Elon Musk is the “bravest and most creative” person on earth, according to Netflix co-Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings.
While Hastings isn’t as visible in the public eye as Musk, and he certainly tweets less frequently, but he appears to be a fan of the Tesla billionaire. During Wednesday’s DealBook Summit, Hastings remarked that he and Musk have distinct leadership styles: he strives to be a “steady, respectable leader,” whereas Musk is “out there.”
Hastings said people should “give Musk a break” onstage at the New York Times Dealbook conference on Wednesday because they are “so nitpicky on him.”
“He just spent all this money to try to make [Twitter] much better for democracy and society, to have a more open platform, and I am sympathetic to that agenda. He’s trying to help the world because he believes in free speech and its power for democracy,” he said.
Musk, he said, was “excited” about Musk’s takeover of Twitter. Musk, he claimed, is “the bravest, most creative person on the planet.” “Wow, thank you for the kind words,” Musk responded.
According to CNBC, Hastings said that the $44 billion Musk spent on his Twitter takeover “could have built a mile-long yacht” and that he should be commended for instead choosing to do “good for the planet.”
Furthermore, Hastings stated that he is “100% confident that he is attempting to serve the world in all of his endeavours,” including the acquisition of Twitter.
Musk’s changes since purchasing Twitter have sparked quite an uproar. He overturned Twitter’s Covid misinformation policy earlier this month. He’s also begun to introduce an $8 monthly charge for users to obtain blue checkmarks, which have previously been used to identify the accounts of public people or institutions.
Critics argue that putting a price on verification, basically allowing anyone to have the check as long as they pay the monthly fee, could circulate misinformation. The monthly fee is part of the new Twitter Blue subscription, which Musk has repeatedly postponed due to impersonation concerns.
Musk, a self-described “free speech ideological purist,” has labelled the new blue-check system “the great leveller.”