A heated debate has erupted around Elon Musk’s management of Twitter, now rebranded as X. Y Combinator Group Partner David Lieb, in a sharp critique posted on the platform itself, has challenged the notion that success in one industry guarantees triumph in another, specifically targeting Musk’s approach to social media.
Lieb’s comments draw a direct comparison to Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, a long-time rival of Musk in both space and technology sectors, stating, “As Bezos once said, taste is not transferable across domains.” This statement sets the stage for a pointed analysis of Musk’s ventures beyond Tesla Inc. and SpaceX.
Lieb doesn’t hold back in his assessment of Musk’s performance at Twitter, claiming, “Elon’s great taste in electric cars and rockets gives him false confidence on social networks.” His criticism extends beyond Musk’s general approach to the platform, targeting specific features and content strategies.
He expresses a theory about the platform’s content curation, stating, “I suspect the team at Twitter intentionally isn’t improving the Following feed so that the For You feed has better metrics.” This implies a deliberate strategy to push users towards the algorithmically curated “For You” feed, potentially at the expense of user experience and content quality.
Lieb doesn’t mince words about his personal experience with this feature, stating, “I’m sure my metrics are better on the For You feed, but I really hate it. It’s largely clickbait videos and maga-Elon garbage.” The reference to “maga-Elon garbage” alludes to perceived political leanings in the content promoted on the platform, touching on the ongoing debate about social media’s role in shaping political discourse.
Lieb’s comments come at a time when Twitter, under Musk’s leadership, has undergone significant changes, including rebranding to X, adjustments to content moderation policies, and alterations to user verification processes. These changes have been met with mixed reactions from users, advertisers, and industry analysts.
This criticism from Lieb comes amid a challenging period for Musk’s social media platform, X. Recently, X released its first transparency report since Musk’s acquisition, revealing the suspension of 5.3 million accounts and the flagging of 10.6 million posts for rule violations. Additionally, X has faced a significant decline in user engagement, particularly in the U.K., where active daily users dropped from 8 million to approximately 5.6 million. This decline followed controversial posts by Musk, such as “civil war is inevitable,” leading to a noticeable user exodus to platforms like Bluesky. Furthermore, Meta Platforms Inc.’s president for global affairs, Nick Clegg, has criticized X as a “tiny” platform that allows unregulated speech, contrasting it with Meta’s platforms.
These developments have sparked debate about the future of X under Musk’s leadership. Lieb’s critique, drawing on the contrasting leadership philosophies of Bezos and Musk, adds fuel to the fire, raising questions about Musk’s ability to navigate the complex world of social media and whether his success in other industries translates to this domain.
