--- title: "Uh Oh, Elon Musk’s Gone on a Twitter Tirade Again" description: "Elon Musk is once again spouting off on Twitter — and it's all we can do not to microwave some popcorn and see what he comes out with next." date: "2022-09-22" modified: "2022-09-22" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-twitter-tirade" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "SpaceX" - "tesla" - "the digest" --- # Uh Oh, Elon Musk’s Gone on a Twitter Tirade Again ![Elon Musk is once again spouting off on Twitter — and it's all we can do not to microwave some popcorn and see what he comes out with next.]() *\Image: Michael Gonzalez / Stringer via Getty / Futurism\* ## Gottem The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is once again spouting off on Twitter dot com — and it's all we can do not to microwave some popcorn and see what he comes out with next. Elon Musk's latest tirade appeared to begin earlier in the week in response to former Clinton administration labor czar Robert Reich, who [resurfaced the often-cited claim]() that Musk's family profited from a stake in an emerald mine in Zambia, a suggestion Musk has [pushed back against previously](). After calling Reich "[both an idiot and a liar]()" and "[suicidally boring]()" the world's richest man [made an interesting confession](): that he and his brother had been financially supporting their father Errol "and his extended family" on the condition "that he not do bad things." "Unfortunately," Musk added, "he did do bad things." While the bad blood between the younger Musk and his father has been [public knowledge for some time](), this appears to be the first time he's claimed to have bankrolled his dad, who made headlines earlier this year for [having a second secret child]() with his onetime stepdaughter. ## Going Off As [these things tend to go]() with Musk, the itchy Twitter fingers [did not end there](). In particular, he seemed concerned with [pushing back against the claim]() that family was wealthy in Apartheid South Africa. "Boys High was a good school, but it was government, not private," he [wrote](), referring to his high school. "Brooklyn would be considered a middle income, not exclusive, neighborhood in America." The world's richest man proceeded to become, for a time yesterday, [the world's richest reply guy]() when responding over and over to a few of the same Musk-flattering accounts, including [the *Teslerati* blog](), the [creator of Dogecoin](), and — embarrassingly — an account called "[Musk University]()." That appears to have calmed him down; by the end of the night, the [father of eight-to-ten children]()'s posting rampage had petered out. Not that someone like Musk needs any [excuse to go off on Twitter](). **More Musk:** *[Tesla Morale Low as Workers Still Don't Have Desks, Face Increased Attendance Surveillance]()* ## 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]()