--- title: "Elon Musk Was So Proud of His Friendship With Puff Daddy" description: "In a new book about Elon Musk buying Twitter, it's abundantly clear that the billionaire is proud to call Sean \"Diddy\" Combs his friend." date: "2024-09-28" modified: "2024-09-28" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-diddy-friendship" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "celebrities" - "elon musk" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Elon Musk Was So Proud of His Friendship With Puff Daddy ![In a new book about Elon Musk buying Twitter, it's abundantly clear that the billionaire is proud to call Sean "Diddy" Combs his friend.]() *LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - NOVEMBER 10: P Diddy is seen out and about on November 10, 2023 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by MEGA/GC Images) \Image: MEGA / GC Images / Getty Images\* ## Missing You In a new book about Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter, it's abundantly clear that among [countless other character flaws](), the billionaire seemed strikingly proud to call accused rapist [Sean "Diddy" Combs]() his friend. The rapper, who has for the last year been in the news amid [repeated credible accusations]() of sexual and domestic battery and abuse, is even featured in *New York Times* reporters Kate Conger and Ryan Mac's new book "Character Limit." Discussing the "star-studded" wedding of Musk's friend Ari Emanuel, who among other things is the CEO of the company that owns both World Wrestling Entertainment and the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Combs' name comes up in passing between Larry David and Mark Wahlberg as its famous attendees are listed off. Though it's unclear exactly when they met, it becomes clear later in the book, published earlier this month by [Penguin Random House](), that the multi-hyphenate business owner used his friendship with the 54-year-old Bad Boy Records owner to his advantage. ## Need a Girl Set during the earliest days of his Twitter takeover, a tense scene from November 2022 involved a man named Detavio Samuels, the CEO of a media company Combs had founded called Revolt TV. As the head of a company that advertised on the site, Samuels was understandably concerned about racism on the social network getting worse under Musk's ownership — and to quell the Revolt CEO's fears, the South African-born billionaire decided to name-drop his famous Black friend. "'I don’t know if you know this, but Puff is an investor in Twitter,' \[Musk\] said, using a nickname for Combs," Mac and Conger recount. "'You know, he’s a good friend of mine. We text a lot.'" As [*Futurism* noted earlier this year](), Diddy's involvement in Musk's purchase of Twitter had been [rumored by *TMZ*]() around the time this anecdote took place, but it wasn't confirmed until journalist [Jacob Silverman successfully unmasked]() the site's investors in court last month. Though "Character Limit" gives no indication that Musk saw anything wrong with what he told Samuels, the people who were there to witness this embarrassing incident of [textbook racism dismissal]() were, as one could imagine, quite embarrassed by the ordeal. "Some of the Twitter executives had to resist the urge to bury their heads in their hands," Conger and Mac wrote. As far as we can tell, Musk doesn't seem to have responded publicly to revelations of Diddy's many alleged wrongdoings, which isn't exactly surprising — but is nevertheless striking, given that the rapper was [rumored to have spent $10 million]() on helping the billionaire buy Twitter. **More on Musk**: [*Head of NASA Says Musk's Instability Is Okay Because He Doesn't Really Run SpaceX*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()