Faiz Siddiqui
@faizsays.bsky.social
Washington Post tech journalist writing a lot about Elon Musk, Twitter, Tesla. My book HUBRIS MAXIMUS: The Shattering of Elon Musk (St. Martin’s) is in stores NOW! How to buy: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/hubris-maximus-9781250327178/
Pinned
Faiz Siddiqui
@faizsays.bsky.social
· Feb 5
Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk
The rise, fall, and revival of the Caesar of Silicon Valley. Elon Musk has cast himself as the savior of humanity, an altruistic force whose fortune is tied to noble pursuits from halting our dependen...
www.barnesandnoble.com
Hello bskyers, My upcoming book HUBRIS MAXIMUS: The Shattering of Elon Musk, is up for pre-order. It delves into the playbook Musk is using today, providing the definitive look at the 6 yrs that transformed his reputation. Out May 6! Use PREORDER25 at B&N
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hubris-max...
www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hubris-max...
Elon Musk on Forbes when it covered Tesla's plummeting stock: dying, desperate for attention
Elon Musk when Forbes named him America's greatest innovator: thank you Forbes, very cool
Elon Musk when Forbes named him America's greatest innovator: thank you Forbes, very cool
February 11, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Elon Musk on Forbes when it covered Tesla's plummeting stock: dying, desperate for attention
Elon Musk when Forbes named him America's greatest innovator: thank you Forbes, very cool
Elon Musk when Forbes named him America's greatest innovator: thank you Forbes, very cool
Reposted by Faiz Siddiqui
It’s Elon 3.0 time. Robots, mergers and Epstein, oh my. With @faizsays.bsky.social slate.com/podcasts/wha...
Elon 3.0
Does Elon have a plan for this?
slate.com
February 6, 2026 at 1:20 PM
It’s Elon 3.0 time. Robots, mergers and Epstein, oh my. With @faizsays.bsky.social slate.com/podcasts/wha...
This story, shared here four hours ago, was written with the inimitable and utterly irreplaceable @nitasha.bsky.social who was laid off yesterday, the same day our piece ran on the front page of the newspaper. Hard to fathom.
To increase Grok’s popularity, xAI embraced making sexualized material, rolling back guardrails and ignoring internal warnings about the risks of producing such content, according to more than a half-dozen former employees of X and xAI.
Inside Musk’s bet to hook users that turned Grok into a porn generator
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 6, 2026 at 12:29 AM
This story, shared here four hours ago, was written with the inimitable and utterly irreplaceable @nitasha.bsky.social who was laid off yesterday, the same day our piece ran on the front page of the newspaper. Hard to fathom.
What happened at the Post today is simply devastating -- deep and hard-won trust and sourcing, mountains of expertise and a combined centuries' worth of institutional knowledge gone up in an instant. It's a collective loss but please consider donating to support those who've had their lives upended:
Donate to Washington Post 2026 layoff fund, organized by Rachel Siegel
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026, The Washington Post laid off hundreds of journalists. We ar… Rachel Siegel needs your support for Washington Post 2026 layoff fund
www.gofundme.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:49 AM
What happened at the Post today is simply devastating -- deep and hard-won trust and sourcing, mountains of expertise and a combined centuries' worth of institutional knowledge gone up in an instant. It's a collective loss but please consider donating to support those who've had their lives upended:
Reposted by Faiz Siddiqui
My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
February 4, 2026 at 7:40 PM
My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
"Make it more 'based.'": How Elon Musk's bet turned Grok into a porn generator. Workers got waivers asking them to work w/ sexual content, Musk started sleeping at xAI, job candidates were screened for comfort w/ NSFW material, red flags went ignored. Grok surged — at a massive cost wapo.st/45DcMMI
Inside Musk’s bet to hook users that turned Grok into a porn generator
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
wapo.st
February 2, 2026 at 7:07 PM
"Make it more 'based.'": How Elon Musk's bet turned Grok into a porn generator. Workers got waivers asking them to work w/ sexual content, Musk started sleeping at xAI, job candidates were screened for comfort w/ NSFW material, red flags went ignored. Grok surged — at a massive cost wapo.st/45DcMMI
Reposted by Faiz Siddiqui
Insane @washingtonpost.com reporting:
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened its guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
washingtonpost.com/technology/2... 2/3
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened its guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
washingtonpost.com/technology/2... 2/3
Inside Musk’s bet to hook users that turned Grok into a porn generator
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
washingtonpost.com
February 2, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Insane @washingtonpost.com reporting:
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened its guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
washingtonpost.com/technology/2... 2/3
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened its guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
washingtonpost.com/technology/2... 2/3
NEW: Inside Elon Musk's push to hook Grok users by leaning into NSFW content. Workers were told they'd be working with sexual material, were advised to gauge job candidates' comfort with doing so. Soon they were training Grok on lewd conversations & depictions of sexual violence
wapo.st/45DcMMI
wapo.st/45DcMMI
Inside Musk’s bet to hook users that turned Grok into a porn generator
Under pressure to boost its popularity, Elon Musk’s xAI loosened guardrails and relaxed controls on sexual content, setting off internal concern.
wapo.st
February 2, 2026 at 6:21 PM
NEW: Inside Elon Musk's push to hook Grok users by leaning into NSFW content. Workers were told they'd be working with sexual material, were advised to gauge job candidates' comfort with doing so. Soon they were training Grok on lewd conversations & depictions of sexual violence
wapo.st/45DcMMI
wapo.st/45DcMMI
Elon Musk's full comment on the Epstein files release, just posted on X:
January 31, 2026 at 6:54 AM
Elon Musk's full comment on the Epstein files release, just posted on X:
Elon Musk, September 2025: “Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED”
January 30, 2026 at 10:17 PM
Elon Musk, September 2025: “Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED”
Tesla ending the Model S and Model X takes it away from its roots as a car company. Models 3 and Y revenues underpin so many of its autonomous and robotics bets, so of course those aren't going anywhere. Musk says it's "slightly sad" but time to shift
wapo.st/3LYTef1
wapo.st/3LYTef1
January 28, 2026 at 11:15 PM
Tesla ending the Model S and Model X takes it away from its roots as a car company. Models 3 and Y revenues underpin so many of its autonomous and robotics bets, so of course those aren't going anywhere. Musk says it's "slightly sad" but time to shift
wapo.st/3LYTef1
wapo.st/3LYTef1
Breaking: Tesla is ending production of the Model S, the vehicle that vaulted it to the mainstream and won Motor Trend "Car of the Year" honors, along with the Model X, Elon Musk announces. It is shifting those production lines to make Optimus robots, Musk says.
New: Tesla 4th quarter profit plunges 61% year-over-year; annual profit down 46%
the brand damage:
-1 million lost vehicle sales, per study
-Declining revenue, profits, deliveries in 1st half of '25
-Lower total production/deliveries than '24
-Lost crown as world's leading EV seller
wapo.st/3LYTef1
the brand damage:
-1 million lost vehicle sales, per study
-Declining revenue, profits, deliveries in 1st half of '25
-Lower total production/deliveries than '24
-Lost crown as world's leading EV seller
wapo.st/3LYTef1
Tesla bet big on Elon Musk. His politics continue to haunt it.
Tesla struggles to regain its footing in the electric vehicle market, hindered by Elon Musk’s political activity, impacting its stock price and performance.
wapo.st
January 28, 2026 at 10:39 PM
Breaking: Tesla is ending production of the Model S, the vehicle that vaulted it to the mainstream and won Motor Trend "Car of the Year" honors, along with the Model X, Elon Musk announces. It is shifting those production lines to make Optimus robots, Musk says.
Barclays in an analyst report this week: Tesla's "Fundamentals remain challenged. ... Yet for now we expect Tesla stock to remain detached
from fundamentals."
from fundamentals."
January 28, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Barclays in an analyst report this week: Tesla's "Fundamentals remain challenged. ... Yet for now we expect Tesla stock to remain detached
from fundamentals."
from fundamentals."
New: Tesla 4th quarter profit plunges 61% year-over-year; annual profit down 46%
the brand damage:
-1 million lost vehicle sales, per study
-Declining revenue, profits, deliveries in 1st half of '25
-Lower total production/deliveries than '24
-Lost crown as world's leading EV seller
wapo.st/3LYTef1
the brand damage:
-1 million lost vehicle sales, per study
-Declining revenue, profits, deliveries in 1st half of '25
-Lower total production/deliveries than '24
-Lost crown as world's leading EV seller
wapo.st/3LYTef1
Tesla bet big on Elon Musk. His politics continue to haunt it.
Tesla struggles to regain its footing in the electric vehicle market, hindered by Elon Musk’s political activity, impacting its stock price and performance.
wapo.st
January 28, 2026 at 9:26 PM
New: Tesla 4th quarter profit plunges 61% year-over-year; annual profit down 46%
the brand damage:
-1 million lost vehicle sales, per study
-Declining revenue, profits, deliveries in 1st half of '25
-Lower total production/deliveries than '24
-Lost crown as world's leading EV seller
wapo.st/3LYTef1
the brand damage:
-1 million lost vehicle sales, per study
-Declining revenue, profits, deliveries in 1st half of '25
-Lower total production/deliveries than '24
-Lost crown as world's leading EV seller
wapo.st/3LYTef1
wrote about how Tesla floated a cool $1 trillion Elon Musk's way in hopes he would focus, only for him to fan the flames in Minnesota, post about his fears of white genocide, seemingly claim South Africa was better off during apartheid and proclaim whites a "rapidly dying minority"
wapo.st/3LYTef1
wapo.st/3LYTef1
Tesla bet big on Elon Musk. His politics continue to haunt it.
Tesla struggles to regain its footing in the electric vehicle market, hindered by Elon Musk’s political activity, impacting its stock price and performance.
wapo.st
January 28, 2026 at 8:03 PM
wrote about how Tesla floated a cool $1 trillion Elon Musk's way in hopes he would focus, only for him to fan the flames in Minnesota, post about his fears of white genocide, seemingly claim South Africa was better off during apartheid and proclaim whites a "rapidly dying minority"
wapo.st/3LYTef1
wapo.st/3LYTef1
Reposted by Faiz Siddiqui
"Liam’s teacher, Ella Sullivan, teared up when thinking about Liam. 'He’s a bright young student,' she said, 'and he’s so kind and loving. His classmates miss him.'"
www.startribune.com/preschooler-...
www.startribune.com/preschooler-...
Preschooler and three other students detained by ICE, school district leader says
The detentions of Columbia Heights students come after weeks of heightened concern and enforcement presence near and on Twin Cities school property.
www.startribune.com
January 22, 2026 at 1:23 AM
"Liam’s teacher, Ella Sullivan, teared up when thinking about Liam. 'He’s a bright young student,' she said, 'and he’s so kind and loving. His classmates miss him.'"
www.startribune.com/preschooler-...
www.startribune.com/preschooler-...
Reposted by Faiz Siddiqui
"I need my devices back to do my job." wapo.st/4jUxQEe
Judge blocks government from searching data seized from Post reporter
The Post demanded in a court filing Wednesday that federal law enforcement officials return electronic devices the government seized from a staff reporter’s home.
wapo.st
January 21, 2026 at 8:46 PM
"I need my devices back to do my job." wapo.st/4jUxQEe
Reposted by Faiz Siddiqui
Trump administration concedes DOGE team may have misused Social Security data
Trump administration concedes DOGE team may have misused Social Security data
Some DOGE personnel had more access to data than previously acknowledged, according to a court filing.
dlvr.it
January 20, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Trump administration concedes DOGE team may have misused Social Security data
World’s richest person — a man with government contracts hailed by some as a genius — engaging seriously with a post from someone calling themselves “retardmode” who argues for abolishing women’s right to vote
January 10, 2026 at 12:58 AM
World’s richest person — a man with government contracts hailed by some as a genius — engaging seriously with a post from someone calling themselves “retardmode” who argues for abolishing women’s right to vote
people who've come to the public realization that maybe Elon Musk's commitment to free speech wasn't all it was cracked up to be: Bari Weiss, Matt Taibbi, Ashley St. Clair
January 8, 2026 at 9:47 PM
people who've come to the public realization that maybe Elon Musk's commitment to free speech wasn't all it was cracked up to be: Bari Weiss, Matt Taibbi, Ashley St. Clair
X's owner has decided he has seen enough to declare the Minneapolis ICE shooting an act of "self-defense"
January 7, 2026 at 8:28 PM
X's owner has decided he has seen enough to declare the Minneapolis ICE shooting an act of "self-defense"
always check the local news before you travel to a new location
December 23, 2025 at 9:08 PM
always check the local news before you travel to a new location
New: They survived a Cybertruck crash. Then a fire killed them. Tesla has marketed its trucks as seemingly impenetrable — bulletproof, with shatter-resistant glass and able to contain blasts. What happens if those same features trap people inside? www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
They survived a Cybertruck crash. An inferno led to a race against time.
In at least a dozen cases since 2019, people have struggled to access or exit Teslas during life-threatening emergencies, fueling lawsuits alleging the company’s futuristic features have caused injuri...
www.washingtonpost.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
New: They survived a Cybertruck crash. Then a fire killed them. Tesla has marketed its trucks as seemingly impenetrable — bulletproof, with shatter-resistant glass and able to contain blasts. What happens if those same features trap people inside? www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...
I hear some of you are spending time on Vanity Fair's website today ... why not read this as well www.vanityfair.com/news/story/i...?
Inside Elon Musk’s Grievance-Fueled MAGA-morphosis: “What the F--k Is Wrong With Your Boss?”
In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, ‘Hubris Maximus,’ Faiz Siddiqui chronicles how the billionaire was radicalized by everything from the “woke mind virus” to the COVID shutdown and plain old gov...
www.vanityfair.com
December 16, 2025 at 7:45 PM
I hear some of you are spending time on Vanity Fair's website today ... why not read this as well www.vanityfair.com/news/story/i...?
The most revelatory answer from the just-dropped Katie Miller Podcast interview of Elon Musk is about the nature of wealth. Miller asks Musk what he would do if he had to start over with $1,000. Musk says the very idea is preposterous because he could talk people into giving him money.
December 10, 2025 at 12:08 AM
The most revelatory answer from the just-dropped Katie Miller Podcast interview of Elon Musk is about the nature of wealth. Miller asks Musk what he would do if he had to start over with $1,000. Musk says the very idea is preposterous because he could talk people into giving him money.