Elon Musk: I’ll say what I need even when it loses me cash

Throughout an interview on CNBC, Elon Musk defended his proper to say inflammatory issues on Twitter, even when these statements lose him cash. He appeared to disassociate briefly after being requested why even hassle tweeting. And he ultimately quoted The Princess Bride to elucidate his cavalier perspective towards what he shares on Twitter.

It was a really bizarre interview.

The interview got here after a specific troubling run of tweets for Musk, by which he promoted conspiracy theories a couple of mass taking pictures in Texas, was accused of antisemitism after claiming that George Soros “hates humanity,” and retweeted discredited theories about crime and race.

After a sequence of largely softball questions on Tesla and time administration, CNBC’s David Farmer requested why he tweets conspiracy theories and makes statements which have been criticized as racist and anti-semitic, particularly after they may lose him prospects and harm the businesses he runs.

After a particularly lengthy and uncomfortable pause, Musk referenced the scene from the 1987 film The Princess Bride, by which Mandy Patinkin’s Inigo Montoya character confronts the person who killed his father.

“He says, ‘Provide me cash. Provide me energy,’” Musk stated. “‘I don’t care.’”

“You simply don’t care,” Faber replied, to which Musk simply stared at him. “You wish to share what you need to say.”

“I’ll say what I what to say, and if the implications are shedding cash, so be it.”

Finally, Musk stated, “I’ll say what I what to say, and if the implications are shedding cash, so be it.”

As CEO of a public firm, there are limits to what Musk can say, on Twitter or elsewhere. If he tweets deceptive issues about Tesla, shareholders will sue him — as they did after he tweeted about taking the corporate personal at $420 a share. (The shareholders misplaced the go well with and Musk was discovered to not be liable for his or her losses.)

His tweets have brought on him all types of complications over time. His take-private tweet in 2018 acquired him fined $40 million by the Securities and Change Fee and misplaced him the chairmanship of Tesla. He’s at present underneath a consent decree with the SEC that requires a lawyer to approve his tweets about Tesla earlier than he can submit them. A federal appeals courtroom not too long ago dominated towards Musk’s makes an attempt to vacate the consent decree.

We’ve been via all this earlier than. Musk is requested why he tweets incendiary issues, and he factors to his follower rely to justify his more and more unhinged conduct — as if a big chunk of these followers aren’t simply rubber-necking. His followers and shareholders implore him to cease tweeting, however he doubles and triples down, repeatedly. It’s, one may say, inconceivable.