Elon Musk says he doesn't stand by all his tweets and that some of them 'were definitely extremely dumb'
- Elon Musk says that he doesn't "stand by all the tweets I've ever done" in a new interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.
- "Some of them were definitely extremely dumb," Musk told his biographer, Ashlee Vance.
- Musk is known for being a prolific and, occasionally, reckless tweeter. In 2018, he tweeted that he had the "funding secured" to take Tesla private, which sparked a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation that resulted in a $40 million fine.
- More recently, Musk has tweeted his displeasure about how the coronavirus crisis was handled by US state governments, calling the response to the outbreak a "panic" and "dumb."
Elon Musk is known for being a prolific and, oftentimes, controversial tweeter. But even the Tesla and SpaceX CEO doesn't stand by every tweet he's ever sent.
In a new interview with his biographer, Ashlee Vance, in Bloomberg Businessweek, Musk discussed his recent behavior on Twitter, which has veered into dangerous territory. When Vance asked Musk why he tweets at all, Musk responded that "it's a means of communicating directly to the people without having to go through the press," but that "it's hard to make everyone happy, especially on Twitter."
"Look, you can either say things that are not controversial at all, and then you're boring, and nobody cares," Musk said. "Some of the things I say, I would like to retract them. It's not like I stand by all the tweets I've ever done. Some of them were definitely extremely dumb."
While Musk didn't specify which tweets he would retract if he could, he has been reckless on Twitter on several occasions, most notably in 2018 when he tweeted that he would take Tesla private, "funding secured." The tweet sparked a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation that resulted in Musk and Tesla being fined $20 million apiece. Musk also agreed to step down as Tesla's chairman for three years, and Tesla was required to form a special committee to oversee Musk's communications.
More recently, Musk tweeted that Tesla's stock price is "too high," and has used Twitter to voice his frustration about the coronavirus pandemic and the state response in the US. In March, he described concern over the coronavirus outbreak as a "panic" and "dumb," and he's since tweeted incorrect information, such as his theory that children are "essentially immune" to the virus. Musk has also tweeted about flouting lockdown orders in California, where one of his Tesla factories is based, saying he's willing to be arrested. (Tesla has since been granted permission to operate in California.)
In his personal life, Musk has been equally unrestrained. He recently said that he would sell all of his physical belonging and would "own no house." He has since listed five of his mansions as "for sale by owner," part of a real estate portfolio worth at least $100 million.