Last month, a new Android spin-off called Eelo launched a Kickstarter campaign in order to raise funds to build a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) operating system that would help reinstate people’s data privacy, which is perceived to have been eroded over the years by the likes of Google and Facebook. In a new turn of events, the founder of the Eelo project has reached out to billionaire Elon Musk.
Since reporting on Eelo, the Kickstarter campaign has succeeded in raising $66,648, much more than its initial goal of $25,000. It’s still a ways off from its stretch goals but it’s a good start nonetheless. The failure to reach the stretch goals may explain Gaël Duval"s open letter to Musk, explaining that he wants him involved with Eelo.
In the letter, Duval said:
“Dear Elon, … you have released Tesla patents into the public domain, and have open-sourced the Hyperloop and OpenAI Projects ... Behind your projects, I sense a single course of action: empowering people, while making the world better … Interest in eelo is catching on. To help us succeed, we’re looking for more forces for good to join in. We need people like you to back the project and contribute. Dear Elon, Let’s talk about it?”
In the letter, he also explained how Mandrake Linux, a previous project of Duval’s, empowered millions of people who wanted to get started with Linux and that he wants to do the same now with Eelo to combat “digital giants” who are “abusing” individual and corporate data worldwide.
It’ll definitely be interesting to see if Musk does hear about the open letter, and whether he decides to throw some cash at the data privacy project.