In this episode of Elon Musk Vs Twitter, Bec Hill finds out why Elon wanted to pull out of the Twitter deal and how he went from making a $44 billion offer to being faced with a potential $44 billion lawsuit. Through conversations with journalists, financial experts, and Twitter users, Bec tries to get to the bottom of the story and find out whether the deal could make Elon another fortune, or put the future of his empire in jeopardy. 
When the deal was announced Twitter’s shareholders were excited at the prospect of the funding Elon would bring to the app but not everybody was so optimistic, so Bec talks to tech reporters about how Twitter employees reacted to news of the sale and why Twitter was ready to sue Elon for the price he’d offered to buy them at. She finds out how the issue of bots threatened to unravel the deal, explores whether or not Elon Musk did enough due diligence before putting in his offer, and asks could a whistleblower’s testimony could be the key to Twitter’s future? 
Produced by Audio Always

In this episode of Elon Musk Vs Twitter, Bec Hill finds out why Elon wanted to pull out of the Twitter deal and how he went from making a $44 billion offer to being faced with a potential $44 billion lawsuit. Through conversations with journalists, financial experts, and Twitter users, Bec tries to get to the bottom of the story and find out whether the deal could make Elon another fortune, or put the future of his empire in jeopardy. When the deal was announced Twitter’s shareholders were excited at the prospect of the funding Elon would bring to the app but not everybody was so optimistic, so Bec talks to tech reporters about how Twitter employees reacted to news of the sale and why Twitter was ready to sue Elon for the price he’d offered to buy them at. She finds out how the issue of bots threatened to unravel the deal, explores whether or not Elon Musk did enough due diligence before putting in his offer, and asks could a whistleblower’s testimony could be the key to Twitter’s future? Produced by Audio Always

4. Dealing with Elon

The story of Elon Musk, the way it's usually told, makes him sound like a fictional character, a comic-book superhero - or supervillain. He's the world's richest man, and now an adviser to the US President. He uses X - his social media platform - to berate politicians he doesn't agree with around the world. He plans to put chips in people's brains, and to save the world by colonising Mars. Musk's visions of the future seem to stem from the science fiction that has fired his imagination since he was a boy. But what's the real story, the true history, behind the comic book? Back in 2021 Harvard History Professor and New Yorker Writer Jill Lepore became fascinated by this question. So she made a Radio 4 podcast which tried to explain Musk through the science fiction he grew up with - tales of superheroes with origin stories that seemed to influence how he understands his own life. So much has happened since then that we decided to update that series - and add three new episodes, too. Because Musk keeps changing, and so does what Lepore calls 'Muskism' - his brand of extreme capitalism and techno-futurism. And strangely, his origin story keeps changing, too. How can understanding these fantasy stories - some of them a century old - help us understand the future Musk wants to take us to?

Technology

The story of Elon Musk, the way it's usually told, makes him sound like a fictional character, a comic-book superhero - or supervillain. He's the world's richest man, and now an adviser to the US President. He uses X - his social media platform - to berate politicians he doesn't agree with around the world. He plans to put chips in people's brains, and to save the world by colonising Mars. Musk's visions of the future seem to stem from the science fiction that has fired his imagination since he was a boy. But what's the real story, the true history, behind the comic book? Back in 2021 Harvard History Professor and New Yorker Writer Jill Lepore became fascinated by this question. So she made a Radio 4 podcast which tried to explain Musk through the science fiction he grew up with - tales of superheroes with origin stories that seemed to influence how he understands his own life. So much has happened since then that we decided to update that series - and add three new episodes, too. Because Musk keeps changing, and so does what Lepore calls 'Muskism' - his brand of extreme capitalism and techno-futurism. And strangely, his origin story keeps changing, too. How can understanding these fantasy stories - some of them a century old - help us understand the future Musk wants to take us to?

Share 4. Dealing with Elon

Sign up to save your podcasts

4. Dealing with Elon

4. Dealing with Elon

More shows like X Man: The Elon Musk Origin Story

Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford

Tortoise Investigates

X Man: The Elon Musk Origin Story