Other than Donald Trump, Elon Musk is perhaps the most vilified public figure by the left. 

This wasn't always the case, of course. Musk used to be one of their heroes, bringing electric vehicles to the masses and helping enable, to the extent one can, the renewable energy market through his utility-scale power storage. He even has a solar roof company, although it is about as important to his business empire as a single hair is to his body. 

But then Musk got behind Ron DeSantis, and even worse, bought Twitter. He began talking about free speech, released hundreds from Twitter jail, and became public enemy #1. He broke the left's control over the Narrative™, and that was unforgivable. 

It's impossible to overstate the Musk hatred on the left side of the aisle. He wasn't just an enemy; he was an apostate who must be destroyed. 

Twitter alternatives popped up all of a sudden, massive hoaxes were pushed to drive advertisers away, the censorship industrial complex went into overdrive, and Twitter's revenue was strangled. The European Union has even ruled that Twitter (now X) violates their laws by allowing free speech, and is threatening to fine them out of existence. 

But a funny thing happened: Musk is winning. 

Poor Fredo https://t.co/e8KjsskQYt

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 22, 2024

The European Union is still trying to kill X, but Musk's competitors have flopped, and the platform has proven not just durable but vital. It doesn't just give you the news before anybody else, it drives the news. Reporters spend more time on X than talking to sources in many cases. 

Biden's announcement stunned White House and campaign aides, who up until this afternoon were insisting he'd stay in the race.

"We’re all finding out by tweet,” said one Dem. “None of us understand what’s happening.” https://t.co/VHphH6HPNL

— POLITICO (@politico) July 21, 2024

The ultimate victory for Musk is demonstrated by this simple fact: when Biden dropped out of the race he announced it on X. 

In fact, nobody has spoken or seen Biden. Users on Twitter/X learned that Biden was dropping out before his own campaign or White House staff did. 

Think about that: I knew that Biden was out before most of his staff, many reporters, almost every Congressman, and every world leader. Because Elon Musk has built and maintained the most vital information source in the world. 

Twitter is where the information-obsessed go to produce and consume "content." Some of it is good, others bad, and much is nasty, but the fact is that Twitter is where the world thinks aloud. 

it's been pretty clear over the last month that twitter is again very central to the political discourse. Even so it's wild to see Biden using the platform of the man who is funding and supporting his opponent to announce his withdrawal. Wrote about it https://t.co/WvbzYdSoG9

— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) July 22, 2024

Twitter is alive in a way that the news media is not. Generally speaking, the media presents a prepared narrative for your consumption, and you can see the chaotic process of developing that narrative only in brief moments during crises. 

But on Twitter you see the picture forming--and alternative pictures as well. You see things from lots of perspectives and get an insight into the thinking of people that they would never show otherwise. Reporters expose their darker side on Twitter all the time. 

Imagine 4 years of this … https://t.co/gFwWAv15Qx

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 22, 2024

Elon Musk poured an outrageous amount on money into buying Twitter on a whim. The mavens at the platform banned the Babylon Bee for calling Rachel Levine a man, and Musk likes the Babylon Bee. 

So he bought Twitter to put it back. 

He has taken an amazing amount of incoming fire. The Deep State suddenly started investigating him--surprise, surprise. The European Union is trying to put him out of business. 

But the President of the United States needed Twitter to get the word out that he is leaving the presidential race. No other place would do to get the word out at the precise time his people wanted. 

In other words, Biden didn't just surrender to Trump. He surrendered to Elon Musk.