Elon Musk’s Interview with the BBC
I listened to Elon Musk’s interview with BBC reporter James Clayton, which has been the subject of widespread interest and discussion in the media and online. In the interview, Musk discussed a range of topics, including his motivations for purchasing Twitter, the issue of disinformation on social media platforms, and his personal life. The interview also attracted attention to some tense moments between Musk and Clayton.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Why do this interview?
1:57 Does Elon sleep in the office, and how have the first 6 months been?
3:30 Twitter technical problems and buying it?
7:08 Has Elon overpaid for Twitter and the layoffs?
14:10: Selling Tesla stock and faith in Tesla?
14:55: Donald Trump on Twitter?
16:40 Misinformation on Twitter?
17:50 Hate Speech?
18:30 More misinformation and hate speech on Twitter now?
27:45 Have the advertisers come back?
35:00 Subscription and verification
41:30 Who could run Twitter and its successor?
44:50: Hardest thing since buying Twitter?
48:45: Twitter Space Questions
49:15 “Do you like the BBC?”
49:50 Elon continues with questions from Twitter spaces.
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
I’m not sure why I agreed to do this interview with the BBC, but I respect the BBC and felt it could be a nice opportunity to receive some feedback.
The BBC has formally objected to being labeled as the state of associated media, therefore, we’re going to change the labels on the BBC Twitter feed to be publicly funded, which I don’t think is that bad. We’re doing our best to be accurate.
I occasionally sleep in the office, but not five days a week. I occasionally sleep at a library that no one visits.
The first six months as CEO of Twitter have been a roller coaster, with the service achieving all-time highs in total user time while operating with a fraction of the original headcount.
Despite all-time high demand, the system is quick and responsive, and we’ve added long-form tweets and subscriber programs.
Words by James Clayton
So you don’t lie awake at night thinking about Twitter going down again?
You say you’re going to trust a black box algorithm from another site, yet you acknowledge that there are many engineers looking at how Twitter is created, that many have departed, and that many are concerned about Twitter’s health.
Doctor Poison Pill’s Board of Directors stated that they would rather die than be bought, and then stated that they had to be bought. Because Twitter was teeming with bots, and you believed you’d overpaid.
Looking back, the only reason you wanted to back out of the deal was because you thought a court would force you to. However, you were recommended by the solicitors to proceed with the transaction.
You walk into a warehouse and say, “Actually, it’s 25, so you might still want to buy what’s in the warehouse, but probably at a lower price because you’re not buying the broken stuff.”
Words by James Clayton
You entered QQ with a sync and thought, “Wow, this is a very great office building.” However, you quickly realized that Twitter was on track to lose more than three billion dollars each year, so you had to borrow a significant amount of money and pay interest on it as well.
Twitter’s revenue fell by more than a third in the previous year, and it’s not just Twitter. Facebook and Google have also had large declines in advertising revenue, so I believe we’ll simply be back where there’s a cyclical demand drop, which is still quite significant.
Twitter’s income fell from four and a half billion to three billion, while expenses increased from four and a half billion to six billion, resulting in a three billion dollar negative cash flow scenario and a billion dollars in the bank. So, unless strong measures were taken promptly, this company would perish.
You might want to notify someone that you’re going to die. What do you want to do if you have four months, 120 days, or 140 days to live?
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
I needed to sell a lot of Tesla stock to conclude a deal, but I didn’t want to sell the Tesla Star. I am unable to sell stock during specific moments, causing the Tesla stock to collapse, which is not ideal.
Twitter shrank significantly after letting go of a lot of material and then beginning to make policy decisions. One of those policy decisions was to reinstate Donald Trump, but he has yet to tweet.
Words by James Clayton
Certain people are outraged that certain previously prohibited individuals have been reinstated. Do you believe you value free speech more than disinformation and hate speech?
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
Who is to say that anything is false? The BBC, Twitter, or the owner of Twitter. The basis of contention is that the BBC has occasionally released misleading information. The BBC acknowledges that there must be a boundary drawn in terms of hate speech and that citizens in a given country should speak with their elected authorities and create legislation to prevent it.
There are limits to speech, and I believe there is less misinformation on the site these days because we’ve removed so many bots and paid close attention to community notes that rectify the community itself.
Words by James Clayton
We’ve spoken to folks who have been fired from content moderation, as well as those who are still participating in moderation, and they all agree that there aren’t enough people to monitor this material, particularly hate speech. Is there an increase in hate speech on Twitter?
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
No, I’m not saying anything; instead, I’m asking what you mean by “hateful content.” Can you think of a single instance of hostile stuff you’ve seen on Twitter in the last six months?
You stated that hateful content was prevalent, but you couldn’t provide a single example. I don’t use that feed, so how do you know I don’t think it’s getting anything?
The BBC amended its policy on covering misinformation after the British government put pressure on the broadcaster to do so. Because the BBC does not make the rules on Twitter, let’s move on.
The Indian government removed some of Narendra Modi’s tweets after the BBC aired a documentary about him and his leadership during the Rising Gujarat protests. Narendra Modi stated that he would follow Indian laws.
There’s talk of banning or forcing the sale of Tick Tock, but I don’t use it and get more chuckles from Twitter than anything else, so that’s a positive sign for Tick Tock.
I don’t have a strong view about Tick Tock, but I’m generally opposed to banning anything, so I probably wouldn’t support it.
Words by James Clayton
Do you ever feel as if your numerous business interests prevent you from forming an opinion? Tesla has significant ties with China, but Twitter has received no communication from the Chinese government.
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
Twitter is currently breaking even, and I believe we will be profitable, or more specifically, cash flow positive, this quarter if present trends continue.
Almost all sponsors have returned or have stated that they will return to Twitter. There are very few exceptions, and both Disney and Apple are happy to advertise children’s films and iPhones.
Words by James Clayton
I’d like to ask if you have any regrets regarding purchasing Twitter. I believe it was something that had to be done, but the pain has been excruciating.
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
We’re on the verge of becoming flow positive, and the quality of recommended tweets has greatly increased since the open-source recommendation algorithm was published.
Words by James Clayton
I was going to question you about your discomfort, but you actually tweeted that the previous three months have been really difficult. Can you understand the emotional toll this has taken?
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
I do not disable replies, I have erased my full block list, and I receive a lot of nasty criticism. But I believe it is beneficial to receive bad comments, especially when the media is constantly reporting on why you are a nasty person.
Yes, and please explain no. I have a love-hate relationship with the media, but I believe it is better to have a free media environment in which the media may say hurtful things about powerful individuals.
Words by James Clayton
If we’re talking about the media, verification allows you to develop a subscription-based revenue stream, but it may fuel deception if verified accounts from anyone who can pay money rise to the top of feeds.
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
I believe that the media fuels misinformation and that, in many circumstances, the public understands more than the journalist. When I read an article about something I know a lot about, I get the impression that the journalist doesn’t grasp what’s going on in the industry. How accurate is an article about something you know about that you read? It will be better if someone is present and writes about their experience.
Words by James Clayton
Legacy Validated will be the new norm because Blue Ticks will be discontinued next week, and we will want a refund. We’ll see how it performs.
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
I’m not sure if it will be a huge cash stream, but it will significantly increase the cost of this information and bots in general. And any social media firm that does not require paid verification would be swamped.
I’m not sure what their issue is, but we’re going to treat everyone equally and allow the public to choose the narrative so that the media can choose an art and the public can weigh in on stories if they believe we’re doing something wrong.
Words by James Clayton
Would you take 44 billion dollars for Twitter if it were offered to you? Would you gladly pass it on to someone else if you were confident that the new owner would pursue the truth?
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
I’m not sure who could run Twitter. My dog’s name is Ceo, and I have a black, a turtleneck, husky guys, and a Franco.
Words by James Clayton
Nicholas wants to leave San Francisco, but the building management won’t let him, and the owner won’t even let him remove the W from the sign. So, how are you going to go about doing that?
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
If the building owner allows it, they will allow individuals to stay and have a roof over their heads.
In the last six months, the most difficult thing I’ve had to do in my entire life was shut down one of our service centres, which was painful because we lost a lot of functionality. The most difficult emotional aspect was letting go of 7,800 people.
It’s difficult to let people go, especially when you feel compelled to communicate with them. One of the most difficult things to deal with was Nancy Pelosi’s tweet.
Words by James Clayton
Do you consider yourself to be impulsive? Do you believe you require bulletproof shoes at this point?
What are your Twitter etiquette guidelines?
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
I think there are two good principles to follow: don’t tweet while you’re drunk, and store contentious tweets for the next day to see if you still want to tweet them.
We have a few items. I’m pleased I didn’t send it, and we’re about to wrap up, but do you have any regrets? I can’t complain, and things are going fairly nicely, so I can’t.
The British Broadcasting Corporation interviewed Elon Musk, and he expressed his admiration for the BBC.
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
The label will go public tomorrow, and I’m sure there will be plenty of inquiries. I went through the comments and don’t believe I missed any good questions.
People enjoy the fact that my dog Loki is a CEO, and I like BBC [music].
Yes, there are people working on contract content moderation, and many people have been fired. However, I do not believe the Censorship Bureau has been disbanded, and the community notes function is highly useful for combating misinformation.
The community notes didn’t function in this case because the tweet was about a bogus emerald mine with no property record.
Words by James Clayton
So you say it’s a method of resolving misinformation, yet you’re basically declaring one of those community notes incorrectly.
Words by Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX News by Newslines
The community note may be referring to a mine in Zambia, but I never saw one, so it’s incorrect. But I found the batting average of Community Notes to be extraordinarily high, right?
What you think is next is fighting misinformation over content moderation in a community, as well as getting rid of millions of bots every day. I believe we are already there; if not, we will be there shortly.
I’ve spoken with folks who believe Twitter has been wrecked, but I don’t believe it has, and I believe it is far superior.
