Elon Musk prolongs his sphere of deceptive information dissemination
Last Thursday's "Cybercab" robotaxi reveal by Musk was, even by his own standards of bombast, a grand spectacle of deception. It's a show that highlights the fact that the world's wealthiest individual not only endorses but also revels in the dissemination of falsehoods and exaggerations on a massive scale. Whether addressing investors, his countless followers on various platforms, or politicians he believes will align with his increasingly extreme and conspiracy-laden ideology.
Tesla failed to comment on a request for a statement.
Robotaxis, Tesla's vision of fully autonomous vehicles expected to be available next year, were the main attraction. However, Tesla's humanoid Optimus robots also managed to steal some attention as they danced and mingled with the crowd, serving drinks and engaging in games.
If only a few aspects had gone smoothly. For instance, the robots were not at all autonomous and were actually being remotely controlled by humans, a fact first reported by Bloomberg. At some point, a spectator even managed to get one of the bartending bots to confess to having human assistance.
Johnson, a long-time Tesla critic and short-seller, stated in a note that this was extremely dishonest. People were led to believe the robots were operating independently, but in actuality, this was not disclosed.
The event, held in typical Musk fashion on a movie set, was filled with gaps on how Tesla plans to improve their "Full Self Driving" system and get their driverless cars onto the roads.
Although the obsessive Tesla fans in the audience seemed delighted, investors were seeking more than just glossy presentations.
Jonas, an analyst from Morgan Stanley, commented in a report that the event lacked substance and significance. There was no demonstration of improvements in the "Full Self Driving" technology, nor any hint of plans for entering the ridesharing market.
Tesla shares fell by almost 9% on Friday as a result.
Wall Street's dissatisfaction is hardly cause for concern. And the Tesla enchantment may have momentarily been shattered, but shares started to recuperate on Monday, with investors still placing their faith in Musk's abilities to deliver on all his lofty promises.
Spreading hurricane relief misinformation
Jobs, co-founder of Apple, was popular for his "reality distortion field" that managed to sell mediocre products by its charm alone. Musk's "reality distortion field" surpasses this, going beyond optimistic timeframes or optimistic delivery estimates for Tesla's vehicles. While Musk might face reprisal from investors or regulatory bodies if he stretches the truth or fails to fulfill his promises, he can promote conspiracy theories and far-right propaganda with complete immunity on his personal social media megaphone.
This personal platform allows Musk to disseminate racist conspiracies and false hurricane aid information to his 200+ million followers. This isn't just an amusing pastime online, but the consequences are severe.
Over the weekend, emergency relief workers in hurricane-hit North Carolina were forced to halt operations following reports of an "armed militia" plotting to ambush FEMA workers. The situation is unusual, as individual FEMA personnel have often received threats, but this is one of the most severe instances experienced by the agency.
A former FEMA administrator, Craig Fugate, told CNN that the situation was unprecedented.
Unilever's Return
Understandably, advertising companies might feel uneasy about their products appearing alongside content from Musk or extreme right-wing accounts on the former Twitter platform, which is now under his control. While X has policies banning content advocating violence, and applying labels to hate symbols, an NBC News report revealed that these policies aren't consistently enforced.
Unilever, a company behind Dove, Hellmann's, and other consumer goods, was one of the four companies sued by X for allegedly boycotting the platform. However, on Friday, the lawsuit against Unilever was dropped by X. Unilever stated that X had committed to protecting the safety and performance of its brands on the platform, but declined to provide any further comment.
X claimed the agreement with Unilever was the first step towards resolving the industry-wide issue. It's worthy to note that Musk had publicly advised the advertising industry to "go fuck itself" last year.
Despite Tesla's struggles with authenticity in their robotaxi demonstration, their business continues to generate significant interest. Investors remain hopeful about Musk's ability to deliver on his promises, causing Tesla shares to recover shortly after a decline.
Musk's influence extends beyond the business realm, as he uses his personal platform to spread false hurricane aid information and promote controversial views, potentially causing real-world consequences.
