A person who claims to represent the hacking group Anonymous accused the owner of Tesla, Elon Musk, of having shattered dreams and «destroyed lives» with the tweets he makes regarding cryptocurrencies.
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With a few comments, memes, emojis and likes, the third richest person in the world has both skyrocketed and sunk the value of certain cryptocurrencies multiple times in recent months, most notably with his heartfelt support for dogecoin, followed more recently by serious allegations of concern about the environmental impact of bitcoin mining.
The most recent incident resulted in a 7 percent drop in Bitcoin's value on Friday, after Musk shared a meme with his 56 million followers on Twitter, which some investors took as a sign that his electric car company might be planning to sell its coins, which it bought for $1.5 billion in February.
The person claiming to be part of the Anonymous group said that Mr. Musk’s erratic public faith in cryptocurrencies “shows a clear lack of respect for the average worker.”
He said Mr Musk has “enjoyed one of the most favorable reputations of anyone in the billionaire class” by capitalizing on many people’s desire to live in a world of electric cars and space exploration. Activist Guy Fawkesdescribed him as the only CEO of such a company who “has earned a cult following through lousy posts and trolling people on social media.”
In a video that has been viewed over a million times since it was posted on Saturday, the person mentioned a number of his previous comments and allegations against Musk, as he said it seems that "his attempt to save the world is based more on a superiority complex, rather than a genuine concern for humanity."
See also: Elon Musk: Some people may die during the mission to Mars
In an attempt to clarify this claim, it referred to an article about conditions at Tesla factories, which were described as “unacceptable” for workers, and another that reported that Mr. Musk’s family previously owned an emerald mine in Zambia.
He also pointed out some of Musk's previous comments, including one where he wrote "we will stage a coup against whoever we want," in reference to the US-backed coup against ousted President Evo Morales in Bolivia, and another in which he joked about being a "Mars conqueror" in an apparent reference to his desire to colonize the Red Planet. On top of that, he also said that "a group of people will probably die."
Referring to the “very delicate” issue of bitcoin’s carbon footprint, which is currently estimated to be equal to that of New Zealand, the person said: “This is a conversation he’s been having for over a year and is well aware of.”
«But as soon as his main source of income was threatened, he pretended to be unaware in an attempt to play on a double board.»
The Los Angeles Times estimated in 2015 that Tesla, SolarCity and SpaceX had benefited from $4.9 billion in government support. This included tax credits, a mechanism used in places like the US, Europe and China where car manufacturers can meet government-mandated emissions rules by buying “credits” from greener companies.
See also: Bitcoin price drops again after Elon Musk post
Financial Times and CNBC reported that the sale of credits to competitors was an economic line for Tesla and often represented a large part of the company's profitability, as shown by the company's earnings reports. However, there is no evidence that this is related to Mr. Musk's recent change regarding bitcoin.
“As hard-working people watch their dreams get destroyed by your public anger, you continue to mock them with memes from one of your million-dollar mansions,” the Anonymous member said, before concluding by saying “you may think you’re the smartest person in the room, but now you’ve found your equal. We are Anonymous. We are Legion. Wait for us.”
Musk has yet to publicly address the clip, but shortly after its release he posted on Twitter: "Don't kill what you hate, save what you love."
