There are no good defences of the new Twitter owner’s vile bullying, which forms an integral part of his empire
Even while hammering out the final details of his £35bn ($44bn) purchase of Twitter, Elon Musk took some time out this weekend to tweet. He likes tweeting, does the world’s richest man, usually from what he calls his “porcelain throne” (that detail disclosed on Twitter, naturally enough). This one was a photo of Bill Gates, zeroing in on the 66-year-old’s modest paunch and placing it next to a cartoon of a pregnant man. To that ensemble, Musk added this sentence of supreme wit: “in case u need to lose a boner fast”.
You’ll read many titbits about Twitter’s new owner over the next few days. That he is worth some $265bn. That at his electric car company, Tesla, he is not titled chief executive or any other such mustiness, but “technoking”. That his youngest son is called X Æ A-Xii, which is obviously pronounced “X”, while his baby girl is nicknamed “Y”. But the most important thing to know about Musk is that he is a troll. Like all trolls, he sets out to offend and to upset, purely to get the world’s attention. Except Musk is not only better at trolling than anyone else, it is a vital part of both his business model and how he treats the world. And it is what makes his purchase of Twitter so dangerous.
Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist
