zlacker

>>prawn+(OP)
As an early Tesla investor (from early-mid 2010s), I find Elon's behaviour change over last 2-3 years pretty toxic and inhumane. From the days of fighting california for covid lockdowns to now hiding behind "free speech" doing whatever he wants anyways (which is sucking up to republicans and russians and who knows who else).

I want to say this isn't 100% unexpected (some people show true behaviour openly only once they have nothing to lose). However, this does indicate a very deep flaw in our existing society i.e. giving certain individuals too much power; either via their job position or capital. This is why I think we should have higher tax rates and prevent at least an individual just to gain too much control by their capital. I would even be ok with 50%-100% tax rate above 100 million dollars net worth. There needs to be less imbalance in society, not more.

PS: Also I had divested away from individual Tesla stocks a year or so ago.

>>hcnews+6a
> ... some people show true behaviour openly only once they have nothing to lose

Look at Kanye. He has probably lost more than a billion dollars by openly becoming a (literal) Nazi. That's a significant portion of his wealth. He will probably never recover from that. He's gone from being beloved for his music to being a pariah.

I saw this to illustrate having nothing to lose I don't think is an accurate assessment. As long as you have something, you still have something to lose.

I contend that Elon hasn't really changed over the last few years (just like Kanye). So what's changed?

That's easy: the Overton window has simply moved further and further right where extreme right wing (ie alt-right) views have become mainstream. As such, those who whold those views have simply become more comfortable saying the quiet parts out loud.

You had the former president spouting QAnon conspiracies [1]. Tucker Carlson, the #1 show on America's #1 "news" network, openly pushed the idea of the Great Rplacement Theory [2]. It's truly frightening how normalized and mainstream these extreme right views have become.

> However, this does indicate a very deep flaw in our existing society i.e. giving certain individuals too much power; either via their job position or capital.

Every billionaire is a policy failure.

[1]: https://apnews.com/article/technology-donald-trump-conspirac...

[2]: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/tucker-carlson-s-great...

>>jmyeet+ki
> As such, those who whold those views have simply become more comfortable saying the quiet parts out loud.

> You had the former president spouting QAnon conspiracies

I mean, the former president probably didn't buy into any of the shit he was actually saying. He was a registered democrat until 2009. Just look at this recent trading card thing. He's full of it, he knows he's full of it, he knows a bunch of people know he's full of it