‘Reign of terror’. ‘Space Karen’. And my personal but cryptic favourite – though NSFW if you search for it – ‘Succession s01e02’.

Many reactions to Elon Musk’s chaotic early days at Twitter have been very much knives out. Given what is being learned from departing employees and the new owner’s latest tweets, that’s no surprise.

What Musk’s critics often miss is that this is exactly what he wants, even if it isn’t what he needs. Public criticism of staff and wholesale sackings, crowdsourced strategy alternating with diktat, and snarking off huge slices of the customer base look – and probably will prove – destructive.

Nevertheless, Musk has cultivated an image as a trash-talking, buccaneering CEO who wants to change the world. Added to that is an approach to branding and running companies that echoes Louis XIV’s “L’etat, c’est moi”. Nothing is beyond his purview as he lords it over anything he surveys and makes demands like an absolute monarch.

Musk’s...