Read on Twitter
1/ A few thoughts about @WalterIsaacson's backpedaling on his stunning claim that Musk personally directed Starlink engineers to thwart a Ukrainian attack on Russian Black Sea naval vessels by turning off internet coverage within 100 kilometers of the Crimean coast.
https://twitter.com/WalterIsaacson/status/1700342242290901361
2/ The claim appears in an excerpt from the imminently forthcoming "authorized" Musk biography. The excerpt appeared in @washingtonpost:
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/…
3/ Another excerpt from the same biography appeared several days ago in @WSJ. It presented a laughably distorted account of Musk's acquisition of Twitter.
wsj.com/tech/elon-musk…
wsj.com/tech/elon-musk…
4/ The hallmark of both pieces is Isaacson's close & immediate access to Elon Musk. From the WaPo piece, note how Walter fancies himself right in the thick of things: 
5/ Then comes the blockbuster revelation:
6/ Musk is a famous liar. His lengthy list of lies has been documented again and again. If you don't believe it, then you can verify it by taking your "full self-driving" Tesla on a trip across the United States with absolutely no human intervention. So ...
7/ ... if ever a book would cry out for endless fact-checking, it would be an "authorized" Musk biography where the biographer, having cozied up to Musk, is treated to an endless diet of mendacious & grandiose confections whipped up by an egomaniacal narcissist.
8/ When the WaPo excerpt appeared, and many intelligent people reacted with shock that Musk could & would sabotage a military operation against the monstrous Putin, Musk suddenly realized he wasn't being greeted as the savior of civilization that he fancied himself to be.
9/ Moreover, Musk undoubtedly appreciated that his close ties with important U.S. governmental agencies, that has allowed his companies to collect billions & billions in contracts and subsidies, might be in jeopardy. So, it was time to change his story to Isaacson.
10/ The craven Isaacson immediately played along:
11/ First off, thanks, Walter, for your opinion that Musk was "probably correct" in his assessment. We would expect a suck-up hagiographer to stand up and salute the right of his subject to make crucial foreign policy decisions despite having no authority to do so.
12/ Walter, bending over yet more, then posted this:
13/ I'm not buying it, Walter. You didn't make a mistake. You may be a hagiographer, but you are a careful one. You would never make such an error. I am 100% certain that what happened is that Musk contacted you and urged you to write that you have made a mistake.
14/ (The rest of my thread has disappeared, because Twitter works so well now. So, let me try again...)
15/ This saga points up the dangers of an authorized biography. The biographer ineluctably must pay the price for the access, and the price - spoken or unspoken - is the requirement that the subject be presented in a light he or she considers flattering.
16/ The danger is even greater when the subject is a famous liar who (and this is a fact) agreed and stipulated that he cannot deny the factual allegations of fraud made by the SEC in its 2019 federal court lawsuit.
17/ Two further notes. First, Elon Musk tried to get me fired by calling my boss in 2018, after he became upset about unflattering articles I wrote about Tesla. The incident has been widely reported, and is pure Musk. Did Isaacson ever contact me in researching his book? Nope.
18/ Second, Musk & Tesla viciously attacked Randeep Hothi (@skabooshka) for telling truths about their lies about Autopilot, Full Self-Driving, and manufacturing abilities. Hothi sued Musk for defamation. Musk, who famously vowed he would never settle an unjust lawsuit...
19/ ... paid Hothi to settle the lawsuit (after employing Tesla lawyers to defend it). Did Isaacson ever contact Hothi in researching his book? Nope.
20/ So, if you're a psychologist interested in how megalomaniac narcissists wish to be portrayed, then buy the book. But if you want the facts with context, detail, and truth, then the Musk book for you is the one by @Tweetermeyer:
amazon.com/Ludicrous-Unva…
amazon.com/Ludicrous-Unva…
21/ @vitaliyk reminds me we've seen this movie before, when Musk accused @ianbremmer of lying when Bremmer wrote that Musk had told him that he had talked to Putin.
I'm 100% confident Musk said that to Bremmer. The only hard question is whether Musk was lying, as he so often is.
I'm 100% confident Musk said that to Bremmer. The only hard question is whether Musk was lying, as he so often is.
22/ @mplsdothemath makes a good point here. Yeah, the revised story from Musk really ain't so much better, but it likely was the best he could do for an emergency backfill. Can't very well call your authorized biographer a liar, like you did with Bremmer!
https://twitter.com/mplsdothemath/status/1700618383887151564
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