Elon Musk toys with idea of buying MSNBC 'for spits and giggles': reports
Elon Musk has been toying with the idea of doing to MSNBC what he did to the social media site formerly known as Twitter, according to a report Monday.
The Tesla CEO purchased Twitter two years ago, and the changes he implemented drove off many of its users and advertisers, wrecked its revenue model and destroyed the company's value. He churned out hundreds of posts over the weekend on the site he renamed X musing about doing the same thing to the left-leaning cable network, reported Rolling Stone.
"Elon slapped a new name on his acquisition, delivered a sloppy product, and called himself a hero," wrote Nikki McCann Ramirez. "The notion of doing it again excites him."
The telecommunications giant Comcast announced last week it would spin off several media properties, including MSNBC and CNBC, into a separate public company, and Musk's right-wing allies immediately pushed the tech mogul to buy it and turn the network into another conservative outlet.
“If you buy MSNBC I would like Rachael Maddow’s job," said podcaster Joe Rogan, and Musk jokingly agreed they had a "deal." "I will wear the same outfit and glasses, and I will tell the same lies.”
Former MNSBC host Keith Olbermann lamented Musk's apparent interest in turning MSNBC into a megaphone for right-wing propaganda, as he's done with X, where extremist content has cost the site many of its prestige advertisers and droves of users.
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“Is there anybody to stop someone, Musk or not, from buying MSNBC and turning it into pro-Trump propaganda?” Olbermann said on his Countdown podcast. “Well, who stopped Musk from doing that to Twitter?”
Olbermann mocked the billionaire tech executive for apparently getting the idea from Donald Trump Jr.
“A tech bro posts that Comcast is putting MSNBC up for sale — not technically true," Olbermann said. But Trump Junior screenshots that — somehow steadies his hands long enough to post that screenshot and [types at Musk] ‘I have the funniest idea ever.’ And Musk replies ‘how much does it cost’? Just for spits and giggles."