By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 17/06/2026Here's a fun fact about Elon Musk: in 2020, his (nominal) net worth was $20b, and today it's $1t (nominally). But *that's* not the fun fact; *this* is: everything he's done since 2020 was a flop. 1/ 181546611
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 17/06/2026If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: pluralistic.net/2026/06/17/i... 2/pluralistic.netPluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow – No trackers, no ads. Black type, white background. Privacy policy: we don't collect or retain any data at all ever period. 225634
Lance Ellisor @ellisor.net · 18/06/2026did you happen to see this, Cory? I thought it was nails. www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/ai-...mcsweeneys.netAI Economics for Dummies“Xavier owns an apartment that he rents out at a loss of $1 billion/month. Seeing this success, he decides to make financial commitments to construct $850 bi... 15619
Clarissa Oakes 🇺🇦 @clarissaoakes.bsky.social · 17/06/2026"financial markets fail in the task of valuing assets accurately," Deliberately, I'm sure. They're after the next PT Barnum, rather than the next Gates or Boeing. 0222
Bram @bramp.bsky.social · 18/06/2026Im pretty sure Tesla was weeks from failure in 2020. I remember Musk going berserk when Alameda county tried to shut down his Fremont factory during the worst of COVID. He was struggling to ramp up production on a new model and defied the county health department despite real risks to the staff. 000
Vania @dawookie.bsky.social · 18/06/2026Making money is easy. Just hate yourself into an anxiety to hoard ALL the resources in the world, converting life into death, joy into suffering. If you build the pile of corpses high enough, eventually their loved ones show up to stop you from killing. Eventually. Any day now. #ClimateEmergency 020
MΛƧӨП🇨🇦 @twistadoob.bsky.social · 18/06/2026I gotta figure out how to make 980 billion in 6 years 040
Area Person @beartromboneparrot.bsky.social · 18/06/2026It is like something out of Greek Mythology that no matter how much wealth Musk accrues, he becomes more and more of a loser. 1262
Tim? @roctexterny.bsky.social · 20/06/2026Do the people who calculate his net worth know the total of the massive debts he has leveraged against that worth? Is there a ranking for that? 000
churchlady320 @churchlady320.bsky.social · 18/06/2026Since the 1970s, profits have not driven corporate success. Total fails (Eastern Airlines) kept stock dividends high despite that. Face value trades were fiction but kept happening. Elon fits right in. Failure is no longer a taint on a company. 000
Lerrup @lerrup.bsky.social · 17/06/2026Just glad to know it's not just me, whistling in the dark about this 030
JP @jocandi.bsky.social · 18/06/2026Que história. Mas haverá alguém que enriqueça de forma lícita? 000
Tim Mullaney @timmullaney.bsky.social · 17/06/2026At Tesla, I understand your point. Walk me through the logic at spacex. 320
infopleaseh.bsky.social @infopleaseh.bsky.social · 19/06/2026Why would Musk care about making things that work when Musk can become the world's richest man as a US taxpayer subsidized 'welfare queen'? In backing Trump, Musk bought himself full access to the US Treasury. 120
Sharty Mcscrote (Sandy D AU) 🍉🍉 @shartymcscrote.bsky.social · 19/06/2026It's all 'fake money' digits on a screen. All of it ALL OF IT can go away on a whim from BRIC when they feel like pulling the USA pin, it will all just 'poof' disappear.They will just get their gold, assets, chips and wait until the USA is unable to change course. They have the pin 010
