Ɖ Gardịn vy on Īlón Musc’z Twitr tecovr: ɖ unflfild proṃsz pîl p
(Transcription of an editorial published in the Guardian on 1 November 2022)
Ɖ wrld’z rićist man proṃsz mor ɖn h hz dlivrd. Hiz sośl-netwrc prćis z lîcli t g ɖ sem we
Tyzde 1 Nvmbr 2022
Īlón Musc z a fan v ɖ saynsfix́n raitr Îzac Asimov. Ẃn hiz spescraft cumṗni SpesX s’xesḟli snt its Fōlcn Hevi rocit pêlod intu orbit arnd ɖ sún in 2018, ɖ cargo includd a dijitl copi v ɖ oʈr’z clasic wrc: Đ Fǎndeśn Triḷji. Wn v ɖ mn pṛtaġnists in ɖt siriz z ɖ Ḿl, a ḿtnt, meġloṃnaycl teḷpaʈ hu yzz hiz pǎrz t inspîr fnaticl loylti, upend hisṭri n concr ɖ gaḷxi. Nwn cd mis ɖt Mr Musc hz a Ḿl-sîzd dzîr t ǒn ɖ fyćr.
Hiz plan t mc hymaṇti a multiplanitri spīśīz includz ńcñ Marśn polr îscaps t rlis carbn dîoxîd, worm ɖ red planit n mc it mor hspitbl fr hymn lîf. Yt Mr Musc hz a hisṭri v mcñ proṃsz h hz nvr dlivrd on. Hiz dziz-krñ “bren-mśīn inṭfes” z we bhnd rîvlz. In hiz dfns, ɖ biłner invntr hz dsruptd ɖ car inḍstri wɖ hiz Tezla ilectric viyclz t sev ɖ planit. H hz bcm an îcóṇclast in ɖ public imaɉneśn.
Mr Musc hz a larj īgo n biłnz v dolrz t brn, n inspîrz sć frvr in deṿtīz ɖt hiz utṛnsz cōz stampīdz intu ofn wrʈlis invstmnts sć az bitcôn. Ɖ wrld’z rićist man pzesz sć slf-b’lif ɖt h sīmz wilñ t bet hiz ǒn fortyn on hiz instñts. Ɖ truʈ me b rɖr mor pṛzêic: Mr Musc z a gd enɉnir, bt h z īvn betr at fosṭrñ a cult v prṣnaḷti so larj ɖt fanz invst in him, nt hiz products.
Sć loylti hz its prcs. Dīlz, hvr ilojicl, r mor seḷbretd ɖn inteṛgetd. Bt Mr Musc z tstñ ɖ fideḷti v ɖ feʈfl wɖ hiz $44bn tecovr v ɖ sośl netwrc Twitr. Abt a qortr v ɖt sum wz lent bî Wōl Strīt bancs – n ɖ rest z caś fṛm Mr Musc n hiz co-invstrz. Bt t ẃt prṗs? Twitr z a mino cmperd t Gūgl n Fes-bc in trmz v reṿny n yzrz. H hz nǎ nemd himslf Ćīf Twit, bt h hd olrdi ŕnd ɖt sobṛce in 2018 ẃn h twītd – fōlsli – ɖt h wz tecñ Tezla prîṿt. Mr Musc wz faind $40m fr mslidñ invstrz n stept dǎn az Tezla’z ćer.
Mor rīsntli, Mr Musc’z “fri-spīć maxiṃlizm” hz léd t him twītñ a frinj cnspiṛsiʈiyri, cōlñ fr Ycren t gv p okpaid land fr pīs, n plejñ t rvrs Doṇld Trump’s Twitr ban. Nn v ɖz bod wel fr dmocṛsi. Sć utṛnsz olso risc scẹrñ of big advtîzrz. Hiz plan t ćarj Twitr’z 300,000 “blu tíc” yzrz w’nt rêz inuf caś t brij ɖ $400m gap btwn its reṿnyz n détrīpemnts.
Mr Musc sz “bayñ Twitr z an axelṛnt t crietñ X, ɖ evriʈñ ap”. Bt ɖs sǎndz lîc anɖr proḟsi destind t rmen unflfild. Mni wuri ɖt ɖt me b ẃt Mr Musc z larjli abt. Tezla z ɖ fǎndeśn v hiz vast fortyn. Yt śerz in ɖ cumṗni r dǎn 40% fṛm last yir. Comṗtiśn fṛm Ćînīz cumṗniz ʈretnz Tezla’z botm lîn, bt so dz Mr Musc’z in’biḷti t saṭsfî reğletrz ɖt its carz cn b yzd sefli wɖt smwn at ɖ ẃīl. Slf-drîvñ carz rmen tde, lîc mni v Mr Musc’s ambiśnz, mor fix́n ɖn fact.
