What's That Musk-y Smell? Power Lust, Misogyny, And Racism

 

We noted reports yesterday about a meeting between fascist exploding car maker Elon Musk and the Malignant Loser, which many speculated was for the Malignant Loser to get a cash infusion.  Now that the always- truthful Musk has claimed he's not donating to the Malignant Loser, Philip Bump has a few ideas about what Musk is doing that's potentially far more valuable to his fellow fascist:

Musk, as has been robustly demonstrated very publicly over the past 16 months or so, insists upon convincing himself that he has discovered the answers on which he eventually lands. He is the archetype of the guy who “does his own research,” meaning he is the archetype of the guy who seizes on contrarian arguments that others have put forward. The 2024 Republican candidate who manifested this energy — an energy that is inseparable from hyperattentiveness to the online conversation — was Vivek Ramaswamy. And, true to form, Musk repeatedly expressed approval of Ramaswamy’s candidacy.

Musk doesn’t want Trump to be able to say that the Tesla CEO is on his team. Musk wants to be able to frame Trump as being on his. Just as he was able to get Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) to announce his presidential candidacy on X or Twitter or whatever it was called in May. Just like Musk similarly played host to Ramaswamy in an online conversation (with not-terribly-helpful results). Musk wants to be in a position of power, and he seems dissatisfied with the power that comes from having lots of money. 

So, he fancies himself a puppetmaster with all the best ideas gained from his own research:

On Feb. 2, for example, Musk claimed that Biden was “encouraging” illegal immigration so that he could “[l]egalize them to create a permanent majority” of Democratic voters. It is an explicit articulation of the “great replacement theory,” and one that bears no relationship to reality.

The research he’d conducted to demonstrate that this was Biden’s plan included an image of an Associated Press article headlined “Biden to prioritize legal status for millions of immigrants.” This was not a recent article but one from the transition period before Biden took office. The article reported that Biden would introduce legislation on his first day in office that provided a path to citizenship. And he did. And it went nowhere. And that was that. But here comes Elon Musk, perpetually incensed by hyperbolic or false claims about immigrants arriving in the United States, picking up this three-year-old story.

His post has been viewed 48 million times, according to X’s dubious metrics. It has been reposted 76,000 times. 

Clearly, someone who does his own research as rigorously as the fascist genius Musk must be paid attention to!  Spreading his fascist "research" is more helpful to the Malignant Loser than any campaign contribution (leave that to the suckers!).  Also, there are few immigrant Americans who completely missed lessons on its history of immigrants building this country more than native South African Musk missed it.  But, he's the singular immigrant genius we all must be grateful for, we guess.

In the meantime, Musk feels the need to lash out at the former wife of the man who replaced him as the "richest man in the world," Jeff Bezos, in a typically misogynist and creepy way:

Elon Musk isn't a fan of MacKenzie Scott's charitable giving.

"'Super rich ex-wives who hate their former spouse' should be listed among 'Reasons that Western Civilization died,'" Musk wrote in an X post referencing Jeff Bezos' ex-wife.

Musk was responding to another user who'd claimed that Scott had been giving money to organizations that "deal with issues of race and/or gender."

While it's unclear why Musk singled out Scott, there might be a reason why he's no fan of the causes she's supported. Musk has been an avowed and extremely vocal critic of efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

"DEI is just another word for racism. Shame on anyone who uses it," Musk wrote on X in January.

This isn't the first time Musk has slammed Scott for her philanthropy.

In May 2022, Musk said he planned to vote Republican because he thought the Democratic Party had given his companies, Tesla and Space X, "a very cold shoulder." Musk said he thought his companies were being sidelined partly because Scott had donated to "PACs posing as charities."

Let's learn a little more about Scott and the charities fascist Musk finds so objectionable:

Scott was married to Bezos for 25 years before they finalized their divorce in 2019. Scott received $38 billion worth of Amazon shares in the settlement terms.

Since then, Scott has made waves with her philanthropy.

In 2022, Scott said in a Medium post that she'd donated nearly $2 billion to "343 organizations supporting the voices and opportunities of people from underserved communities." Scott's donations that year included $275 million to Planned Parenthood.

Unlike most philanthropists, who dispense funding for causes that impose specific reporting requirements, Scott has adopted a no-strings-attached approach toward her giving. This has won Scott plaudits from organizations who relish the autonomy she has given them...

Oh, Musk also gives to "charities," mostly those that advance his business interests (AI, space exploration, etc.).  What a mensch!

Perhaps Musk could do some space exploration that could benefit all mankind:  blast off in a SpaceX rocket for the farthest galaxy beyond the Milky Way.

(Image: Musk and Scott /Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images; Toni Anne Barson via Getty Images)