Elon Musk's biggest fan might just be in charge of Netflix.
Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings heaped praise on Musk at The New York Times' DealBook Summit, saying he's "excited" about the billionaire's purchase of Twitter.
"Elon Musk is the bravest, most creative person on the planet," Hastings declared, per CNBC. "What he's done in multiple areas is phenomenal."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Hastings added that he is "100 percent convinced" that Musk "is trying to help the world in all of his endeavors," including his Twitter takeover that led to about half the company's workforce being fired and hundreds of further resignations after Musk demanded they work "long hours at high intensity."
"He believes in free speech and its power for democracy," Hastings said, accusing Musk's critics of being "so nitpicky."
"Yeah, sure, the blue check mark — he's making a mess of some things, or not," Hastings said, referring to the chaotic rollout of paid verified check marks that resulted in a wave of impersonators. "But it's like, give the guy a break!"
Also during the summit, Hastings praised comedian Dave Chappelle, whose jokes about transgender people in his most recent Netflix special prompted an employee walkout. Calling Chappelle's special "one of the most entertaining" Netflix has ever had, Hastings said, "We would do it again and again," per The Verge.
Another topic Hastings addressed was Netflix's recent theatrical release of Glass Onion, which experts criticized due to the decision to pull the film from theaters after only a week despite it being hugely popular. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hastings admitted that in doing so, Netflix left "lots" of money on the table.
-
How will Ford reinvent EV manufacturing to compete with China?Today's Big Question Henry Ford's assembly line system is being replaced
-
The latest entry in Ethan Coen's queer trilogy, a Jeff Buckley documentary and the rare children's horror flick in August moviesthe week recommends The month's film releases include 'Honey Don't!,' 'It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley' and 'Sketch'
-
Switzerland could experience unique economic problems from Trump's tariffsIn the Spotlight The current US tariff rate on Switzerland is among the highest in the world
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
