The tumultuous relationship between Elon Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi reached a breaking point this week, with leaked direct messages revealing the billionaire’s bad temper and former Twitter File ally. The threat was revealed.
mediaite report Journalist Matt Taibbi has published a series of rambling direct messages from billionaire Tesla CEO and X/Twitter owner Elon Musk. The posts highlight Musk’s growing frustration with his former ally’s coverage of Substack. Taibbi, who worked with Musk on the Twitter Files, on Thursday released screenshots of private conversations and messages dating back to January 2023, revealing a relationship that has deteriorated over the past year.
At the heart of Musk’s anger with Taibbi is the journalist’s use of Substack to post articles. Musk started a war with Substack in 2023.
In one exchange, Taibbi asked if his posts had been “shadowbanned” on Twitter, to which Musk replied: “We discovered that Substack had stolen a large amount of data in order to pre-embed plagiarized Twitter information, and we decided to lock it down. It looks like the full search ban is still in effect. It should be fixed by tomorrow. .”
In another exchange, Taibi asked: “Elon, I have refused to criticize you many times and have nothing to do with your relationship with Substack. Is there a reason why I am getting involved? ? This seems really crazy,” Musk responded. “You’re dead to me. Get off Twitter and stay on Substack.”
Since then @elon musk The public parts of these conversations might as well include other parts. I was temporarily banned from full search, and many of my 1.9 million followers still don’t see my content. https://t.co/vFRtJFierF pic.twitter.com/k29MFxLUTC
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) February 15, 2024
These posts highlight Musk’s short fuse when it comes to perceived criticism, even from longtime supporters like Taibbi. Musk, once hailed as a “free speech absolutist,” has become increasingly intolerant of dissenting voices on the platform he paid $44 billion to buy. Taibbi initially emerged as a vocal supporter of Musk’s vision for a less regulated X/Twitter, but in recent Substack articles he has adopted a more critical tone, criticizing Musk’s “chaotic” management. He slammed style and “tone-deaf” policy changes.
Taibi said in a series of tweets: “@ElonMusk, a supposed champion of free speech, has decided to not only talk to me, but to permanently suppress this account. @ElonMusk says he’s with people who aren’t afraid of him. He’s uncomfortable and wants to prove that he doesn’t just want to talk to me, even if it means suppressing his access to news he considers important, which could harm my business. thinking about.”
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Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News, covering free speech and online censorship issues.
