Elon

 This is a wonderful takedown of Elon Musk's Twitter takeover. (This isn't bad either.) It's so obviously accurate that Twitter exists in a tiny niche of simmering resentment that it's impossible Musk didn't know what he was getting in to. In fact, it seems as if precisely the awfulness of much of Twitter was what appealed to him in the first place.

The fact that he paid a ridiculous amount of money for an unprofitable company that cannot possibly be anything other than what it is makes this whole thing hilarious. 

I've mentioned in the past that I've had my share of interactions with students who see Musk as a sort of tech-messiah, a real life Tony Stark. I never saw it. As far as I know, Musk is not, in fact, some engineering genius. He has bachelor's degrees in physics and economics. He's a venture capitalist of the sort that are thick on the ground in Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley, in fact, is perhaps better understood as a hub of venture capitalism rather than technological innovation.

While is Musk is undoubtedly "smart," he is also a man cosseted from a young age by immense wealth. He grew up within the comforts of apartheid South Africa to the son of a wealthy emerald mine owner. That's not his "fault" but we've seen repeatedly recently - with Trump the Platonic Ideal of this - that wealthy people, especially men, are just wired differently because they have been so insulated from the typical consequences most of us have to face.

So, we have Trump - a pampered scion of a wealthy slumlord - becoming a celebrity despite running multiple business into bankruptcy who decides this is sufficient life experience to become president. The resulting shitshow may yet break American democracy. 

Musk, meanwhile, has bought into his own hype about being the next Nicola Tesla. In fact, he's the next Thomas Edison, a man who had a few good ideas, but mostly stole the hard work of those who worked for him. Edison, however, never made as bone-headed a move as buying Twitter. That Musk thought he could somehow make Twitter "work" is a prime example of Wealth-Induced Hubris.

Maybe his fanbois are right and this enfant terrible will make Twitter something glorious and profitable. Or maybe human nature remains human nature and he will fail, because he does not understand people much at all.