An after-hours tweet by Elon Musk got Twitter talking about TITS… that is, Texas Institute of Technology & Science, a new university proposed by the Tesla and SpaceX magnate with an eye on “epic” merchandise and brand recognition.
“Am thinking of starting [a] new university: Texas Institute of Technology & Science,” Musk tweeted in the early hours of Friday, adding that it would have “epic merch” and be “universally admired.”
Even so, some well-intentioned people in the replies didn’t get it, arguing that “technological breakthroughs almost always follow scientific breakthroughs, not vice versa.”
He also went along with a joke referencing his infamous “funding secured” tweet about taking Tesla private in 2018 – the very one that got him in trouble with US authorities.
The response to Musk’s midnight musings was quickly contrasted with the announcement made on Thursday by fellow tech magnate Mark Zuckerberg about rebranding the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp as ‘Meta’.
A tale of two billionaires, and their appeals to the public:
Zuckerberg: “Facebook is now Meta. How freaking cool is that, fellow humans?!?!?!?”
Musk: “I’m going to start a university named TITS!”
Amid the merriment, however, one user pointed out that there is already an institution of higher learning named TITS: the Technological Institute of Textile and Sciences, located in the Indian city of Bhiwani, west of New Delhi.
Musk moved to Texas from California in December 2020, and earlier this month he announced that Tesla’s headquarters would be moving from Silicon Valley to Austin as well. Whether his plan for endowing Texas with a new institution of higher learning will bloom or remain on the level of a late-night social media joke remains to be seen. He certainly has plenty to laugh about, as Tesla’s market capitalization has just surged past $1 trillion.
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