Tech Billionaires and the Pursuit of Digital Attention: A Critique of Elon Musk's Online Persona
By
Aaron Timms
Summary
The article critiques the exhibitionist behavior of tech billionaires, focusing on Elon Musk's transformation into a hyperactive online troll. It argues that for today's Silicon Valley oligarchs, extreme wealth is not enough — they seek global attention as the ultimate form of power in the digital era. The piece frames Musk's online persona and controversial behavior as emblematic of a broader, grim economic and social vision driven by tech elite.
Source
bskyTech Billionaires and the Pursuit of Digital Attention: A Critique of Elon Musk's Online Personanewrepublic.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledThe point of being unfathomably rich in our time is not simply to enjoy the fruits of extreme wealth, exert a crushing influence over the course of politics and public life, or hold up one end of the K-shaped economy: It's to become the center of global attention, which is where real power in the digital era resides.
It's hard to think of a cohort of rich people in recent history as extravagantly exhibitionist as today's tech billionaires.
Musk's transformation into a hyperactive super-troll reveals essential features of his economic vision.
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