Elon Musk attacked George Soros on Twitter on Tuesday after announcing that he had sold his shares in Tesla. The CEO of the electric car company compared the Hungarian businessman to Magneto, originally a villain from Marvel's X-Men. "It reminds me of him," Musk said.
Soros's fund had a package of $16 million in Tesla shares, which it bought last year, and disposed of them last Friday, according to the fund's own documentation that was released this week. Musk made no explicit mention of the sale in his tweet.
The comparison has generated a stir in the social network owned by Musk himself. In the responses to his tweet, a user reminded him of the story of Soros, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor -like Magento in Marvel's narrative, where he evolves into an anti-hero- and that he finances civil society initiatives out of pocket through the Open Society Foundations. "He is attacked relentlessly for his good intentions," they told Musk. "You assume they are good intentions. They are not. He wants to erode the fabric of civilization. Soros hates humanity," Musk replied.
Soros has become a target of the hardest American right, and is usually one of the favorite targets of Donald Trump, who accuses him of having bought a good part of the media.
Musk has several open fronts. To his wars in networks is added that of the engine. At Tesla's annual meeting with shareholders, held this Tuesday, Musk revealed that the company is considering investing in advertising and advertising in the media, something he has never done. "We're going to give it a shot and see how it goes," he said.
More reliant on word of mouth and a loyal driver community at Tesla, the decision marks a reversal at a time when competition in the EV market has been magnified by the entry of traditional brands and a slowing economy. . A context that in recent months has also led Tesla to lower prices in its range with the aim of gaining market share in exchange for giving up higher margins.
As the owner of Twitter, whose management he has just put in the hands of Linda Yaccarino, Musk is now aware of the importance of companies investing in advertising so that the business of the social network works. "So I guess I should say advertising is great and everyone should do it."
