon Musk Slams NYT With (Sort Of) Their Own Words After They Label Him a ‘Geopolitical Chaos Agent’
Elon Musk lashed out at the New York Times on Wednesday with a sarcastic rewrite of their commentary labeling him a “geopolitical chaos agent” with an unmatched among billionaires ability to “influence and ability to cause trouble.”
In an article published on Wednesday under the headline “How Elon Musk Became a Geopolitical Chaos Agent” and the subhed “The world’s richest man has inserted himself in some of the world’s most combustible conflicts,” the New York Times wrote that the Tesla and SpaceX billionaire has had a disruptive effect on major geopolitical events and issues around the world.
“Mr. Musk has in recent months emerged as a new, chaotic actor on the stage of global politics. While plenty of billionaire executives like to tweet their two cents on world affairs, none can come close to Mr. Musk’s influence and ability to cause trouble,” say NYT’s Cade Metz, Adam Satariano, and Chang Che. “He has sometimes waded into situations even after he was advised not to, and has already left behind plenty of messes.”
Among the stories the article touched on was the use of the Starlink satellite system in Ukraine and potential use for protesters in Iran, and they quoted a former Obama advisor arguing that technology is increasingly “central to geopolitics,” adding that “it’s messy and there is Elon Musk in the middle of it.”
The Times‘ report also quoted unnamed sources, a practice which featured prominently in the online responses.
After the paper tweeted the article, Musk, whose Twitter bio now reads “Chief Twit,” responded several times.
He laughed at one user’s reply that rephrased the NYT tweet:
https://twitter.com/dontreadonmeow/status/1585259624651182081
He followed up with a rewrite of his own.
He also said he’s a fan of “citizen journalism.”
He jabbed at the paper for correcting errors — years later.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1585289655431229440
And cuttingly remarked that “Nobody bats 1000 🤷♂️” after someone replied that the New York Times “took Hitler’s side” in World War II.
He praised citizen journalism again and then added his respect for local news outlets, saying they should get “way more prominence on Twitter.”
That was the latest in the feud as of the time of this post, but no doubt there will be a few more before the day’s end.
