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Reed Hastings: Elon Musk Could Have Built a Mile-Long Yacht. He Bought Twitter Instead.

By Reed Hastings · Product & Building · 1 min read

The Netflix founder says Musk is the bravest, most creative person on the planet. He spent $44 billion not on a yacht but on trying to help democracy.

Key Points

Elon Musk is the bravest, most creative person on the planet
He could have built a mile-long yacht for $44 billion — he chose Twitter instead
Hastings is 100% convinced Musk is trying to help the world in all his endeavors

Think of a guy who's spending $44 billion. He could have built a mile-long yacht. But it's not good for the planet. So he's not interested.

The Bravest Person on the Planet

Hastings: I'm excited. Elon Musk is the bravest, most creative person on the planet. What he's done in multiple areas is phenomenal.

His style is different than mine. I'm trying to be a really steady, respectable leader. He doesn't care. He's just out there.

A Mile-Long Yacht or Twitter

Hastings: Think of a guy who's spending $44 billion. He could have built a mile-long yacht for $44 billion. But it's not good for the planet. So he's not interested.

I am 100% convinced that he is trying to help the world in all of his endeavors. He's trying to help the world with Twitter because he believes in free speech, and that's power for democracy.

He could have built a mile-long yacht for $44 billion. It's not good for the planet. So he's not interested.

Give the Guy a Break

Hastings: How he goes about it — it's not how I would do it. But I'm deeply respectful. I'm amazed that people are so nitpicky. Yeah, sure, the blue checkmark, he's making a mess of some things.

But 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. I am sympathetic to that agenda.

Give the guy a break. He just spent all this money to try to make it better for democracy.