Here's a fun fact about Elon Musk: in 2020, his (nominal) net worth was $20b, and today it's $1t (nominally).
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@pluralistic SpaceX IPO is the most successful grift that I've seen so far, truly the most successful conman of all time.
@deposevampires @pluralistic
I miss when conmen would build elaborate, humanity-destroying systems of lies and deceit so they could spend all their time searching for buried treasure on the high seas and not because they're the physical manifestation of the hollow pit of loneliness and despair at the heart of capitalism, wrought carelessly into an empty, shambling husk of flesh. -
Here'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.
--If 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:
https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/17/its-the-stupid-economy-stupid/#trillionairitis
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Most of what Musk did before 2016 was government subsidized.
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Here'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.
--If 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:
https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/17/its-the-stupid-economy-stupid/#trillionairitis
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@pluralistic Starring @johnquiggin !
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Most of what Musk did before 2016 was government subsidized.
And all of the profitable parts were stolen from other people.
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Here'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.
--If 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:
https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/17/its-the-stupid-economy-stupid/#trillionairitis
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@pluralistic Musk and Trump are very much alike. If it were not for gullible and/or greedy people, neither would be where they are financially.
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@deposevampires @pluralistic
I miss when conmen would build elaborate, humanity-destroying systems of lies and deceit so they could spend all their time searching for buried treasure on the high seas and not because they're the physical manifestation of the hollow pit of loneliness and despair at the heart of capitalism, wrought carelessly into an empty, shambling husk of flesh.@jargoggles @deposevampires @pluralistic I miss the kind of conmen that turn up in The Dollop episodes.
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