Elon Musk Still Insulting Others When Angry
It might surprise some people that a CEO would publicly curse out someone but Elon Musk was on brand when he swore at Disney CEO Bob Iger and others
When Elon Musk is angry, the target of his ire and the public is going to see or hear it.
The entrepreneur owner and CEO of X, formerly Twitter, has a pattern of impulsive behavior and now, with advertising losses and threats of more, Musk has had enough.
“Don’t advertise,” Musk said of X’s (formerly Twitter) problems. “If someone is going to try and blackmail me with advertising? Blackmail me with money? Go f*ck yourself. Go f*ck yourself. Is that clear? Hey Bob (Iger, Disney CEO), if you’re in the audience. That’s how I feel, don’t advertise.”
Alrighty then. I guess Musk makes his point loud and clear. If nothing else, when it comes to communication, he is consistently blunt when triggered. Musk hasn’t yet suffered for it to the extent that he’s learned not to act this way. He’s taken hits but never a figurative punch — legally, socially or emotionally — that has motivated him to learn and apply smarter stress management and communication practices.
Musk has a loyal legion who support or encourage such behavior and that likely aids in fueling more of the same reactions. He however can improve, as most of us can, in our communication when we feel mistreated or otherwise hurt and offended. Musk just has to define what specifically it is that will drive him, intrinsically or extrinsically, to build new skills and capabilities and replace old, reckless thinking and behavior with smarter, more responsible and healthier actions.
Michael Toebe is a reputation consultant, advisor and communications specialist at Reputation Quality, assisting individuals and organizations with further building reputation as an asset or ethically protecting, restoring or reconstructing it.
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