Thud (media company)

Last updated

Thud was a satirical media company founded by Ben Berkley, Cole Bolton, and Elon Musk in 2017. The company launched satirical websites and products. After Musk pulled his funding, the company went defunct in May 2019.

Contents

Background

In 2014, Elon Musk expressed interest in purchasing satirical news site The Onion , however, the purchase did not make it past preliminary negotiations. [1] In 2017, two former Onion editors who had left the site due to creative differences, Ben Berkley and Cole Bolton, were offered US$2,000,000 in funding by Musk to start a satirical media company focused on real-world events. [2] Berkley and Bolton began building out the company by hiring several other Onion writers and editors. [1] [3] In March 2018, Musk formally announced the venture by tweeting "Thud!" followed by "That's the name of my new intergalactic media empire, exclamation point optional." [4] [5] Musk claimed that the name was chosen because "It’s the sound something thick and dull makes when it hits the ground." [6] [7]

Sometime around the end of 2018, Musk sold the company to Berkley and Bolton, citing concerns that Thud might satirize his own companies. [8] [9] While the two were able to launch several satirical projects over the course of six months, they were unable to find new investors. Berkley and Bolton spent the remaining funds from Musk's investment on web hosting and the company shut down in May 2019. [9] [10]

Reception

Thud's public reception was mixed. Upon its public launch in 2019, a review in Vulture praised the fact that Thud credited its contributors and the darker outlook its satire took but criticized some projects as playing into outdated tropes. [11] Several outlets praised "DNA Friend," a project satirizing at-home DNA testing. [12] [13] After the company shut down, Bolton told The Verge that the investors they reached out to generally did not understand what Thud was satirizing. [9] In a 2021 retrospective in Mic, Amanda Silberling criticized Thud's projects, describing them as failing "to live up to the hype of an Elon Musk-funded ex-Onion powerhouse." [2]

Projects

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satire</span> Literary and art genre with a style of humor based on parody

Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposing or shaming the perceived flaws of individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society.

<i>The Onion</i> American satire news organization

The Onion is an American digital media company and newspaper organization that publishes satirical articles on international, national, and local news. The company is based in Chicago but originated as a weekly print publication on August 29, 1988, in Madison, Wisconsin. The Onion began publishing online in early 1996. In 2007, they began publishing satirical news audio and video online as the Onion News Network. In 2013, The Onion ceased publishing its print edition and launched Onion Labs, an advertising agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX</span> American private spacecraft company

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launch service provider and satellite communications company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and ultimately developing a sustainable colony on Mars. The company currently produces and operates the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets along with the Dragon and Starship spacecraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon 1</span> Expendable launch system by SpaceX

Falcon 1 was a small-lift launch vehicle that was operated from 2006 to 2009 by SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer. On 28 September 2008, Falcon 1 became the first privately developed fully liquid-fueled launch vehicle to go into orbit around the Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elon Musk</span> South Africa–born businessman (born 1971)

Elon Reeve Musk is a businessman and investor. He is the founder, chairman, CEO, and CTO of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO, product architect, and former chairman of Tesla, Inc.; owner, executive chairman, and CTO of X Corp.; founder of the Boring Company and xAI; co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; and president of the Musk Foundation. He is one of the wealthiest people in the world; as of April 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$196 billion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talulah Riley</span> English actress (born 1985)

Talulah Jane Riley-Milburn is an English actress. She has appeared in films, including Pride & Prejudice (2005), St Trinian's (2007) and its sequel St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009), The Boat That Rocked (2009), and Inception (2010). She has also appeared on the HBO science fiction western series Westworld (2016–2018) and the FX biographical miniseries Pistol (2022).

<i>The Onion Movie</i> 2008 American film

The Onion Movie is a 2008 satirical American comedy film written by The Onion writers Robert D. Siegel and Todd Hanson. It was filmed in 2003 and released on June 3, 2008, direct-to-video. It is Rodney Dangerfield's final film role, prior to his death in October 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Falcon Heavy</span> Orbital launch vehicle made by SpaceX

Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo into Earth orbit, and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperloop</span> Proposed mode of passenger and freight transportation

Hyperloop is a proposed high-speed transportation system for both passengers and freight. The concept was documented by Elon Musk in a 2013 white paper, where the hyperloop was described as a transportation system using capsules supported by an air-bearing surface within a low-pressure tube. Hyperloop systems have three essential elements: tubes, pods, and terminals. The tube is a large, sealed low-pressure system. The pod is a coach at atmospheric pressure that experiences low air resistance or friction inside the tube using magnetic propulsion. The terminal handles pod arrivals and departures. The hyperloop, in the form proposed by Musk, differs from tradititional vactrains by relying on residual air pressure inside the tube to provide lift from aerofoils and propulsion by fans; however, many subsequent variants using the name "hyperloop" have remained relatively close to the core principles of vactrains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Mars Colonization Program</span> Proposed human Mars program by SpaceX

SpaceX has stated its ambition to facilitate the colonization of Mars via the development of the Starship launch vehicle. The company states that this is necessary for the long-term survival of the human species and for the expansion of the scope of human consciousness.

ClickHole is a satirical website that parodies clickbait websites such as BuzzFeed and Upworthy. It was launched on June 12, 2014 by The Onion, in conjunction with that publication's decision to stop its print edition and shift its focus exclusively to the internet. According to ClickHole's senior editor, Jermaine Affonso, the website is "The Onion's response to click-bait content" and serves as "a parody of online media". Critics noted that, on a deeper level, ClickHole illustrates the shallow nature of social media content and media sites' desperation to share such content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starlink</span> SpaceX satellite constellation and internet service

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by Starlink Services, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American aerospace company SpaceX, providing coverage to over 70 countries. It also aims to provide global mobile broadband.

<i>The Babylon Bee</i> Satirical website

The Babylon Bee is a conservative Christian news satire website that publishes satirical articles on topics including religion, politics, current events, and public figures. It has been referred to as a Christian or conservative version of The Onion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Boring Company</span> American infrastructure and tunneling company

The Boring Company (TBC) is an American infrastructure, tunnel construction services, and equipment company founded by Elon Musk. TBC was founded as a subsidiary of SpaceX in 2017, and was spun off as a separate corporation in 2018. TBC has completed one tunneling project that is open to the public, as well as multiple test tunnels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of SpaceX</span> History of a space corporation

This is a corporate history of SpaceX, an American aerospace manufacturer and spacetransport services company founded by Elon Musk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuralink</span> American neurotechnology company

Neuralink Corp. is an American neurotechnology company that has developed, as of 2024, implantable brain–computer interfaces (BCIs), and is based in Fremont, California. Founded by Elon Musk and a team of seven scientists and engineers, Neuralink was launched in 2016 and was first publicly reported in March 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boring Test Tunnel</span> Tunnel for testing Loop-based transportation

The R&D Tunnel, also called the Hawthorne Test Tunnel or Boring Test Tunnel, is a 1.14 miles (1.83 km) tunnel in Hawthorne, California, for testing hyperloop and "loop-based transportation". It was completed by The Boring Company in late 2018. The single-bore tunnel was constructed during 2017 and 2018 using a 14-foot (4.2 m) diameter tunnel boring machine, giving a finished 12-foot (3.8 m) internal diameter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Starship</span> Reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle

Starship is a two-stage super heavy-lift launch vehicle under development by SpaceX. As of May 2024, it is the largest and most powerful rocket ever flown. Starship's primary objective is to lower launch costs significantly via economies of scale. This is achieved by reusing both rocket stages, increasing payload mass to orbit, increasing launch frequency, creating a mass-manufacturing pipeline, and adapting it to a wide range of space missions. Starship is the latest project in SpaceX's decades-long reusable launch system development program and ambition of colonizing Mars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Raptor</span> SpaceX family of liquid-fuel rocket engines

Raptor is a family of rocket engines developed and manufactured by SpaceX. The engine is a full-flow staged combustion cycle (FFSC) engine powered by cryogenic liquid methane and liquid oxygen ("methalox").

<i>Hard Drive</i> (website) American satirical gaming journalism website

Hard Drive is an American satirical video game news website co-founded in 2017 by the editors of The Hard Times. Due to their similar writing style, Hard Drive is frequently compared to The Onion and was named 'The Onion of video games' by both Vice and Uproxx.

References

  1. 1 2 Tani, Maxwell (March 14, 2018). "Elon Musk Wanted to Buy 'The Onion,' Now His Team's Hiring Its Staffers for a Secret Project". The Daily Beast. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Siberling, Amanda (May 8, 2021). "Elon Musk's first foray into comedy was a strange, satirical website called Thud". Mic. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  3. ↑ Spangler, Todd (May 14, 2018). "Elon Musk Says He's Formed a Media Company Called 'Thud' After Hiring Ex-Staffers of The Onion". Variety. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  4. ↑ Liao, Shannon (May 14, 2018). "Elon Musk says his comedy project with former Onion staffers is called Thud!". The Verge. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  5. ↑ Elon Musk [@elonmusk] (March 14, 2018). "That's the name of my new intergalactic media empire, exclamation point optional" (Tweet). Retrieved November 19, 2022– via Twitter.
  6. ↑ Arif, Shabana (March 15, 2018). "Elon Musk Launches Media Company Thud, Hires Former Onion Execs". IGN. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  7. ↑ Menegus, Bryan (March 14, 2018). "Elon Musk Starts Media Business, Possibly Named 'Thud!'". Gizmodo. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  8. ↑ Nover, Scott (March 4, 2019). "A Satire Venture Co-founded by Elon Musk Arrives With a Thud". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 Kastrenakes, Jacob (July 2, 2019). "Elon Musk wanted The Onion; he got Thud". The Verge. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  10. ↑ Thakker, Prem (November 16, 2022). "Remember That Time Elon Musk Tried to Start a Comedy Website?". The New Republic. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Boone, Brian (March 12, 2019). "That Long-Promised Elon Musk Comedy Site Is Finally Live. So What Do We Think of It?". Vulture. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  12. ↑ Farr, Christina (March 18, 2019). "Elon Musk-backed company launches a website to poke fun at DNA testing — and it's hilarious". CNBC. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  13. ↑ "DNA Friend, once-backed by Elon Musk, launches hilarious genetic testing website". Tech2. March 20, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  14. ↑ "TacStorm". TacStorm. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  15. ↑ "6 Minute Test". 6 Minute Test. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  16. 1 2 Fabiani, Alma (May 12, 2021). "Before hosting SNL, Elon Musk first dabbled in comedy with the satire project Thud". Screenshot. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  17. ↑ "DNA Friend". DNA Friend. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Ploog". Ploog. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.