‘Get lost in a cave together’: Twitter backlash after Dorsey names Elon Musk most ‘exciting’ tweeter

Controversy-plagued Elon Musk is Twitter’s most exciting and influential user, the platform’s CEO Jack Dorsey has said, sparking an internet riot against his peculiar choice of Twitter idol.

During a hectic live-tweet interview on Tuesday, Dorsey was asked to name the most “exciting [and] influential” user on his platform.

Incredibly, the Twitter boss chose Elon Musk, the eclectic entrepreneur who has been embroiled in numerous Twitter scandals.

“To me personally? I like how @elonmusk uses Twitter. He’s focused on solving existential problems and sharing his thinking openly. I respect that a lot, and all the ups and downs that come with it,” Dorsey responded.

Musk replied: “Thanks Jack, Twitter rocks!” followed by a parade of emoticons.

The shout-out to Musk, however, faced an immediate backlash amongst the Twitteratti.
“Right, obviously. One of the most definitively, publicly irresponsible and destructive users. Glad you're really thinking critically about this.,” one netizen wrote.

“Please get lost in a cave together,” wrote another.

“[Jack’s] favourite Twitter user is a man who used his platform to falsely accuse someone of being a paedophile,” quipped BBC Silicon Valley reporter Dave Lee.

While Musk arguably has many redeeming traits, his Twitter critics are not exactly wrong. His poorly conceived tweets have resulted in millions of dollars in fines, and more than one PR disaster.

Unlike the oftentimes incoherent ravings of many blue-checkmarked Twitter users, Musk’s uncouth tweets have had real world consequences. He paid a $20 million fine and resigned as chairman of Tesla last year as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission after hinting in an series of tweets that the company had secured financing to go private.

The misleading posts led to shareholders filing a class-action lawsuit, accusing the electric car kingpin of trying to “burn” investors with “objectively false tweets.”

In another ill-advised set of tweets, Musk accused a man who helped rescue a group a boys from a Thai cave of being a pedophile. The outburst came after British diver Vern Unsworth branded the SpaceX founder’s prototype mini-sub – which he had designed to help with the rescue effort – as a “PR stunt.”

In September, Unsworth sued Musk for defamation. In a motion to dismiss the suit, lawyers for the Tesla CEO composed a ringing endorsement for Twitter, arguing that the platform is known for “hyperbole” and name calling and that their client was clearly tweeting in jest.

Other tweets about “who owns” the press, as well as criticisms of female journalists have spawned their own, mini-scandals for Musk.

Still, some Twitter users agreed with Dorsey, arguing that Musk’s politically incorrect fresh takes are exactly what the platform needs.

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