Elon Musk might have his share of detractors, but some of the world’s most prominent businesses leaders hold him in exceedingly high regard.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings had called Elon Musk the bravest and most creative person on the planet in an interview in late 2022. Hastings was asked about his thoughts on Twitter after Musk had acquired it, given how he was a regular user of the platform.
“I’m excited,” Hastings replied. “Elon Musk is the bravest, most creative person on the planet. You know what he’s done in multiple areas is phenomenal. His style is different than I’m trying to be — like a really steady, respectable leader, (but) he doesn’t care,” Hastings said as the audience laughed.
“He’s just like out there. But think of a guy who’s spending 44 billion (to buy Twitter). He could have built a mile long yacht for 44 billion. But that’s not good for the planet, so he’s not interested,” Hastings said.
The interviewer pushed back at Hastings, asking him if he believed what Musk was doing was for the good of the planet. “Absolutely. I am 100 percent convinced that he is trying to help the world in all of his endeavors,” Hastings replied.
“He’s trying to help the world on (with Twitter) because he believes in free speech and its power for democracy. It’s not how I would do it. But I’m deeply respectful, and I’m amazed that people are like so nitpicky on him on the, yeah, sure, the blue checkmark, he’s making a mess of some things or not, but it’s give the guy a break. He just spent all this money to try to make it much better for democracy and society, to have a more open platform, and I am sympathetic to that agenda,” Hastings said.
Hastings is a part of the long list of business leaders that are unabashed fans of Elon Musk, and are in awe of his accomplishments. This at times contradicts with the views of the mainstream media, which has turned against Musk in recent times following his open endorsement of Donald Trump in the US Presidential race. But while one might not necessarily always agree with Elon Musk’s politics, his accomplishments in the business field are — after the successes of Tesla, SpaceX, and increasingly, X — are pretty much indisputable.