Elon Musk’s Influence Was Misjudged
Musk is taking advantage of the generational shift in how we consume news to put his thumb on the news scale to suit his own (political) interests.
The past few years have been a whirlwind in social media land. Our experiences online pre-pandemic feel like a generation ago. The rise of short-form video has not only transformed the social media giants (Instagram, YouTube), but also pushed video on what had been text-first platforms. Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase in 2022, which many predicted to not pan out, continues to be misjudged based on its subsequent influence. It is not an understatement to say X was the pivotal factor in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. The defining driver behind this development: Elon Musk.
One reason why Tesla is such a difficult company to analyze is that one ends up needing to analyze Elon Musk. It’s not an easy task. While I am keenly aware of the key man / woman risk being overstated, there is no denying that Musk is single-handily determining Tesla’s key strategic decisions and direction. As it pertains to X, formerly Twitter, a similarly overpowering presence by Musk is apparent. Partly out of necessity as large advertisers moved away from the platform, X embraced paid subscriptions. The company also dropped what had been Twitter’s highly controversial content moderation policies that followed partisan lines. As someone who used Twitter during the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections, the most recent campaign felt and looked different on X. Not only was President Trump’s account reinstated, but a wide selection of accounts that had been banned in the years leading up to Musk’s takeover were reinstated and active. From my vantage point, both sides of the political aisle were adequately represented on X, which was not the case pre-Musk, although the claim is somewhat subjective given the X algorithm.
Become a member today to continue reading. Already a member? Sign in and read the full essay here.
Inside Orchard Membership
Choose either a monthly or annual membership. Payment is processed by Memberful and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Member Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are ~1,000 words and sent via email. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. Create a free profile to read a few sample essays.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a member, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.
The Good and Bad of X
More than a year into Elon Musk’s Twitter ownership, it’s safe to say it’s been an eventful journey. Last month, Musk generated another wave of controversy at an NYT conference by publicly going after former Twitter / X advertisers for pulling away from the platform. The saga brought a renewed look at what X is becoming. Enough time has passed with Musk at the helm that we are able to point out genuine improvements and problems found with X.
We will begin with the genuinely positive developments. We will then follow that with the bad and the mixed bag.
An Inside Orchard subscription is required to continue reading this essay. Subscribers can read the essay here.
(Subscribers: The password for reading exclusive essays is always accessible by logging in and going to Downloads.)
Inside Orchard Subscriptions
Payment is processed by Memberful and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Member Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are ~1,000 words and sent via email. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. Create a free profile to read a few sample essays.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a member, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.
Elon Musk Isn’t Twitter’s Problem
Elon Musk continues to make unforced errors as he molds Twitter into his liking. Unnecessary controversies and illogical strategy moves are not only increasing stress and anxiety among some Twitter users, but also clouding what Musk has done correctly. Yes, there actually have been a few positive changes such as the “What’s happening” editorial trends coming to an end.
In finding the top tech story in 2022, the Musk/Twitter saga makes the short list.
An Inside Orchard subscription is required to continue reading this essay. Subscribers can read the essay here.
(Subscribers: The password for reading exclusive essays is always accessible by logging in and going to Downloads.)
Inside Orchard Subscriptions
Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are 1,000 words and sent via email on Tuesdays. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. A sample essay can be viewed here.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a paid subscriber, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.
The Musk Ride Continues for Twitter
Twitter is on a roller coaster named Elon Musk. There hasn’t been a shortage of surprise dips and turns. The initial courtship and even befriending that took place between Twitter leadership and Musk now seems like a distant memory. It’s hard to believe Twitter had initially tried to offer Musk a board seat in order to curb his Twitter stock purchases. Passive aggressiveness then set in once Musk’s intentions became known. This quickly turned into support once acquisition funding had been lined up. A few months later, we now see Twitter being put in the awkward position of suing Musk to force him to see his acquisition through as he sows doubt about the accuracy of Twitter’s financial disclosures.
An Inside Orchard subscription is required to continue reading this essay. Subscribers can read the essay here.
(Subscribers: The password for reading exclusive essays is always accessible by logging in and going to Downloads.)
Inside Orchard Subscriptions
Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are 1,000 words and sent via email on Mondays. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. A sample essay can be viewed here.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a paid subscriber, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.