Elon Musk calls LinkedIn ‘Cringe’—Announces Competitor

It seems we can’t go for one week without talking about Elon Musk, but the news simply writes itself. In a recent post, The Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI owner announced his intentions to compete with LinkedIn by incorporating job listings into X (formerly Twitter).

In trademark Musk fashion, the Twitter boss told his followers he couldn’t use LinkedIn because its ‘cringe level is so high’. Presumably, this reveals that Musk believes his own ‘cringe levels’ to be remarkably low in comparison. Whatever you say, Elon.

In the tweet, Musk also announced that he would make the X competitor to LinkedIn ‘cool’. It’s impossible to predict what this entails.

Perhaps Musk’s idea of cool is making his job site look dark, edgy, and brooding, much like the recent white stains he incorporated into the X logo. Maybe he’s going to encourage users to apply for jobs with reaction GIFs or memes. Either way, we’re sure LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky is quaking in his boots right about now.

If you’re under the impression this may be another of Musk’s big ideas that won’t come to fruition, think again. X is already collecting biometric information about each user’s job and education history.

Of course, this feature also serves to display relevant advertising to users, but we’re sure Musk has other plans for how the data will be utilized.

Why a job site needs to be cool is beyond interpretation. Perhaps Musk is trying to capture a younger audience that believes LinkedIn is ‘so last year’. Even then, it’s tricky to predict that Musk’s new venture will do anything to dethrone LinkedIn as we move into the latter stages of 2023.

Shelley Cooke

Shelley Cooke is a blogger and podcaster from Asheville, North Carolina (Go Oilers!). She’s passionate about technology and the role it plays in building communities.