Musk’s controversies go beyond the fight with Zuckerberg; see – 06/22/2023 – Tech

The allegedly scheduled wrestling match between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk is just one of the controversies in which the South African billionaire has been involved since he took charge of Twitter in October 2022.

In recent months alone, the tycoon has announced a default on the company’s rent, compared George Soros to the villainous Magneto and instituted a policy of responding to any press request with a poop emoji.

Remember, below, the main recent controversies starring Musk.

Suspension for use of the term “cisgender”

On June 21, the businessman stated that using the term “cis” or “cisgender” —which designates anyone who is not a trans, transvestite or non-binary person—to refer to someone on Twitter is considered slander and understood as harassment, which could lead to platform suspension.

The CEO’s publication was made in response to James Estes, founder of Thoughtful Therapists, an entity that militates against the rights of the trans community, such as access to medical care throughout the transition.

default on rent

In the first quarter, Goldman Sachs was hit by a rise in defaults on commercial real estate loans, fueled in part by Musk’s refusal to pay rent on Twitter, according to reports received by Goldman’s licensed banking entity from the FDIC. US deposits).

Twitter stopped paying rent in November 2022, and the executive has told employees he does not intend to restart payments or cover past due debts, according to lawsuits.

Insider trading accusation

Musk is being accused of insider trading in a class action lawsuit filed by investors who accuse Tesla’s chief executive of manipulating the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, which would have cost them billions of dollars.

In a lawsuit filed May 31 in federal court in Manhattan, investors said Musk used Twitter posts, paid online influencers and used his 2021 appearance on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and other “publicity stunts” to make profitable trades at the expense of investors through various Dogecoin wallets controlled by him or Tesla.

Attack on George Soros

In a series of posts in mid-May, Musk lashed out at philanthropic investor George Soros, accusing him of “hating humanity” and comparing him to Marvel villain Magneto from the X-Men franchise.

The comments came three days after Soros’ investment fund announced that it had sold Tesla shares.

“Soros reminds me of Magneto”, wrote the South African billionaire, in a publication that reverberated and led to accusations of anti-Semitism. That’s because Soros, like the character Magneto, has a Jewish origin.

Remote work reviews

The billionaire sharply criticized the remote work model on May 16.

“They want everyone to go to work, factory workers, restaurant chefs, to deliver food to them, but they don’t! It’s absurd!” The statements were made in an interview broadcast by the American network CNBC.

Musk called these workers’ actions “morally wrong” and detrimental to productivity, and said he only takes two or three vacation days a year.

Poop emoji for the press

Since March 19, Twitter’s official email address for media professionals has automatically responded to all requests with a poop emoji. The information was disclosed by the company’s CEO himself on his profile on the social network.

At the time, the Sheet made three contact attempts at [email protected] and received the sticker as a response. In general, the address is used by journalism professionals to collect official positions and company information.