THE TIME HAS COME
Rocket men Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos face off for the crown. We only wish the winner could be blasted into the sun as a reward!
VOTE NOW: https://forms.gle/udviJ3pZFBVGGW7i9
Here’s a reminder of how we got here, but it’s not a final without some contests for the competitors.
Now it’s time for an EMPIRE ASSESSMENT.
Both Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are corporate emperors in their own right, but the nature of their empires differs.
JEFF BEZOS: An internet bookstore was the basis of what’s become a vast empire dominating online commerce and extending into many domains, from grocery and health to film and even autonomous vehicles. From there, Bezos bought a major newspaper, created a space company, is beginning to send satellites into orbit, and has invested to try to extend human (billionaire) life.
ELON MUSK: A big payout from PayPal after he was deposed as CEO paved the way for Musk’s investments in electric cars and space. He now controls key infrastructures for rocket launches, satellite communication, and EV charging. He used that power to dabble in AI with his bad sense of humor, fund brain implants that kill monkeys, and trash a key social media platform. He also bores tunnels because of a dumb tweet he made one time.
THE FINAL VOTE
How do you boil down the impact of some of the most powerful and wealthy people on the planet?
JEFF BEZOS used Amazon to remake sectors of the economy to be lower wage, non-union, and far more precarious with major impacts on workers at Amazon and beyond. The innovation was changing the labor model, not world-changing technology.
ELON MUSK has his own history of bad worker treatment. He built a mythology around himself to secure public and investor interest, making it harder for his companies to fail and allowing him to capture key (privatized) infrastructures that give him power over governments and even in global conflicts.
BILLIONAIRE SHOWDOWN: PICK THE WORST PERSON IN TECH 2023
VOTE NOW: https://forms.gle/udviJ3pZFBVGGW7i9
Live results are not available for the final round. You can join our Patreon only livestream that starts at 4pm ET to hear them live when polls close at 5:30pm ET, or see them posted on social media shortly afterward!
More info here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/join-us-for-year-94507110
@parismarx can I vote for more than one?
@parismarx
So many hard choices have already been made.
@parismarx Elon musk wins hands down.
@ProfMSinha @parismarx really? I feel that overall Bezos has made the world way worse. He has brought misery to workers, small business owners and manufacturers.
@mkhoury @ProfMSinha @parismarx
Agreed. Bezos' direct impact on humanity and society has for certain been way worse.
All of the people on this list are monsters, of course. It's hard to choose just one.
@mkhoury @parismarx
True but Musk is actively promoting the overthrow of democracy. We need political democracy to fight for economic democracy and social justice!
@mkhoury @ProfMSinha @parismarx I would say that Bezos and Amazon are the embodiment of enshittification. If Amazon disappeared tomorrow, there's thousands of companies trying to follow that model. Musk is clearly a more odious personality, and no-one can deny the harm he's brought to public discourse via Twitter, but there's a lot fewer trying to copy him, especially with his well known issues with Tesla and 4.12 jokes, and his he's broken Twitter.
I think Musk would be far more unpleasant in person, but Bezos leaves a much more unpleasant legacy.
@mkhoury @ProfMSinha @parismarx
I voted for Bezos because objectively he's been worse for society but at the same time I think Elon would have gotten some sort of smug "annoying the libtards" satisfaction out of making 1st place in this so him being the runner up is also funny.
that said, I think Musk is definitely more insufferable
@mkhoury @parismarx true but Musk is threatening the republic itself.
@parismarx Ha ha - It’s a draw!
