Anonymous, which admittedly feels like it was a much bigger influence on the Internet a few cycles ago, has apparently set its sights on Elon Musk after another week of crypto shenanigans. The internet collective that has hacked and exposed countless groups and people appears to have issued a warning to Musk via a video where it scolded him for manipulating the cryptocurrency market and impacting the livelihoods of people investing in the market that’s fluctuated wildly in recent weeks.
In a video posted to YouTube on Saturday, a Guy Fawkes-wearing person with a masked voice issued a warning to Musk, scolding him for the way he acquired his wealth, his business practices and warned that the gleeful way he’s impacting the cryptocurrency market is impacting the actual lives of many people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG07x3aN3b0&ab_channel=Anonymous
“For the past several years you have enjoyed one of the most favorable reputations of anyone in the billionaire class because you have tapped into the a desire that many of us have to live in a world with electric cars and space exploration,” the video said. “But recently your carefully-curated public image is being exposed and people are beginning to see you as another narcissistic rich dude desperate for attention.”
The video pointed out “intolerable conditions” for Tesla employees and others working at lithium mines around the world, as well as Musk describing himself as the “emperor of Mars.” Musk was criticized as less interested in saving the world and “more rooted in a superiority and savior complex than it is an actual concern for humanity.”
“There are plenty of companies working on space exploration and electric vehicles,” Anonymous said. “You are just the only CEO who has gained a cult following through sh*tposting and trolling the world on social media.”
The video pointed out that much of Tesla’s value comes from government subsidies from selling electric cars, not the vehicles themselves. They’ve also made a lot of money on holding Bitcoin.
“Reading from the comments on your Twitter posts it seems that that games you have played with the crypto markets have destroyed lives. Millions of retail investors were counting on your crypto games to improve their lives,” the collective said. “This is something you will never understand because you were born into the stolen wealth of a South African apartheid emerald mine and have no clue what struggle is like for most of the working people in the world.”
The video referenced some of Musk’s latest tweets, including a meme about “breaking up” with Bitcoin that seems to in part have caused a dip in the crypto market as well as an emoji-filled tweet that seems to have referenced an ejaculate-themed cryptocurrency used by adult performers.
“Your tweets this week show a clear disregard for the average working person. As hardworking people have their dreams liquidated over your public temper tantrums, you continue to mock them with memes from one of your million-dollar mansions,” the video said. “You may think you’re the smartest person in the room, but now you have met your match.”
Musk didn’t address the Anonymous video directly, but did tweet on Saturday about some crypto stuff and the world in general, including a tweet that said “don’t kill what you hate, save what you love.”
Goods & services are the real economy, any form of money is simply the accounting thereof
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2021
Don’t kill what you hate,
Save what you love— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2021
We’ll have to wait and see if Musk actually responds more directly to Anonymous, however that would happen, or if the collective actually follows through on its warning.