That's not the best example. In retrospect, AOL using its inflated stock to buy Time Warner was genius, probably the best thing AOL management could have done for shareholders.

Yep. GME, SPACs, creative accounting, prices disconnected from earnings.

There are so many signs now that we’re living through a bubble, and it may get much worse before it implodes.

The issue is there is so much money to be made in a bubble if you can just get out right at the end -- that unfortunately encourages these things. It is hard to wait on the sidelines while everyone else gets rich -- no doubt there are fortunes to be made in the lead up to the end of the bubble.

Or more succinctly: FOMO is what creates bubbles

I'm not creative enough, and I don't think it'd be well received here, but really wish I could just pull of some WSB type YOLO meme comment about buying tesla shares.

But, I see a bubble. Electric cars aren't magic, and I'm more expect Tesla to be outflanked by the East (Toyota) and then the Germans (VW Audi Group). Whilst they may be still doing hybrids, they've got years and years of Auto building experience. Also, Musk's persona is cult of personality that make's me wonder.

I get similar vibes from these events, even though I am a cryptocurrency optimist (including Bitcoin).

Is an optimist one that thinks it will stay around, or one that thinks it will go away?

One that thinks that they will be around and be progressively more integrated in the fabric of society. I think crypto assets and blockchains have the potential to scale societal institutions and trust relationships in a way that was not possible before. Anything that requires consensus and governance can be implemented in a more transparent and trustworthy way on top of crypto asset networks. But some parts of the puzzle are not there yet. Most importantly, we need better ways for people to be able to manage cryptographic keys. Devices like Ledger or Trezor are good but they need to get even better.

Or this is going to be one of those events that everyone tries to sweep under the carpet when Tesla and it's investors have to be bailed out for the first time, because it's too big to fail...

> when Tesla and it's investors have to be bailed out for the first time, because it's too big to fail...

That would be a sight to behold. If this happens within our lifetime, then it would be an interesting case study of a fast-track evolution from a healthy company to a stagnant behemoth.

You could be right, but I strongly believe that's too early and that there's more to come.

This and the markets' reaction are absolutely part of the left side of a hype-mania bubble that will have some event(s) like that but your guess is as good as mine

If you think this is a bubble, you should think that this is the very beginning, not the peak.

Should we? Bitcoin went up 4x from October to January, and was dropping from early January until today. I don't claim to be able to predict the market, but that seems consistent with a bubble that's close to its peak.