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Today the economy retraces the crazy year of Elon Musk. A very dense year 2022 for the multi-billionaire. The ” serial entrepreneur added Twitter to the long list of groups he already leads.
Elon Musk became “Chief Twit” this fall. These are the words, which mean “Chief Cretin”, which he displayed on his Twitter profile when he bought the social network for 44 billion dollars. An acquisition at the cost of a large debt for Twitter, and which kept Twitterers in suspense. The now second richest man on earth, according to Forbes, announces his intention to get his hands on the blue bird in the spring, then wants no more in the summer, before finalizing the operation to avoid a lawsuit.
Buyout doesn’t quell the uproar
So soon the keys to the store in hand, Elon Musk fires the management team and the board of directors to find himself alone at the helm of a company that he withdraws from the Stock Exchange. He dismisses bluntly half of the 7,500 employees and poses an ultimatum to the remaining employees: work “full” or leave.
Employees are not the only ones to distance themselves. Several major brands are suspending their advertising for fear of being associated with toxic content. The Libertarian arrived with the intention of loosening up moderation. A freedom of expression which reveals itself with variable geometry. The new boss of the social network recently suspended the accounts of journalists who cover the news of Twitter and its owner before changing his mind.
In the weeks following the takeover, he alternately tried to reassure advertisers or threatened to call for a “thermonuclear” boycott. In particular, he “declares” briefly “war” on Apple, of which he also criticizes the commissions taken from the App Store. A surprising episode for Carolina Milanesi, president of the consulting firm Heart of Tech: “ This shows how little he knows about this world. He criticized Apple for its commission “secret” by 30%. But it’s not secret at all. This has been known for years. »
“A personal matter”
If all this tumult worries investors or regulators, Elon Musk seems to be having fun. The troublemaker even publishes the photo of a man posing in front of a grave, one and the other decked out in a blue bird, as if Twitter was hilariously attending his own funeral. Something to ask about his intentions: “ I don’t think he bought Twitter because he saw an economic opportunity there, if only because that opportunity would have to be huge to recoup his stake, continues Carolina Milanesi. In my opinion, this is a personal matter. He thought he was going to be a hero of some sort. »
In the end, after polling Twitter users, Elon Musk promised he would resign of the general management as soon as he would have found ” someone crazy enough to take the job ».
I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 21, 2022
His successor will have to straighten out the finances
Elon Musk expects 2023 revenue down more than 40% from 2021. The turmoil could impact other businesses Musk oversees. The title of Tesla crumbles: -70% over the year. Not all of the drop is related to that acquisition, but it has sold nearly $40 billion worth of Tesla stock this year, in part to buy Twitter, and investors are worried.
Expectations of lower production in Shanghai weigh even more on the title.
► Read also : The action of Tesla, company of Elon Musk, at the lowest in two years
Another shock on Tesla’s side, his compensation plan developed in 2018 and estimated at $ 56 billion over 10 years, earned him a lawsuit.
Starlink helps Ukraine stay connected
Along with Twitter and Tesla, SpaceX has also caused a lot of ink to flow. For the first time since 2019, SpaceX flew its Heavy Falcon, the most powerful rocket in the world. It has also obtained a contract with NASA for lunar shuttles.
SpaceX has distinguished itself in the conflict in Ukraine. Its Starlink constellation provided telecommunications to the fighters. Again, this is not without some turmoil. In the fall, he threatens to no longer provide free internet to Ukraine and asks the Pentagon to take over.
Again, Elon Musk ends up backpedaling. A time thanked as a hero, the image of the native of Pretoria has also been tarnished in Ukraine by the publication, on Twitter, of his tracks for a peace plan between Moscow and kyiv. Plan proposing in particular that Crimea officially become part of Russia. Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, had replied to himstill on Twitter, to go “fuck off”.
In a very different context, some Starlink terminals have also been deployed in Iran to circumvent the restrictions imposed by the authorities.
After the car, the electric truck
All of this was not enough to fill Elon Musk’s year. Small inventory à la Prévert of the rest, not exhaustive of its 2022 news: it delivered the first “Semi”, Tesla’s electric truck. According to the entrepreneur’s promises, the 37-tonne can travel 800 km with a load, almost double what other vehicles in the segment have offered so far.
On the side of Neuralink, Elon Musk announced that the start-up would be able to implant its first connected device in the brain of a human in the course of 2023. It is still necessary that the health authorities approve.
Finally, one of his companies, the BoringCompany – which usually digs tunnels – has launched a perfume. Surprising, perhaps not as much as its name: “ Burnt hair » [cheveu ou poil brûlé en français, NDLR].
► Read also: Twitter: “Elon Musk’s real project is political”