Celebrities
Harry Fletcher
Nov 03, 2022
Pod Save America
Elon Musk is making big changes to Twitter, and he’s found himself in a tense exchange with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
It all started when congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, hit out at Musk’s new pricing plans for the social media site, after the Tesla CEO proposed users paying $8 in order to have a verified account following his $44billion take over.
“Lmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that ‘free speech’ is actually a $8/mo subscription plan,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
“Your feedback is appreciated, now pay $8,” Musk replied.
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\u201cLmao at a billionaire earnestly trying to sell people on the idea that \u201cfree speech\u201d is actually a $8/mo subscription plan\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1667359524
Musk, clearly perturbed by the criticism, then took the effort to go to AOC’s campaign store and post a screenshot of a sweatshirt for a price tag of $58. Musk captioned the image with an emoji of the thumbs on chin emoji.
AOC then replied and hit out at Musk’s business practices, saying: “You’re a union buster with an ego problem who pockets the change from underpaying and mistreating people.”
\u201c@elonmusk My workers are union, have full healthcare + benefits like childcare help, and every one is paid a living wage. Proceeds go to community acts like tutoring underserved kids.\n\nYou\u2019re a union buster with an ego problem who pockets the change from underpaying and mistreating people.\u201d— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1667425439
She added: “My workers are union, have full healthcare + benefits like childcare help, and every one is paid a living wage. Proceeds go to community acts like tutoring underserved kids.
“You’re a union buster with an ego problem who pockets the change from underpaying and mistreating people.”
Soon after, other social media users posted pictures from the Tesla store, which showed similar prices.
\u201c@elonmusk\u201d— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1667425439
One product was the Model X-Mas sweater, sold out after having been on sale at $65 – $7 more than AOC’s jumper.
AOC wasn’t done there, either. She hit out again by writing: “One guy’s business plan for a $44 billion over-leveraged purchase is apparently to run around and individually ask people for $8.
“Remember that next time you question yourself or your qualifications.”
\u201cOne guy\u2019s business plan for a $44 billion over-leveraged purchase is apparently to run around and individually ask people for $8.\n\nRemember that next time you question yourself or your qualifications.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1667438181
Since acquiring the social media company last week, Musk, 51, has fired top executives and begun making changes both to the company and the technology.
For the last week, Musk has responded to Twitter users' issues including content moderation, blue check verification, and those who have been banned.
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