One of the things that makes the Bitcoin blockchain network so appealing and powerful is that every transaction is validated by a swarm of folks who are decentralized, and whose single purpose is to validate whether a transaction is true or false.
It has created what is presently THE most powerful computer network we know of.
I’ve been watching a similar process taking place on Twitter with respect to Tesla. Here’s how it works.
Everytime Elon Musk promises something or says something positively loopy (which is gratefully often), folks seek to validate whether or not it’s true or false.
Sure, there are the “fanbois” who fawn and gush and say things like “genius” and “hyper achiever”… but then we must account for the fact that most people prefer not to think.
But if we set the non-thinkers aside, we’ve got the validating tools of a swarm network at work, and I have to say it’s almost as beautiful as Scarlett Johansen serving cold beer. Almost.
It was some time ago that Lawrence Fossi, who went by the Twitter handle @MontanaSkeptic, was doxed by Elon after he studiously called to attention the plethora of nonsense that Tesla and Elon had been spouting to the public.
Even to the casual (non-interested) observer the fact the Elon threatened Fossi and his employer in order to force him to stop writing and tweeting should have been a wake up call.
Why not, for instance, address the particular facts if they were indeed disputed?
The answer is, of course, that it’s tough to dispute something you know not to be untrue. And so it’s far easier to attack the bearer of those facts than the facts themselves. And this is exactly what Elon has done time and time again.
And so Fossi was taken out of the “reveal” game but much like the blockchain, in order to take down the system you have to take down EVERY player since when you knock one participant out another pops up to replace him. For Musk it’s a real life version of Whack-A-Mole.
The doxing of Lawrence Fossi spawned many curious minds into investigating his work and that of any of us who’ve called into question the Tesla narrative. Our own work on Tesla is well documented here, here, here, here, and here.
You may notice that this is the same problem that Elizabeth Holmes, yesterday’s darling of Silicon Valley, had. Increasingly it became overwhelming for her to try keep a lid on all the lies being told.
As I’ve said in the past, Tesla exhibits many of the same signs Theranos did:
- Intense secrecy
- Whistleblowers reporting unethical and fraudulent behaviour
- Whistleblowers and others attacked with law suits and threats
- Management fleeing in droves
- Unprofitable and reliant on exaggerated claims to keep the money pouring in
- A CEO and leader that exhibits narcissistic tendencies
- A product that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny
- Verifiable and repeated lies about the products and financial position of the company
But back to how Musk is at war with Twitter skeptics.
More recently, when Twitter user @ElonBachman shared a spreadsheet listing all the Tesla related deaths, his account was immediately suspended. ZeroHedge covered the story here.
Did Elon put pressure on Jack to quickly quash a spreadsheet with the facts? We don’t know, but we do know he has a habit of attacking anyone that questions him.
But here’s the “swarm” part. What followed was a spectacular blowback!
The spreadsheet was retweeted and shared by an entire community. Giving it more attention and traction than if @ElonBachman had been left alone. You can find the sheet here if you’re interested.
Then last week Twitter handle @skabooshka videotaped Tesla faking their “full self drive” (note how the wording has changed from “autonomous” to full self drive). Weird, heh.?
What followed was Tesla filing fake police reports to silence him. A tactic as common as mud now for Tesla and its egomaniac CEO Elon Musk.
Tesla promptly filed a restraining order against Randeep Hotti, the man being Twitter handle @skabooshka.
And once again, blowback!
I am Lawrence J. Fossi, and wrote at Seeking Alpha under the pseudonym of Montana Skeptic.
I learned today that Tesla Inc. has obtained an ex parte (only one side only represented) temporary restraining order against $TSLAQ member @skabooshka.
Source: https://www.gofundme.com/skabooshka-defense-fund
What will follow over the next two weeks or so is “discovery” (depositions, written questions) and an evidentiary hearing to determine whether Tesla can obtain a temporary injunction. Tesla alleges @skabooshka is a dangerous person. I believe he is a seeker of truth who has done valuable work and deserves a vigorous and capable defense.
Tesla’s TRO application was triggered by @skabooshka’s effort to determine the true nature of the forthcoming “Investor Autonomy Event”. I believe important First Amendment rights are at issue, and urge you to support his effort.
Funds will be used to pay @skabooshka’s legal expenses in defending against the Tesla legal action, and in bringing any appropriate counterclaims. Any and all excess funds will be donated to a good related cause, with full disclosure about the recipient or recipients, and proof of donation sent to all donors.
Many thanks.
ljf
Last I checked over $74,000 had been raised in just 18 hours and thousand of Twitter users have now seen his video… which comes out just ahead of Tesla’s pump regarding full self drive.
It’s been a rather busy few weeks for Musk.
Lashing out indiscriminately hasn’t been limited to Twitter users either.
After Tesla’s partner in the Gigafactory reported in the Asian Nikkei Review that they were cutting their risks to Tesla, Musk lost it and went on a bender.
Musk’s response was swift and as predictable as a toddler when you’ve taken their toys away.
His anger wasn’t contained to Panasonic. After the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported on the news he lashed out at them, too.
At least he’s not called the head of Panasonic a “pedo”. But perhaps next time he’s getting stoned that’ll happen? Anything’s possible as we’ve seen.
As for his crack at the Wall Street Journal…
I’ll take this opportunity to point out that just this month the WSJ has run articles on shale and they were favourable.
I’ll also take this opportunity to point out that the WSJ is also owned by one Rupert Murdoch who, despite being an investor in Theranos, his paper uncovered and brought to light the Theranos fraud.
I’ll also point out that his son, James Murdoch, is on the board of Tesla. But sure, WSJ are biased against Tesla and, according to Musk, sock puppets of big oil.
And speaking of the Tesla board, following in the footsteps of hundreds of executive departures, we have the following:
“on April 18, each of Brad Buss, Antonio Gracias, Stephen Jurvetson, and Linda Johnson Rice agreed collectively with the Board and its Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee that each of them will not stand for re-election to the Board”
I don’t blame them. I mean sure, I’d be all for picking up an egregious salary for not doing much. But then when you realise the risks to both your reputation and the intrusion that’ll no doubt come when this fraud collapses, perhaps they’ve changed their mind. I know I would.
The Network Has Grown
By now you can see where I’m going with this.
The distributed network grows every day. First it was a few skeptical asset managers, such as ourselves.
Then more joined after reviewing the facts, and as Musk lashes out, the curiosity brings more. Upon viewing the facts, they come to the same inescapable conclusion. This thing is a giant fraud!
That he’s now decided to attack his business partners (Panasonic) and Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal will do one thing: It will bring out more journalists who will investigate.
Many may have been former fans, and even perhaps owners of a Tesla but when they begin digging as many such as Wall Street Journal’s Charlie Grant and Business Insider’s Linette Lopez have done, then we can expect more of this distributed viral network to do what it is already doing…
Find the truth.
Here’s the bull market in Tesla’s bond yields. What do the bond holders know that you don’t?
-Chris
“I believe you are buying an appreciating asset – not a depreciating asset.” — Elon Musk
