135

Summary

Republicans’ efforts to portray Elon Musk as a MAGA martyr are failing, as his victim narrative struggles to resonate with conservative audiences.

Musk’s controversial statements and perceived elitism, including his complaints of being targeted by Democrats, have alienated even right-wing supporters.

Protests and vandalism against Tesla have damaged the brand, and Musk’s ties to Trump have hurt the Trump’s approval ratings, especially on economic issues.

Attempts to rally sympathy for Musk, including his emotional Fox News appearance, have largely backfired.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] SabinStargem@lemmy.today 57 points 1 week ago

DOGE wants to kill me, by taking away my insulin. I have good reason to want Musk and Trump to be trapped in a burning cyber truck.

[-] Litebit@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

That sounds like self-defense to preserve your life.

[-] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Would it be more fun televized like George Carling suggested? Naked upsidedown crucifixion? Or catapulted onto a brick wall?

[-] SabinStargem@lemmy.today 3 points 1 week ago

Drawn and quartered, via Tesla vehicles. It is a quiz show where every time Musk fails to answer, one of the vehicles move several feet. These questions, can be about how many people lost their jobs and lives to Musk, and what rules DOGE broke in order to ruin them. Upon 10 questions failed, all the vehicles run free, and Musk becomes a wishbone.

There might be a bear animatronic as the host to this event.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Nunar@lemmy.world 30 points 1 week ago

People cheer at the news that Tesla dealerships are burning. That isn't because they hate Tesla, it's because Musk is an insufferable piece of shit. He solidified his legacy of trash when he went alt-right. He's now the villain and always will be

[-] Prior_Industry@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago

And the fucker revels being a villain. CPAC appearance on stage with a chainsaw, telling Bob Iger to go fuck himself, Nazi salutes, the list goes on... His brain is obviously mush, but I kinda wonder how he thought this was going to play out for his companies any other way than it has.

[-] ouRKaoS@lemmy.today 4 points 1 week ago

He thought he was going to be second in command in Trump's cult, and every MAGAt would be buying Teslas and using Starlink for Internet. He thinks he's a Hero and he thinks everyone will support whatever he does just because he's the one doing it.

He didn't read the fine print before he aligned himself with Trump and now he's paying the price & crying about it which is having the effect of making him look weak & stupid, when he thought it would make him a martyr.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] SoleInvictus@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 week ago

I own a Tesla and I cheer at the news. While I don't particularly want someone to burn mine before it sells, I wouldn't begrudge whoever did it.

[-] thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Get rid of it sooner rather than later, friend. It'll only depreciate more. That or body swap it with something more innocuous like a camry

[-] CosmicJoker@lemm.ee 28 points 1 week ago

Elon Musk and Trump are both traitors to Americs and deserve the maximum sentence for treason.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 24 points 1 week ago

Protests and vandalism against Tesla have damaged the brand

This is the narrative Musk and Republicans want.

The protests and vandalism aren't hurting his brand.

They're another consequence of him openly being a fucking Nazi, which is what's hurting his brand.

It's not that complicated, but a shit ton of people keep missing the point

[-] DaveyRocket@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

“I can excuse some nazism, but vandalism is where I draw the line!”

…you can excuse nazism?

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Won't someone think of the stock market?!

-Neoliberals

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] BlackSheep@lemmy.ca 23 points 1 week ago

“They basically want to kill me”. Quote from people discussing their american health plans?

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] samus12345@lemm.ee 22 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Musk’s ties to Trump have hurt the Trump’s approval ratings

Wow, you have to be a special kind of shitty to actually hurt Trump's image, rather than the other way around.

[-] Elkot@lemmy.world 20 points 1 week ago

In Scotland we have a word for people like Elon, cunt

[-] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

i mean, what did he expect if he threatens to slash social security? any attempt to slash social security is a declaration of war to the civil class; and if you're declaring war, you better be ready to die.

how can we respect their lifes if they don't respect our lifes?

[-] Litebit@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

slashing social security is murder, you have the right to self-defense.

[-] CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 week ago

The people Musk told that empathy was bad don't have any empathy for Musk?

[-] Xtallll@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 1 week ago

Elon Musk is a real victim, inside of having "more money than anyone should ever be able to amass or dream of spending in one lifetime", now he only has "more money than anyone should ever be able to amass or dream of spending in one lifetime".

[-] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 13 points 1 week ago

I don't want you dead, Elon. I want you to be penniless and without anyone willing to loan you money anymore.

[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

I don't want you dead, Elon.

Let's not be hasty, now.

[-] PoastRotato@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago

Nah, they're right. Dead people can't suffer.

[-] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago

While he certainly deserves to suffer proportional to the suffering he's causing, top priority is stop him from causing more - if that means he ends up taking a bullet in a manner that renders him incapable of processing what's happening, I'll still count that as a good start.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
[-] TheDeadlySquid@lemm.ee 10 points 1 week ago

She’d a tear for the billionaire as he dismantles our social safety net to give his cronies a tax break.

[-] 60d@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 week ago

There isn't much of a safety net to dismantle, but he'll find a way.

[-] KALDON@lemm.ee 10 points 1 week ago

Hope he never has another moment of peace.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] NABDad@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

I don't want to kill Musk, but I'm not going to shed any tears about anything bad that happens to him or any other racist, fascist piece of shit.

[-] Treczoks@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Don't kill him. Just tax him like they would with a normal working person. That would throw him into a world of sufferung.

[-] aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 week ago

i mean, he's already lost $200B net worth. If we keep at it, he will be in the gutter soon enough.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] sfbing@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Clarence Darrow wrote: "All men have an emotion to kill; when they strongly dislike some one they involuntarily wish he was dead. I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction."

[-] notsoshaihulud@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

If empathy’s a weakness then Karma is a bitch

[-] loutr@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 week ago

Empathy, like tolerance, should really be considered a social contract. If he doesn't have empathy for the less fortunate than him, I have a really hard time having empathy for him.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Just every day some little misfortune to balance out karma like wet sleeves after washing hands, occasionally stepping into dog crap, marmalade toast falling on the floor upside down, a few paper cuts, stepping onto lego barefoot, mobile phone falling into toilet bowl and so on.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] Zink@programming.dev 7 points 1 week ago

He is such a ridiculous asswipe that it seems like he’s doing it on purpose to help distract from other billionaires falling in line or random horrible shit the administration is doing.

I doubt it’s an act, and I suspect he’s really just that much of an asswipe, but damn.

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] peoplebeproblems@midwest.social 7 points 1 week ago

Musk: Acts like a Nazi

Society: "A good Nazi is a dead Nazi."

Musk: "Y U DO THIS"

[-] webadict@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Imagine saying "They basically want me dead." and then wearing your child as a human shield. Father of the year.

[-] CalipherJones@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

I'll celebrate with a drink if somebody does.

[-] Novocirab@feddit.org 5 points 1 week ago

Come the margin call I'ma feast on a dozen fried eggs and maybe, just maybe a tiny smidge of K

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 6 points 1 week ago

All Americans worthy of the name want to kill Nazis.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] The_Caretaker@lemm.ee 5 points 1 week ago

Musk and the other tech-Nazis who invested in Trump want to tear down the government and replace nations with individually owned territories, which each of these corporate criminals will run like a personal fiefdom. Think 13th century feudalism but with internet and cars. A bunch of lords owning everything including the people. "Freedom Cities" that will be wholly owned and operated by your corporate overlords.

[-] HawlSera@lemm.ee 4 points 1 week ago

At this point they might as well go back to trying to make a martyr out of the United Healthcare guy who's name I remember about as well as Elon Musk remembers what compassion is.

[-] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 4 points 1 week ago

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[-] IHeartBadCode@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago

A core principal of a martyr is being widely liked. No one gives a shit about this dude. Even the people who he surrounds himself with don't give a flying fuck about the dude. Musk himself makes every interaction with him transactional. Add in his default behavior of being an 11 year old edgelord wrapped in a 50 something whale body with hair plugs that's awkward as fuck to be around, and yeah it's not hard to see why nobody likes this fucking billionaire with attachment issues.

Dude needs to ditch the ketamine and perhaps get actual therapy. And actually having a better diet and exercise regimen wouldn't hurt either.

[-] Asafum@feddit.nl 2 points 1 week ago

"Wahhhh! People I've demonized and repeatedly talk down to don't like me! Just because I'm destroying any positive programs the government has and taking your future safety nets away doesn't mean we can't still be friends!"

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2025
135 points (98.6% liked)

politics

22535 readers
1253 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

Register To Vote

Citizenship Resource Center

Congressional Awards Program

Federal Government Agencies

Library of Congress Legislative Resources

The White House

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

News

World News

Business News

Political Discussion

Ask Politics

Military News

Global Politics

Moderate Politics

Progressive Politics

UK Politics

Canadian Politics

Australian Politics

New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS