Is Elon Musk the new heir to John McAfee?
Four years ago I wrote an article titled: “Bitcoin, John McAfee, The story of the Sultan and his Flying Horse and why we should pay attention to Warren Buffett”. It was well received and even got me an interview with an online cryptocurrency magazine.
The article examined issues that I believed were important at the time. Some of which are:
- Questioning John McAfee's motives for promoting Cryptocurrency (he was paid $100,000 per tweet) and questioned his ‘Protected Values’ when considering his recommendations.
- The article asked whether we should we be concerned about market manipulation by such well-known celebrities? Furthermore, how such manipulation affects the market, especially a nascent one at the time.
- Why we should not instantly discount and ‘boo’ advice from well-known Financial Industry Experts such as Warren Buffett.
- Finally, a ‘Story about a Sultan and his Flying Horse’, which I am sure you will enjoy.
Now, I feel history is repeating itself. Elon Musk is doing exactly what John McAfee did.
He promotes cryptocurrencies such as DOGE and BITCOIN, which pump the price, then retract his previous tweets which dump the gains. He is making the cryptocurrency markets rise and fall with a few tweets. In traditional finance, this would be insider trading.
He recently bought Twitter, a powerful and dangerous tool for someone who seems to be an overt narcissist with a need for public adulation. The question is not whether he will use this information distribution tool for personal gain and further wealth generation, but how far will he go and at what cost?
I also question all this need for his attention.
McAfee had financial incentives and then started behaving in bizarre ways, which sadly led to his suicide in a Spanish Prison. When I wrote my story in 2018, I believe I may have been too harsh on a brilliant individual who may have been facing financial and mental problems that led to him taking his own life.
I genuinely hope, we the public examine whether we should be looking at Elon Musk’s behaviour and rather than encouraging it, ask what the root cause is and where it might lead. It should also make us examine if we, the adoring fans, have a tacit role in encouraging people we admire to engage in an ever-escalating “dopamine seeking-reward loop” with serious consequences.
Please do read my story from 2018, examine whether what I have said in this article has any currency and let me know your views.
If the topic of suicide has affected you in any way, please know that you are not alone, speak to a family member or friend and know that there are organisations such as the ones listed below you can reach out to:
