The Tesla CEO and legendary investor believe the progressive city, which has seen a corporate exodus since the pandemic, is a victim of its progressive values.
Both are among the most influential personalities on Twitter.
One is the owner of the platform for which he paid 44,000 million dollars to have it under his control. This is Elon Musk, the billionaire serial entrepreneur CEO of Tesla (TSLA) – Get a free report.
The second is Michael Burry, known for betting on the subprime mortgage crash that triggered the Great Financial Crisis of 2008. His tweets are scrutinized by millions of retail investors seeking investment advice and strategic direction.
Musk and Burry are also among the prominent personalities denouncing progressive ideas. These ideas threaten the world and the values that they believe have contributed and continue to contribute to the stability and influence of the West and America in particular.
The new enemy is the “awakened mind virus,” a catchall expression that encompasses equality, more diversity, gender identity, ESG (environment, corporate and social governance), and more. These values destabilize society, Musk and Burry seem to say in numerous tweets in recent months.
The ‘awakened mind virus’
Musk has made it his mission to defeat this enemy at all costs. Burry sees the “awakened mind virus” as the new threat from within.
“My son is being taught in college that men in sports are only stronger/faster/hit harder/kick harder etc. for cultural reasons. That nature, biology and male hormones don’t have nothing to do with it.This has to end somewhere, Burry, who is the founder of hedge fund Scion Asset Management, blasted on Twitter on April 1.
For Burry and Musk, San Francisco, facing multiple ills, symbolizes the perils of awakening. It’s no coincidence that both chose San Francisco to attack progressives: Musk lived in Silicon Valley before moving to Texas in late 2021, and Twitter is based in San Francisco. Burry lives in California, the Californian city is considered a stronghold of progressives.
It all started with tweets by journalist Ashlee Vance denouncing the degradation of the city and calling the blame on politicians who do nothing to change things.
“I took a 20 minute walk down Market Street with a friend who commented ‘I’ve never seen anything like this’ as his head was spinning all the time. I love science fiction. What the city has become is inconceivable. , Vance wrote on April 1.
He continued: ‘Several pockets of 20 to 30 people, all off their heads. Several of them with their pants barely on. zombies. The Walking Dead. Policemen watching the proceedings from 100 feet away.”
“This is not tolerance. This is giving up. City leaders should not be able to sleep with their shame.”
‘Evil disguised as good’
Musk was one of the first to comment. Twitter is based in the neighborhood described by Vance.
“You could literally shoot a raw Walking Dead episode in downtown San Francisco,” the billionaire said, referring to the hit TV post-apocalyptic horror drama. “This is where San Francisco politics leads and Twitter was exporting this self-destructive mind virus to the world.”
He then went after other tech companies, accusing them of spreading the progressive agenda around the world.
“With a few exceptions, other tech companies are still doing it. Bad disguised as good,” Musk exploded.
Burry shares this opinion and immediately made it known when commenting on Musk’s remarks. The investor shared his latest experience in San Francisco, recounting a scene that suggests that law and order does not reign in the city.
“This was my experience in San Francisco recently. As soon as I parked, I saw the thieves locking the car behind me and I drove on,” Burry recounted. “Thieves were essentially the only people on the street for blocks. But Elon, Twitter is still banning conservatives for objecting to the mind virus.”
In February, San Francisco Mayor London Breed promised more resources for police, tougher laws, cracking down on drugs and offering business tax breaks to revitalize downtown San Francisco. He also wants to build affordable housing for essential workers.
The city faces various challenges and issues, including a fentanyl crisis, homelessness, and a corporate exodus manifesting in high vacancy rates for commercial space. Since the pandemic, many tech workers have yet to return to the office. Tech companies are slashing their costs, which also means closing offices.
The city has almost 8,000 homeless people out of a population of around 835,000, which is about 1%. This situation causes neighbors and businesses to complain about the camps set up in the streets, the dirt and vandalism.
Public outrage led to the removal of three progressive members of the San Francisco Board of Education last year. The district attorney was also removed.