Elon Musk, the renowned billionaire known for founding Tesla, SpaceX, and Starlink, as well as being the CEO of the social media platform Twitter (which he recently acquired and renamed X), recently encountered a tech challenge many can relate to: “setting up his new Windows laptop“.
In a post on X, Musk shared his frustration about being unable to set up the laptop without creating a Microsoft account. He expressed concern about giving Microsoft’s AI access to his computer and noted that he couldn’t find the option to skip this step, which was available previously. Even billionaires face tech support issues!
Surprisingly, the option to skip creating a Microsoft account during setup was still available, as pointed out by Community Notes, a volunteer-based fact-checking service on X. However, Musk remained skeptical and expressed that “Community Notes is failing here,” indicating his reluctance to trust the platform’s volunteers.
Despite Musk’s skepticism, the Community Note contributors didn’t give up and provided another response explaining that the option still exists but requires a workaround that may not be easy for everyone to figure out.
One user even detailed a bypass method using the “Shift + F10” keys. However, Musk replied, “Doesn’t work. That just reboots the computer and takes me back to the ‘Signup for Microsoft to continue’ screen.” Another user humorously suggested calling Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, for technical support, to which Musk jokingly replied, “I just sent him a text.“
After hours of discussion and several memes later, Elon Musk discovered that his laptop was connected to an open Wi-Fi network. Simply disconnecting from it allowed him to skip the Microsoft setup screen. This simple solution resolved the issue.
This incident highlights that even the most brilliant and influential individuals can encounter simple tech-related issues.
Later that day, Satya Nadella posted on X announcing a multi-year partnership with Mistral AI. Possibly not hearing back from Nadella, Elon Musk seized the opportunity and replied, “Satya, I don’t mean to be a pest, but please allow people setting up a new Windows PC to skip the creation of a Microsoft account.“
This situation, while amusing, underscores the potential frustrations of the Windows setup process and Microsoft’s account requirement for the average user. Fortunately, if you ever encounter such an issue, you don’t have to contact Satya Nadella. You can simply use our guide to create a local Windows account if you prefer not to create or sign in with a Microsoft account.
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