Some More News - Revisiting Some News: Elon Musk's War on Journalism, Unions, and Safety & MORE

Episode Date: April 23, 2025

Today we're looking back at our very first Elon Musk episode, from June 2018, in which we discuss Musk and his fellow Space Billionaires, why rating the media using AI is a bad idea, Puerto Rico, and more Elon Musk. We'll be back with an all-new Some More News next Wednesday!Watch the original episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/D-Zoy-it4cYFeel good... and mean it when you say it!! For a limited time, get Headspace FREE for 60 days. Go to headspace.com/somemorenews.You can get 50% off a new SimpliSafe system with professional monitoring and your first month free at simplisafe.com/morenews.Get 20% off plus a FREE rechargeable frother and glass beaker with our exclusive link: Piquelife.com.Subscribe today to get a 1-month supply of AG Omega-3 with your first AG1 order! You’ll also get their Welcome Kit with everything you need to get started on your AG1 journey. So make sure to check out DrinkAG1.com/morenews to claim this special offer.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hello, everybody. Welcome to the podcast that's usually new. This week, it's not new. We're taking a short break this week, and we will be back with a brand new episode of Some More News next Wednesday. This week, we thought we would rerun an old episode about fiend of the show, Elon Musk. That's right, finally an episode about Elon Musk! Since Musk will reportedly be leaving the White House and politics soon, which is to say he will probably be operating from the shadows more than his previous role as obnoxious attention seeker,

we thought it would be interesting to look back at our very first episode about him and his antics. Oftentimes you'll hear from his defenders that people only really started hating Musk when the mainstream media told them to in 2022 when he started supporting Donald Trump more. All you sheeple don't even know why you think he's bad, etc. Interestingly, our first episode about Musk was in 2018 and was the seventh episode of Some More News. Musk,

of course, had always had the aesthetic of a big thinker who wanted to help humanity and build renewable energy and believed in liberal and progressive causes and so on. But what he said didn't always line up with what he did, and the signs were definitely always there. This particular episode was about his general attacks on journalism and unions, and as you'll hear, he was always this way. He didn't shift his politics, he didn't change his personality, this was always him. He just didn't yet have permission to fully embrace himself.

Although aside from some accusations of racism at his factories, one thing absent from this episode is Nazi stuff. No hiling his heart out to you in this episode. So perhaps he has changed a little bit. But as far back as 2018, we can see all of the many signs very clearly. Those signs include but are not limited to making his own website because he's upset about information he doesn't like, having a complete inability to understand the information landscape, and over-reliance on algorithms as a neutral solution to problems while using it as a neutral solution to problems

while using it as a buzzword to pass the buck, not being able to admit or acknowledge there can be biases in algorithms, being a Reddit guy, not understanding satire, not understanding how to do satire, announcing things that he'll never do, using his wealth to create his own product and information ecosystems because he doesn't like reporters telling the truth about him, doubling down after receiving mild criticism, combating factual information with statements from personal toadies and sycophants, as well as weird culty conspiracy theorists.

And then when called out on using cult misinformation, doubling down and trying to turn it into a joke that doesn't land, carelessly retweeting obvious bullshit, being extremely weird and creepy about women, sending out deceptive and poorly worded polls to Twitter in order to prove he's right about something he's wrong about, attacking people for things he himself has done, denigrating entire fields of scientific study even though he's supposed to be the big science guy, misrepresenting science for his own egotistical purposes, being wrong about

and or misrepresenting science on purpose to the point that legions of actual scientists have to point out how wrong he is. Blindly attacking actual experts while pretending he's the smartest man in the world, proudly having terrible work safety and brushing off accusations that it's a problem, making wild and unfounded accusations

after being proven wrong about something else, wanting an alternative to the onion because they make fun of him too much, union busting and lying about it, misrepresenting the self-driving capabilities of his cars, straight up lying about his autopilot feature, not caring about how bad his stupid Hyperloop idea is and then making it even stupider and more dangerous, being blindly anti-regulation regardless of context, completely misunderstanding popular culture, but nevertheless desperately trying to participate in making pop culture references that he ultimately gets bafflingly wrong, making wild claims about companies he's going to start that he of course never does, showing his distaste for the general public and being among people,

relying on novelty products to shield himself from doing something that could actually help, lying about his plans to help public transportation, and of course, being extremely annoying and stupid. I'm sure there are some we missed. But anyway, this guy sucks. Enjoy. Whoa!

Hey, here is news! The billionaires are at it again, as are the journalists, and the billionaire defenders, and the journalist defenders, and the people who react to those people. And everyone. Everyone's at it again. after Elon Musk announced that he's going to create a website where the public can rate the core truth of any article and track the credibility score over time of each journalist, editor, and publication. Because the accuracy of news should be rated by a public that believes in fake news and has what a Stanford study describes as a dismaying, bleak inability to discern fake from real news. An inability that is a threat to democracy.

So let's get all those people a website. Elon and others discussed how bias will be removed from the ranking system by algorithms. So there will definitely be no bias there. Just trust that it will be fine and able to avoid the many ways in which a public truth ranking website could be manipulated and abused.

While discussing his solution to fake news, Musk also praised the voting system of Reddit, the famous catchers of not the Boston bomber. Musk, a billionaire, is going to call his website Pravda after the former Soviet Union's propaganda paper Pravda. When it was pointed out how, even though it's not exactly the same thing, maybe that name is illustrative of why it's a bad idea,

Musk replied, um, it's Satire, duh, because Satire is doing something seriously but giving it a cute name. But he also recently hired writers from The Onion for a secret comedy project, and he claims that, darn it, he didn't know Pravda was taken, so he has to go with Pravda.com, which seems like a joke website.

But also, Pravda was incorporated a year ago, so did he just not think to check for the website? The website seems like a joke, but Elon keeps saying he's doing it and it's real and he thinks it's a good idea. So I guess we'll take him at his word, duh. The announcement of the website was made after months of seemingly increasingly negative press coverage

concerning Tesla's working conditions, Musk's resistance to and suppression of unions, false reporting of accidents at factories, safety concerns about Tesla's autopilot feature, and how while dancing at his wedding he whispered to his wife, I'm the alpha in this relationship. There are of course legitimate criticisms to be made about the press and ways to hold them accountable and to fight fake news, and some of them probably involve supporting websites like the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact or Fair.org, who strive for fairness and accuracy in reporting,

or ClimateFeedback.org, a worldwide network of scientists who sort fact from fiction in climate change media coverage. But maybe the solution to fake news isn't a sensitive billionaire who, during the process of pitching his journalistic integrity website, shared supportive articles from a website by a Tesla fanboy with writers who own Tesla stock and share promo codes for Tesla and the knife, which is linked to a sex cult.

According to Musk, sadly it had better critical analysis than most non-cult media. So thanks for the critical analysis, cult. You're welcome, show. Musk also retweeted Stan Lee's support of Musk and attack on the Hollywood Reporter, possibly because of their report on the alleged abuse of Lee by his handlers who run his social media.

I'm sure that it was definitely a tweet from Lee and not his handlers, and that Musk did his due diligence, understood the context, was discerning in his sharing of news, and would have given that story an up vote on Pravda. It is unfortunate though that the first official media response to Elon's arguably bad idea to challenge journalistic integrity was a New York Times article

from Brett Stevens who said Elon is just a Trump complainer and electric cars are bad actually and fossil fuels are good actually. Because that's not a fair or honest representation of Musk or what he's doing, Brett Stevens. Let's not simply diminish what Musk is trying to do. Aside from be rich and play space boy, he's working towards renewable and sustainable energy, which is admirable.

He sent batteries and tech to help Puerto Rico's power grid recover, which speaking of, here's some news. A Harvard study found that the government's claim that 64 people died in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria was off by 4,581. So 4,645 deaths. Right on, right on.

Do we have an old clip of the president grating himself on his and the government's response to the hurricane on a scale of one to 10? I give ourselves a 10. Okay, but now how about on a scale of one to 4,645? I give ourselves a 10. Dang! Off by 4,635.

Anything else to add? Now, I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you've thrown our budget a little out of whack. Well, maybe you should have just thrown some more paper towels. But at least Puerto Rico is not ready for another hurricane season. But my point is, Tesla has helped there, which is good.

Musk's batteries have kept power on during continuing blackouts there. And wild thought, it's actually good to strive for renewable, sustainable energy. And fossil fuels aren't good, actually. So maybe Brett Stevens' shut the f*** up, you're not helping. Though, the comparison of Musk to Trump in regards to his attacks on the press and his inability to receive criticism isn't... unfounded. They both have rabid cult-like followings that harass anyone they single out, and then offer feckless statements of condemnation when it's brought to their attention.

They're both the kind of guy who would whisper, I'm the alpha in this relationship, while dancing with their new bride, they both unreasonably lash out when challenged. They both send out poorly worded polls to get their desired result. For example, let's say Musk wants to prove that his crowdsourced the truth website idea

is good actually. He might make a poll that says, create a media credibility rating site that also flags propaganda botnets with the options, yes, this would be good, and no, media are awesome. And media is worthy of criticism, but your bad idea is also bad? Nope, okay, just the first two, great, cool.

To further prove his point, Musk replied, come on, media, you can do it. Get more people to vote for you. You are literally the media. And scientist, Ipuli Divisikera might respond, with all due respect, this is pathetic. And Elon might respond, ahem, you have nano in your bio? That is 100% synonymous with BS.

Of course, she actually has nanotechnologist in her bio, which is a real thing. And in classic Trump, there's a tweet-for-everything style. One could point to Musk discussing how he's a nanomanager. So maybe the way Elon uses nano is BS, but the way scientists use it, as many scientists explain to Musk, is to describe actual science things.

But instead of maybe admitting he was being a bit of a... ...diped up baby boy, and was wrong about this, and that the Nobel Prize was awarded in 2016 for nanomachines, Musk decided to prove his point that the mere existence of the word nano is bullsh-t by sharing a link to Uncyclopedia, which I hear has a 110% accuracy rating on Pravda? Pravdably not. But like I said, the media of course can be criticized and need to be held to account even about little things like when they describe Roseanne's racist joke as

racially charged or the liar president's blatant lies as bending the truth, or when AP tweets, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens, ex-Navy SEAL, once seen as rising Republican star, resigns amid extramarital affair scandal. Which is a weird way to spell sexual assault. You have 280 characters, APAP, get it together. But Elon's diaper filling incident seems to be

in response to reports from Reveal regarding his factory's working conditions and safety record. An investigative report found that despite claims that the factory was now safer than it used to be, Tesla had left many injuries unreported. Elon tweeted that the problem with journos are under constant pressure to get max clicks and earn advertising dollars

or get fired. Tricky situation as Tesla doesn't advertise, but fossil fuel companies and gas diesel car companies are among world's biggest advertisers. When Jessica Hueseman of ProPublica, winner of multiple Pulitzer and Peabody awards, pointed out that Reveal, from the Center for Investigative Reporting, is actually a non-profit that doesn't have

ads, and so they don't have that problem. And then Elon responded by saying, no, they're just some rich kids in Berkeley who took their political science prof too seriously. This from the actual billionaire who grew up with literal emeralds in his pocket, who once said during an earnings call about the CEO of Daimler who has a doctorate in engineering, he doesn't know much about physics. I know him.

I'd be happy to engage in a physics discussion with him. I actually studied physics in college. So good, Elon, about the other people. Boy, howdy. If you're like me and you are, you probably find the world to be a lot right now. To quote Benjamin Franklin, the world is a vampire. But what if an app could help?

App is short for appliance of the phone. And Headspace is an appliance of the phone that helps 100 million people with guided meditations, mindfulness practices, breathing, and calming exercises has allowed me to hone my skills with these quick on-the-go programs that let me meditate like nobody's business. It is certainly not your business. Stay out of my meditation business. Stay out of it.

If you're a zen noob or a leet meditation expert, they got something for everyone, and includes an endless meditation library and thousands of hours of mindfulness exercises. Feel good and mean it when you say it. For a limited time, get Headspace free for 60 days. Go to headspace.com slash some more news. That's H E A D S P A C E. It's like a guitar solo here, some drums. Dot com. Slash.

Some more news. I didn't get it exactly right. To unlock all of Headspace free for 60 days. That's headspace.com slash some more news. Oh, there's no jingle. That's why I didn't do it right. Heya, Tex. I've been angering a lot of baby elephants lately.

It's just a thing I like to do on the weekends until I get bored with it. But the thing about elephants is that they always remember your face. And that is why I use simply safe to monitor my home. Their active guard outdoor protection lets me see if any suspicious large gray strangers are hanging around on my porch. It also lets me watch the birds and the squirrels.

No enemies there. Yet. What makes their system unlike the others is that they are both easy to use and affordable. No long-term contracts or cancellation fees and their plans start at just one dollar a day. They even have a 60 day satisfaction guarantee because you know, you know, crime in America is down right now and that's good. But I don't know. Maybe there's a reason you might need extra security right now. Be that for elephant revenge or whatever.

Fill in the blank. And right now our audience can get 50% off their new Simply Safe system with professional monitoring and their first month free at simplysafe.com slash more news. That's simplysafe.com slash more news! There's no safe like simplysafe.com slash more news. But let's stop talking about Elon Musk forrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr Because here's a little bit of the news. The Supreme Court has sided with employers in regards to forced arbitration, which among other things deprives workers of the ability to form class action lawsuits against companies for things like wage theft and discrimination. The decision also deprives workers of their day in court

and allows for forced arbitration contracts to get bonuses or in some cases, hired. Companies who traditionally have arbiters on retainer to benefit them in such cases now seem to be even more powerful than workers, who do not. This decision is not surprising, coming from the Supreme Court's newest all-star, Neil Gorsuch, who filled a vacancy that Congress refused to fill for a year

while Obama was still in office. Gorsuch was chosen by President Donald Trump, a smarty and a goody, who has a sord sorted history in regards to how he treats laborers and unions. Not surprising coming from a billionaire in a time of ever-increasing inequality, since labor unions tend to sustain prosperity and ensure that it is shared. The Economic Policy Institute illustrates, as union membership decreases, income inequality rises and wealth floods to the top 10%, a trend that can be viewed since 1917. So as a billionaire, in this time of growing disparity between most people and billionaires, maybe Elon Musk, damn I thought we weren't gonna talk about him, but maybe Elon Musk can understand some of the negative interpretations of his actions and powerful position

Despite his ultimate goal of renewable sustainable energy being a good one much of the criticism that Musk deflects is in regards to his view and seeming suppression of unions Despite efforts by the United Auto Workers and Tesla workers Tesla is not unionized Elon of course claims that the only reason his workers haven't unionized is because they don't want to. Though maybe it's because, as the United Auto Workers allege, Tesla fired a bunch of workers who had been vocal about low pay and hazardous working conditions.

But they can unionize any time, despite getting company emails in which the CEO claims that the union's true allegiance is to the giant car companies Where the money they take from employees and dues is vastly more than they could ever make from Tesla Then why do they and the workers want to unionize your factory man to? destroy you via unionizing to benefit giant car companies who have also unionized?

So don't join the evil union because as the boss continues, there will also be little things that come along like free frozen yogurt stands scattered around the factory. Or in other words, It's basically the same deal, except we get a free keg of beer for our meeting.

But they can unionize any time. They just don't want to. As Elon tweeted, "'Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tomorrow if they wanted, but why pay union dues and give up stock options for nothing?

Our safety record is two times better than when plant was UAW and everybody already gets healthcare.'" See? Nothing's stopping them from voting union. Just maybe their boss saying they'd have to give up stock options, something the UAW doesn't have a rule about, and a statement that prompted them to file another complaint claiming Musk violated the National Labor Relations Act,

which prohibits making threats or promises to workers to discourage them from joining unions. Tesla clarified that Musk's comment simply recognized that other automakers whose workers are represented by the UAW do not provide stock options, which doesn't preclude companies from providing stock options, and is a funny way to say quote, give up stock options for nothing, which they wouldn't have to do if they joined a union unless Elon's statement was indeed a threat. But the workers should be grateful for those stock options. As Tesla put it, the United Auto Workers have consistently dismissed the value of Tesla

equity as part of our compensation package. Though it's a bit confusing, perhaps, when Elon says on an investor's call, I mean, I think that if people are concerned about volatility, they should definitely not buy our stock. I'm not here to convince you to buy our stock. Do not buy it if volatility is scary. There you go. There you go.

So maybe it's a little okay to criticize some of Elon's practices and statements even though he is also working towards positive change. Much of Musk's and his supporters complaining seems unfounded and based on ego and unwilling to understand criticism. Muskheads or Musketeers, damn it, no, Musketeelons, there it is, when Elon Musk and his Musketeelons see reports of crashes in Teslas, they will first point out

that the number of semi-autonomous crashes is still lower than just people driving. So why don't you people ever report on all those other car wrecks? And like, just casually looking around here are seven articles about that. Maybe the only ones you see and get mad about are the ones about you because they're the only ones you care about and are looking for. And also when the product and technology is actively trying to remove a person's agency and personal liability for crashes

and place it on software and hardware, perhaps more scrutiny should be focused on the companies that shift responsibility from individuals. Teslas are safer in many ways, with the automatic emergency brake, for instance. But whenever there's a crash of a Tesla on autopilot, the blame seems to be placed on the drivers, who are supposed to keep their hands on the steering wheel while autopilot is engaged.

Every two minutes, the system reminds the driver to put their hands on the wheel. Of course, there are many videos online of ways to hack this annoyance by nudging the wheel slightly, or putting an orange in it. Tesla's website also features an advertisement demonstrating the autopilot feature with a person in the driver's seat without their hands on the wheel, and a disclaimer that the driver is only there for legal purposes. But keep your hands on the wheel, folks, because if your semi-autonomous car with something called autopilot that's advertised as a hands-free feature crashes into an empty parked police vehicle,

it's your fault. Yes, autonomous cars will save lives, but that doesn't mean scrutiny shouldn't be directed at those who are creating them. Musk is often just angry that he can't do more, faster, to achieve progress despite safety concerns. He's of the mind that in order to reach his goals for humanity, risks must be taken. Rules ideally would be bent and some lives are going to be lost. In regards to rolling out new autopilot software,

he laments, we look carefully at the regulations and make sure that what we do is in line with those. We can't do anything other than that because it would be against the law. And certainly an argument could be made that some regulations are tied up in bureaucracy and delay progress, but many are for safety and protecting the, uh, people. SpaceX is using an experimental fueling technique that NASA says could put lives at risk.

In response to Musk's Hyperloop concept in which a billionaire bores tunnels and creates a near-vacuum underground, Adam Conover of Adam Ruins Everything has asked repeatedly, hey, what's the evacuation plan for the Hyperloop? Like if something goes wrong? Which is not to say the Hyperloop is a bad idea, but consider the safety and lives of people when developing the humanity saving project

of getting people to places faster. One can achieve progress without being reckless. But unions, which are in place to ensure workers get fair wages and remain safe and protected, Elon says are not aligned with Tesla's mission to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy, unlike selling flamethrowers, starting a candy store, launching a car into space, and buying five mansions.

Speaking of regulations, whoa, here's some news. The House of Representatives has passed a bill to loosen regulations on banks, regulations that were put in place to avoid another financial crisis, a financial crisis like the recent Great Recession, the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, which was also very bad.

The legislation affects all but the largest financial institutions, easing restrictions on smaller banks such as State Street, which manages assets of about three trillion dollars. The bill has been signed by the president because of a country. Because the president, you see, hates regulation. Not specific regulation, but any regulation,

as evidenced by one of his first executive orders that for every one new regulation, two must be removed. Just any two, because the free market has zero flaws. And like, okay, so you know how we invented the idea of money? Like literally, we just invented money. And we've sort of just all settled into the idea that if you have money, you can survive

and can buy things to live your life. And the goal of this money thing is to make more of it. And often the best way to make money is to exploit people's labor and time and personhood at the expense of what's good or right for people and people's Environments. Okay, so like let's say that's true And so you have a system built on money that rewards any behavior that results in more money and you're just like Okay Do whatever just like okay do whatever just like f**king have at it make money no regulations free markets

yes listen up freshmen I want to talk to you about your flesh. Katie wants your flesh to be high quality, hydrated, vibrant flesh. And then I'm going to want your home address. But first you should check out Peek's Radiant Skin Duo. I did. According to Peek, it's backed by like doctors and science and stuff. There's the Sun Goddess Macha which is designed to give you a no jitters sustained energy with something called L-Theanine. And then there's the BT Fountain Electrolytes that will hydrate your flesh and lock in moisture

so you stay wet and spongy. It's important for me that your flesh is spongy folks, that's a key part of this. Also since peak quadruple screens for toxins, I can rest assured that your skin contains no heavy metals or pesticides or mold, just good, valuable flesh. So if you are ready to stop feeling like a raisin and glow up from the inside out, now's the time. Get 20% off plus a free rechargeable frother and glass beaker with my exclusive link, peaklife.com slash more news. That's P-I-Q-U-E life.com slash more news.

Don't wait, your body and skin will thank you. And as a result, so will I. You know, the adult human body is a lot like a drunken octopus. They're both soft, they have some limbs and are just aching for some fish oil. I lust for that fish oil every day. I've been banned from every aquarium in town,

even this one. They have pictures of me posted up at the marina. I'm like the Charlie Manson of the ocean realm. But luckily, there's now AG1 omega-3, which is sustainably sourced from wild-caught small fish. God, oh, I want that fish oil right now because we need that omega three to make our brains and hearts good, don't you know? And AG1 omega three comes with a natural hit of lemon. So you don't get any fishy aftertaste if you're into that.

I mean, personally, I will suck that oil right from the fish, right from their oil holes. But hey, at least I can take my Omega 3 with a tall glass of AG1. A sensible sip of a delicious drink. If you haven't tried AG1, I will chug it at the end. If you haven't tried AG1 yet, they're bundling it with their Omega 3s for free. So it couldn't be a better time to start. It's something I've actually been able to stay consistent with,

and that's why I've been partnering with AG1 for so long! So subscribe today to get a one month supply of AG Omega 3 with your first AG1 order! You'll also get their welcome kit with everything you need to get started on your AG1 journey! So make sure to check out drinkag1.com slash more news to claim this special offer. That's drinkag1.com slash more news. Here it comes. And there it went. Goodbye. I'm actually starting to see

where Elon's frustration comes from. We as a society don't really spend money on things that benefit humanity. Some of the things Tesla's doing should have happened decades ago. As soon as we realized that there was a giant battery in the sky and it was possible to harness its energy for the betterment of humankind,

we maybe should have said like this year, instead of spending $650 billion on the military, let's spend $550 billion on the military, let's spend $550 billion on the military and really try to tackle this issue as soon as possible. So Elon is desperately trying to play catch up. So I get it, you know, we here at Cody's Showdy wanna make sure we're fair and balanced, TM, CR. And in the interest of our journalistic integrity

and goal of getting a 110% on Pravda, like our friends at Uncyclopedia and SexCult.com, it's right that we disclose the following. I have interacted with Musk in the past, so perhaps there is a conflict of interest here, and let me explain. A few weeks ago, in Elon's unwavering quest to accelerate the advent of sustainable energy, he tweeted, I'm starting a candy company and it's going to be amazing. Twitter user Talia Jane suggested, have you ever considered getting into the affordable housing market, just building a shitload of affordable housing in the most financially

burdened areas, keeping rents low for decades, and actually leaving a lasting and useful impact on this planet. Now, one could argue that his work in electric cars and solar energy and storage is a useful impact on the planet, but the general idea seems sound. Another Twitter user responded to Elon's candy store idea with, we don't want this boring crap. We want Westworld, make Westworld.

Elon took the time to respond, what do you think we're living in? without responding to Talia's suggestion, which received tens of thousands of retweets and likes. And I pointed this out in my own tweet, prompting Elon to respond, not to the woman who suggested it, but to me, interesting. But his response was,

The boring company will be using dirt from tunnel digging to create bricks for low-cost housing. Now, my response to that was basically, Elon, that sounds like you're selling your leftover dirt to poor people. Not super helpful, I admit. This was an opportunity to engage with someone whose work in certain areas I actually appreciate, and a billionaire no less, and I used it to be snarky. Which brings us to a segment we like to call

What I Twish I Tweeted. Dear Elon, while this sounds like your plan to get into affordable housing is to sell your leftover dirt to poor people, it's neat that you claim you are getting into affordable housing and seem to care about the concept. As maybe you know, homelessness is on the rise. For example, it increased by 75% in Los Angeles over the past six years.

There are more empty homes than homeless people in America, so good on you. But everyone is viewing this tweet of yours as an announcement that you're getting into affordable housing. But you already announced this dirt brick idea a few months ago. You said you are going to be selling giant Lego- style interlocking bricks for making sculptures and fun stuff. The first set will be Egyptian themed. The bricks you said, could also be used to line the tunnels you're digging. When someone asked if these bricks could be used

for low income housing, you said, yeah, the boring bricks are interlocking with a precise surface finish. So two people could build the outer walls of a small house in a day or so. Cool afterthought, Elon. So when months later you respond the boring company will be using dirt from tunnel digging to create bricks, it seems like a billionaire's afterthought, because it literally is. Also, cost of low- income housing comes from things like land

and labor. When Ben Carson's Department of Housing and Urban Development raises rent on low income housing, it's not because the bricks cost too much. You wanted to sell leftover dirt to rich people as a fun toy and to line your tunnels and you seem to be tossing a bone to the public. Similarly, your idea for the hyperloop came from your personal frustration with traffic

and your frustration with public transit. There's like a bunch of random strangers, one of who might be a serial killer. Okay, great. And so that's why people like individualized transport that goes where you want, when you want. Only after months of people pointing out that individual transport is expensive and causes many problems for the public, and that when public transport is clean and efficient, people actually like it, did you change your tune and say you are adjusting the plan and your tunnels will still transport cars, but only after all personalized mass transit needs

are met. It's a matter of courtesy and fairness. If someone can't afford a car, they should go first. Yeah, man, good change. Just because you're pushing for progress in certain valuable areas doesn't mean all of your ideas are good. And sure, you're the billionaire. It's your money. You know, I can't tell you what to do

You can do whatever you want with it. But also you've received at least five billion dollars in government subsidies. So Is it all of your money? Also, as I said in a video that you haven't seen because I hadn't made it yet because this is a hypothetical tweet revision You grew up with emeralds in your pocket and you made your first tens of millions of dollars with the idea for the yellow pages, but online. And you made hundreds of millions more dollars with your idea of a bank, but online. We live in a capitalist society,

but capitalism doesn't reward doing things that help people, it rewards doing things that help people. It rewards doing things that make capital. It's why Flint is still drinking poison water, but Nestle is allowed to pump 200 gallons of fresh water from Michigan every minute, put it in a plastic bottle and sell it. Thousands of years of human innovation and collaboration and progress, cities, roads, but we can't provide everyone with free access to literally the one thing that all life has in common.

But capitalism, it's why Jeff Bezos had the genius idea of Walmart but online and is now the richest man on the planet. What's he gonna do with all of that more than $ billion dollars? Well, he's going to pay low wages to his workers, not let them unionize, give them long hours in poor conditions, causing employees to skip bathroom breaks and pee in bottles for fear of losing their jobs, and he's going to build a mansion with 25 bathrooms and

go to space! Cool! with 25 bathrooms and go to space. Cool. Space is cool, guys, and there are a lot of things we can learn from it. Even the basic concept of the oneness of humanity can be learned. Astronauts call it the overview effect.

It describes the change in one's thinking after viewing the Earth from space. It's a change that doesn't happen from pictures. It can only be experienced when you're literally off of the planet, floating in space, looking at our home, far away, fragile, connected. Perhaps a bit more inspiring than sending a handful of people to die on Mars. Maybe once all of these billionaires finally get into space, they'll experience the overview effect and start doing more for the actual planet with their billions and billions of dollars. And we get it, you want

to live on Mars away from a bunch of random strangers. But some people want to live in apartments away from not being able to afford to live. So when you're a powerful billionaire who complains about investigative journalists trying to hold you to account and speaking truth to power, and someone suggests maybe using your billions and access to solar panels and bricks and land and cheap labor and energy storage

to build affordable housing and struggling areas to make a real material change in people's lives after saying you're starting a candy company, when your response is, well, my idea of fun giant Legos for rich people made from the waste of making tunnels to get away from people on public transportation could be used for low income housing, it sounds a lot like you're just selling your leftover dirt

to poor people. Send tweet. Bye. Hey everybody, but mostly Elon Musk. Please donate some of your many dollars to my Patreon so I can make more of these videos, probably not about you anymore. And like, subscribe, share, comment on the video, check out the podcast, even more news, and again, give me your money!