> but it sure seems like Musk was right to be concerned
You might want to consider if you are out of the loop. I don't think Musk is "concerned". If anything, I wouldn't doubt this is partially his idea. It's just the latest iteration of "reality TV".
It's been over a decade that we've had this style of marketing popularized by Trump. It works very well. There's even an Elizabeth Holmes one coming out soon (You Can See Everything)! I'm actually very excited to see Nathan Fielder's take on this genre of unhinged drama.
As someone who woke up early to see Starship today, I promise I would love to believe that he's actually playing a crazy person. I don't think we can reject the notion entirely. But there is zero evidence for it and a lot against. (He also doesn't need to be personally writing anything to constantly be on social media.)
The entire magic trick is that you believe celebrities act as completely independent individuals with immense power. Elon's sanity is irrelevant.
It works beautifully on so many different types of ego. If you have power fantasies, you can either choose to live vicariously through the celebrity or immediately find your equally toxic anti-fan group. Everyone else at least just finds it entertaining to watch all kinds of people make asses of themselves.
Meanwhile, nobody ever really questions the basis for all of this. The public side of a celebrity is a brand that is indeed as carefully planned out as any other ad campaign.
The only difference today is that things must be done like this to get ahead of naysayers since everyone has a voice online. All the bad faith is now a feature, not a bug. As soon as they figure out all the ways something could be argued against, they have to pre-emptively find the dumbest ways to say it to cast doubt on the legitimacy of dissent.
It's like a Penn and Teller act. They don't even have to hide any of this for the illusion to still work.
I don't maintain a non-pseudonymous internet presence because I don't think I could be unconcerned about folks shitting on me online–I got upset when my cat ghosted me for an hour after I got back from a holiday a month ago.
It's a journey of maturation I haven't yet completed. I suspect neither has Musk (if he recognizes it as a shortcoming).
You might want to consider if you are out of the loop. I don't think Musk is "concerned". If anything, I wouldn't doubt this is partially his idea. It's just the latest iteration of "reality TV".
It's been over a decade that we've had this style of marketing popularized by Trump. It works very well. There's even an Elizabeth Holmes one coming out soon (You Can See Everything)! I'm actually very excited to see Nathan Fielder's take on this genre of unhinged drama.