Elon Musk is getting out of control. Here is how to to rein him in | Robert Reich
www.theguardian.com
He may be the richest man in the world – but that doesn’t mean we’re powerless to stop him
    • gravitas_deficiencyEnglish
      10·
      3 months ago

      SpaceX should legit be eminent domain’d and just folded into NASA - or at least just make the federal government the primary stakeholder and revoke Phony Stark’s ownership. He’s done shit with SpaceX assets that directly contravene US international policy, which is a direct violation of the Logan Act (which, to be fair, is basically never enforced against anyone who has enough money and power - which needs to change).

  • Sanctus@lemmy.worldEnglish
    64·
    3 months ago

    The real answer is tax him proportionally so he doesnt have more power than the state. You cab tell the state is either an idiot beast or has always served the owner class because it does nothing to defend itself from them. Centralized powers are a mistake.

  • kibiz0r@midwest.socialEnglish
    33·
    3 months ago

    Fully expected some ineffectual BS, but then I saw the author was Robert Reich so I decided to give it the time of day.

    He’s got some good points. Musk is very vulnerable in a lot of ways, and there’s a decent amount of ammo to attack him on each of those fronts.

    If regular people, businesses, and governments all decided to say “fuck you” to him in unison, he could be bankrupt, imprisoned, dethroned, and banned from several industries in just a few years’ time.

    Now, his worst-case scenario is extremely unlikely… but I wonder if the fact that bits and pieces of it might come to fruition is why he’s gone so batshit insane over the past several years. It must seem like there’s no choice but to double down on the grift now.

    • SirDerpy@lemmy.world
      41·
      3 months ago

      Starlink is now critical infrastructure in the military industrial complex. While Musk owns a substantial portion of SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, and Elon over 40% of the equity, he’s relatively untouchable.

      Does the article address this point specifically?

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
        121·
        3 months ago

        guess the government needs to take ownership. you know. For national security.

  • eran_morad@lemmy.world
    18·
    3 months ago

    I just saw a cyber truck in the wild for the 1st time. How the shit can anyone actually want one of those?

  • otter@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    171·
    3 months ago

    Is it a guillotine? What do I win if it’s a guillotine? I’m pretty sure it’s a guillotine. Just saying. 🤷🏽‍♂️ Might be.

  • Voroxpete
    141·
    3 months ago

    Seize all his assets, nationalize his companies.

    The fact that we even talk about how to “reign in” billionaires is ridiculous. No one should be a billionaire. No one should be allowed to have total autocratic control over vast swathes of humanity’s resources. Every dollar he has represents human labour and natural resources; things that belong to all of us (or none of us depending on your perspective).

  • earmuff@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    131·
    3 months ago

    Fraudulent websites get censored constantly. Why does X not count as fraudulent?

    Politicians should act. In the mean time, let’s find a way to further damage the platform.

    • untorquer@lemmy.world
      3·
      3 months ago

      Yeah, you would imagine that an author could recognize that advertisers are on X because of its popularity. So #4 would require this.

      • steve_floof@lemm.ee
        2·
        3 months ago

        Robert Reich, the author, is on Mastadon (he might be on Twitter/X too). So, I was surprised it didn’t get a mention