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Faiz Siddiqui

@faizsays.bsky.social
5.7K followers 104 following 341 posts

Washington Post tech journalist writing a lot about Elon Musk, Twitter, Tesla. My book HUBRIS MAXIMUS: The Shattering of Elon Musk (St. Martin’s) is in stores NOW! How to buy: read.macmillan.com/lp/hubris-maximu…

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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 15h
What Tesla plans to deliver widely in 2028, a decade after first showing the Roadster, is a high-performance supercar that uses suction to generate downforce. Cool, but not the first car to do that (see the McMurtry Spéirling). A thruster version with a sub 1-second 0-60 requires $250k upfront.
The menu options for Tesla Roadster reservations, showing performance, thrust and rocket versions.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 15h
Tesla just demoed a car that could fly and do a mid-air flip with the assistance of four SpaceX rocket thrusters. Elon Musk declared the beginning of the era of flying cars. Tesla's website has the fine print: the rocket version, boasting a "full flight system" is "Invite Only" and not road legal.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
🚨 Hubris Maximus mentioned 🚨 www.rogerebert.com/reviews/elon...
A review of the "Musk" doc on rogerebert.com, with a reference to the post author's book "Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk."
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e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 12/10/2026
Here is the October stream schedule for the Elon Take The Wheel Livestream Guests include the authors of "Muskism," "Hubris Maximus," and "More Everything Forever," as well as a very special stream on October 20, in partnership with @bsky.app, featuring Alex Gibney, director of "MUSK." So excited!
October schedule for the Elon Take The Wheel Livestream: 
10/13: Ed reviews the cars of the Paris Auto Show at 9 am Pacific
10/14: Ed is joined by Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of "Muskism," at noon Pacific
10/15: Tesla Roadster Unveil, time TBA
10/20: Ed is joined by Alex Gibney, director of "MUSK" in partnership with Bluesky, at 9 am Pacific
10/21 Tesla Earnings call at 1 pm Pacific, Ed is joined by Faiz Siddiqui, author of "Hubris Maximus" at 2 pm Pacific
10/26: Ed is joined by Adam Becker, author of "More Everything, Forever" at 9 am Pacific

all streamed live at stream.place/niedermeyer.online
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
They're commanding interest from investors who see Silicon Valley a power center on equal footing w/ Washington, but who want DOGE alums' intimate knowledge of govt agencies. "They have enormous juice," the exec director of the Revolving Door Project said. "Washington is kind of vulnerable to this."
wapo.st
They came to Washington to dismantle government. Now, they’re profiting from it.
DOGE alumni have leveraged their government experience, raising at least half a billion dollars for firms spanning cyberwarfare, AI and data centers, a Post analysis found.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
DOGE alums have raised more than $500 million in funding for businesses tied to or inspired by their work in government. "It has the appearance that they found a new way to monetize government service that is far beyond anything lobbyists ever dreamed of." wapo.st/4yF1Kml
wapo.st
They came to Washington to dismantle government. Now, they’re profiting from it.
DOGE alumni have leveraged their government experience, raising at least half a billion dollars for firms spanning cyberwarfare, AI and data centers, a Post analysis found.
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
"Perhaps more concerningly, the TVs were capable of recording microphone audio when in standby; this continued even after the TV was disconnected from the internet, with audio files stored offline and uploaded once a connection was restored."
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
the fact that multiple Tesla influencers are using the Cybercab launch to criticize the working class people shuttling them to the event is a little on the nose, a real tell into how antisocial a phenomenon this is
A post from the account Tesla Owners Silicon Valley criticizing ride-hail drivers ahead of the Cybercab launch.A post from the account Teslaconomics detailing their preference for autonomous vehicles over human drivers.
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jacob galapagos @jacobgalapagos.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
It’s think for yourself thursday
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
New from me: True believers in Tesla, spurned by missed deadlines, a fantastical roadmap & his occupation with SpaceX, are starting to question their faith in Elon Musk. "Tesla investors are confused, and some feel betrayed." wapo.st/3Sjx1eO
wapo.st
Tesla’s true believers are starting to question their faith in Elon Musk
As Musk turns his focus to other ventures such as SpaceX, some of his biggest backers are wondering whether his car company has become an afterthought.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
NEW: DOGE overstated its "savings" by taking credit for lease cancellations initiated before it existed, cited elimination of billions in contracts that weren't actually terminated and populated its website with claims of cuts that couldn't be verified, yearlong GAO audit finds wapo.st/3TGeMAy
wapo.st
Elon Musk’s DOGE made big errors in claims of government savings, GAO finds
The government watchdog found that billions of dollars in DOGE’s public tally could not be verified and that some claimed cuts never happened.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
SpaceX ends the day down more than 13%. What’s been behind its stock challenges post-IPO? A combo of an “extremely high initial valuation, concern” about “AI [capital spending] … moving much faster than monetization and … upcoming lockup expirations,” where ppl can dump shares. wapo.st/4g8XrZL
wapo.st
SpaceX posts loss of $541 million in first report since record-setting IPO
The company’s stock had jumped by more than 10 percent before the announcement, among the first positive signs after weeks of decline.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
SpaceX fell below $115 in after-hours trading, putting it close to 50% off its all-time high. It happened after Elon Musk's other publicly traded company, Tesla, reported a year-over-year decline in profits, sending its own stock plummeting.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
It fell below $126 in after-hours trading, around $100 less than the all-time high set on June 16. SpaceX has lost more than 44 percent of its value in just a month.
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Rachel Lerman @rachellerman.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
I'm on a new beat at The Post, writing about consumer economics. To start us off! I wrote about the massive Boomer wealth that's about to get passed down, and how it will make our wealth gap even more extreme. Gift link: wapo.st/4y9yCUD
wapo.st
Boomers’ massive wealth will mostly be passed down to people who are already rich
Often called the Great Wealth Transfer, the inheritances are expected to be the largest passage of generational wealth in history.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
“If you let takers vote, they will not only take more and more, they will make it more and more rewarding to be a taker...” Newly minted trillionaire Elon Musk:
Elon Musk responding “I have wised up” to the post above.A Washington Post investigation that found Musk’s empire was built with tens of billions in government money.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
My new book intro addresses what Elon Musk has been posting about relentlessly over the past several days: the dismantling of USAID. I wrote it in January 2026 and had no idea Musk would be on a tirade about the cuts the same week it published. I hope you'll read it in full.
The author's note for Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk, written in January 2026."It's hard to imagine a more dramatic juxtaposition: despair on one end, dividends on another.""Now more than ever, in the shadow of DOGE, his impact on millions of real human lives is undeniable. And indelible."
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
“Just as [Musk] will forever be associated with mainstreaming electric cars and reviving the U.S. space program, what he chose to do during his brief stint in political power will define his legacy.”
The new intro to Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk. Now in paperback.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
It has been called a “scathing portrait” of Musk and praised for “meticulous reportage.” You can pick up Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk (out in paperback TODAY) wherever you get your books: us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
us.macmillan.com
Hubris Maximus
The rise, fall, and revival of the Caesar of Silicon Valley. Elon Musk has cast himself as the savior of humanity, an altruistic force whose fortune is tied ...
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
This has always been a book about how Musk’s wealth and power have grown despite wagers that display an increasing level of erraticism and call into question his overall credibility. It is as timely today as when it was first published during Musk’s DOGE tear through Washington.
us.macmillan.com
Hubris Maximus
The rise, fall, and revival of the Caesar of Silicon Valley. Elon Musk has cast himself as the savior of humanity, an altruistic force whose fortune is tied ...
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
🚨 My book Hubris Maximus is out in paperback TODAY with a new intro that delves into Elon Musk’s tear through Washington and the indelible stain on his life’s work that has resulted from wanton cuts to lifesaving aid. Pick up a copy wherever you get your books: us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
The cover of the paperback edition for Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk, by the author of this post, which hits bookstore shelves today
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
How did such unproven ideas (ones that SpaceX acknowledges the risks of attempting to realize) launch the company to a valuation in the orbit of tech giants like Microsoft? “There is an ideological component, obviously.” wapo.st/43Knxvm
wapo.st
SpaceX’s plan: Put all the data centers in space, then profit
Elon Musk becoming a trillionaire was only the beginning. SpaceX has soared into the orbit of tech juggernauts with a fleet of fantastical plans.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
And yet, SpaceX soared to a more than $2 trillion valuation on these ideas + others. “Are the people who are very enthusiastic about this — are they really knowledgeable, or is it more ideology and enthusiasm?” “There is an ideological component, obviously.” wapo.st/43Knxvm
wapo.st
SpaceX’s plan: Put all the data centers in space, then profit
Elon Musk becoming a trillionaire was only the beginning. SpaceX has soared into the orbit of tech juggernauts with a fleet of fantastical plans.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
SpaceX’s orbital data center plans are about as thought out as Elon Musk’s Boring Co. Take an existing problem and move it somewhere else. (Traffic: underground. Data centers: space). And the Mars colony? “[If] anyone else said it, they would probably have him institutionalized.” wapo.st/43Knxvm
wapo.st
SpaceX’s plan: Put all the data centers in space, then profit
Elon Musk becoming a trillionaire was only the beginning. SpaceX has soared into the orbit of tech juggernauts with a fleet of fantastical plans.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
New: Trump changed the requirements to allow Musk's Starlink to win subsidies for rural internet. Now it's boxing out competition that customers hoped would emerge. "They’re monopolizing the market and calling it doing us a favor," @ahlmanfornebraska.bsky.social tells me. wapo.st/3Si4g1z
wapo.st
Musk’s Starlink hooked rural customers. Then came the price increases.
The billionaire’s satellite internet service is a lifeline to many, but some users who face price hikes say Starlink has amassed too much power.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
If Elon Musk was really serious about his proposal for "universal high income," @scottsantens.com tells me, he could start funding it right now. But he isn't doing that, and in fact is spending his time complaining about the mechanism economists see for achieving it: taxation. wapo.st/4uYjCGE
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AI leaders see mass job loss coming. They want government’s help solving it.
Elon Musk, Dario Amodei and other tech leaders back public benefits as AI threatens jobs. But critics question whether billionaires would support the massive redistribution needed to fund an AI welfar...
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
NEW: SpaceX, on the verge of record-setting IPO, has posted $13 billion of losses since 2023. "The financial success of the business named and founded for operations in rocketry and space is now a huge bet on AI," which it says has a $26.5 trillion market, nearly the whole U.S. GDP wapo.st/4uH2mGp
wapo.st
Elon Musk’s SpaceX discloses massive losses ahead of record-breaking IPO
SpaceX, a leader in rocket launches, lost billions of dollars in recent years after a merger with Musk's artificial intelligence venture, xAI.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
SpaceX financial performance by year: 2023: ~$4.6B loss 2024: $791M profit 2025: ~$4.9B loss 2026 (through March): ~$4.3B loss this is on track to the biggest IPO in history
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
SpaceX believes it has a $28.5 trillion total addressable market (the U.S. GDP is about $32 trillion)
A chart depicting SpaceX's estimate of its total addressable market
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
SpaceX prospectus is out www.sec.gov/Archives/edg...
sec.gov
Space Exploration Technologies - S-1
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zach mcauliffe @mcauliffewithaz.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
might i suggest this thing i wrote :D www.cnet.com/home/electri...
cnet.com
Is Tesla's Cybertruck a Truck or Boat? Elon Musk Claims Both
Musk makes an intriguing claim about the upcoming Cybertruck.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
"Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat"
An Elon Musk post reading: "Cybertruck will be waterproof enough to serve briefly as a boat," claiming it could cross lakes
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Thank you Quinn!
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
A little-noticed X account in India was struggling to reach 100 followers when it announced: "Sit tight and have a view while I am working my way up the ladder." Two years later, it's the account Elon Musk interacts with the most. It lavishes praise on Musk and spreads his ideas. wapo.st/4nqjRYk
A Washington Post story detailing the rise of the XFreeze account and how Elon Musk's interest in the user's content propelled them to a massive degree of influence.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
XFreeze's following has surged to more than 200,000, with reach far surpassing that — getting millions of eyes on his content because he has the ear of the man in charge. And he's amassed subscribers including Musk himself. wapo.st/4nqjRYk
wapo.st
Elon Musk’s anonymous online BFF spreads his ideas and attacks his enemies
The Tesla CEO regularly amplifies a fan account called XFreeze that sings his praises and criticizes opponents in his lawsuit against OpenAI.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Less than two years ago, XFreeze was a in search of an audience, seeking its 100th follower. But it soon settled on a winning strategy: court the man in charge. Musk took an interest in its breathless praise and sharing of his ideas. It's proven lucrative. wapo.st/4nqjRYk
wapo.st
Elon Musk’s anonymous online BFF spreads his ideas and attacks his enemies
The Tesla CEO regularly amplifies a fan account called XFreeze that sings his praises and criticizes opponents in his lawsuit against OpenAI.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
New: The top X account Elon Musk has interacted with in 2026 is an anonymous user The Post traced to India who spends his days lavishing praise on Musk, spreading his ideas & interests and attacking his enemies. It's a case study in X's skewed incentive structures. wapo.st/4nqjRYk
wapo.st
Elon Musk’s anonymous online BFF spreads his ideas and attacks his enemies
The Tesla CEO regularly amplifies a fan account called XFreeze that sings his praises and criticizes opponents in his lawsuit against OpenAI.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
I’m so honored to have been part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for our coverage of DOGE and the transformation of the government. Delayed in posting this because I spent most of yesterday stunned by the news. Incredible, inspiring group of colleagues.
The Pulitzer Prize in Public Service, awarded to The Washington Post “For piercing the veil of secrecy around the Trump administration's chaotic overhaul of federal agencies and chronicling in rich detail the human impacts of the cuts and the consequences for the country.”The Washington Post story on the news: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/05/04/post-pulitzer-prize-public-service/
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
folks, it's been a year since I looked extremely comfortable, normal and right at home going on national television to discuss my work -- pre-order the paperback of the book that led to this today!! thank you us.macmillan.com/books/978125...
Me about to sit down for an interview on Laura Coates Live to discuss Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk.A zoomed in version of the same picture where, again, I look like I'm doing just fine
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
His positions would have once caught the attention of a board or led to conversations about his ouster. Instead, his institutional backing is as strong as ever, even after rallying whites for their race, for example. “Capitalism is surpassing all ethics. … Capitalism beats feelings.” wapo.st/4mRC7d5
wapo.st
Elon Musk’s near-daily online posts about race are turning off some fans
Elon Musk posted almost daily about race on X in recent months, a Washington Post analysis found, at times sharing views experts said echoed white supremacy.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Musk, during a period centered on a $1 trillion pay package award intended to secure his focus on Tesla, posted about race almost daily — 166 out of 197 days from last October to mid-April. Story w/ @jeremybmerrill.com: wapo.st/4mRC7d5
wapo.st
Elon Musk’s near-daily online posts about race are turning off some fans
Elon Musk posted almost daily about race on X in recent months, a Washington Post analysis found, at times sharing views experts said echoed white supremacy.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
Elon Musk has posted 850 times on race — touting whites’ role in eliminating slavery, rallying white people to stand up for their race, for example — over seven months. Two experts say his positions are “standard … white supremacy.” He’s on the verge of the biggest IPO in history. wapo.st/4mRC7d5
wapo.st
Elon Musk’s near-daily online posts about race are turning off some fans
Elon Musk posted almost daily about race on X in recent months, a Washington Post analysis found, at times sharing views experts said echoed white supremacy.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Elon Musk: "Unfortunately Hardware 3 simply does not have the capability to achieve unsupervised FSD." Says Tesla will offer a discounted trade-ins for more capable cars Big disappointment for Tesla owners who were sold the idea that their cars would one day become sentient and self-driving
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Inside Elon Musk’s Grievance-Fueled MAGA-morphosis: “What the F--k Is Wrong With Your Boss?” "He just basically has a complete disdain for any authority—period,” said one investor www.vanityfair.com/news/story/i...
vanityfair.com
Inside Elon Musk’s Grievance-Fueled MAGA-morphosis: “What the F--k Is Wrong With Your Boss?”
In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, ‘Hubris Maximus,’ Faiz Siddiqui chronicles how the billionaire was radicalized by everything from the “woke mind virus” to the COVID shutdown and plain old gov...
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
You can read excerpts of Hubris Maximus in The Washington Post and Vanity Fair to see how Musk's business attitudes and political motivations began to intertwine. Musk’s fury over a Tesla investigation foreshadowed his war on Washington wapo.st/4tvITI2
wapo.st
Musk’s fury over a Tesla investigation foreshadowed his war on Washington
The upcoming “Hubris Maximus” book details Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s disregard for the public and his contempt for regulators charged with overseeing his companies.
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
My book Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk published a year ago today. Barnes & Noble called it a best book of 2025 & Kirkus called it an essential new book challenging big tech. PW cited its "meticulous reportage." Now you can pre-order the paperback: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hubris-max...
The cover of Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk, depicting Musk as a golden bust with fault lines running through it. "This gripping book exposes the cost of power without accountability in a world that idolizes innovation."
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e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 21/04/2026
this pattern of mysterious Tesla data logging dysfunctions goes back to 2016 and the very first allegations of Autopilot's culpability in fata crashes, and continues through last summer's massive $243m court judgement against the automaker pre-order the book now! benbellabooks.com/shop/elon-ta...
benbellabooks.com
Elon Take the Wheel - BenBella Books
Timely, thought-provoking, and rigorously sourced, Elon Take the Wheel invites readers to reconsider what automated driving promises, what it obscures, and what it means for the future of mobility.
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Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 15/04/2026
extremely normal economy
Shoe company Allbirds, which sold last week for $39M after its valuation fell from $4B+ in 2021, says it aims to become an AI compute provider; BIRD jumps 800%+
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Krzysztof Jarząb @jarzab.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
@faizsays.bsky.social - "Pycha absolutna" (tłum. Piotr Grzegorzewski). Biografia amerykańskiego oligarchy, który zabił Twittera, pomógł w reelekcji Trumpa i od kilku lat przyczynia się do wrzenia świata. Samozwańczy zbawca ludzkości, który próbuje nas zniewolić technologicznie. #readlist2026pl
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Faiz Siddiqui @faizsays.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
The problem with trying to sell the masses on this messaging is that it's the tech moguls pushing it who stand to benefit. And they can't articulate how or why the wealth they'll generate would filter down wapo.st/4uTiDIr
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