Twitter are now owned by a billionaire for $44 billion.
280 characters isn’t enough to convey this monumental news: Elon Musk has just acquired Twitter.
In recent weeks, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and SpaceX founder Elon Musk has used Twitter to express both his plans and dissatisfaction with the social media network in its present form.
With his own money and Morgan Stanley’s substantial backing, Musk is now ready to spend $43.4 billion in a tender offer that would give him full control of the corporation. The acquisition must now be approved by regulators.
Twitter’s Q1 earnings call is only a few days away, and the company’s new owner is expected to be up – at least to say hello and politely decline to answer most of the questions posed by analysts.
To to Elon Musk, “Free speech is the backbone of a functional democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where questions essential to humanity’s future are argued. “
Among my other goals is to improve Twitter by adding new features, making the algorithms open source in order to build trust, combating spam bots, and authenticating every human user on the platform. It is my hope that I will be able to help unleash the full potential of Twitter and its users via my work with the business and the community.”
“The proposed acquisition would generate a considerable cash premium, and we think it is the best way ahead for Twitter’s investors,” said Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair.
There are many ways that Twitter has a global influence,” stated Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal in the announcement. “Twitter has a purpose and significance that affects everyone.” At a time when our job has never been more critical, we are ecstatic about the accomplishments of our employees. He made no mention to Musk by name.
It was only after a long and winding road that Elon Musk became the owner of Tesla. To begin, he purchased about 10% of Twitter’s stock, putting him at the head of the table and extending an invitation to join the board. Musk agreed, but shortly withdrew his consent. His work was far from over. Despite Twitter’s board adopting a poison-pill strategy to prevent Musk from purchasing more than 15% of the business’s shares, he soon offered $43 billion for the firm.
It wasn’t long before Elon Musk, who has been on the site since 2009, made a bid for the firm in a tender. Elon Musk and Twitter’s executives met in person this past weekend, after Musk secured the funding last week, in order to finalise the deal.
A bumpy road
The idea of a Musk-owned Twitter isn’t popular with everyone. #RIPTwitter was a popular hashtag in the days leading up to the announcement.
Following Musk’s announcement that he intends to support free speech on Twitter regardless of political affiliation, what’s next? (the implication being that it currently does not, though there is no empirical evidence to support this).
It’s possible he’ll reexamine certain user bans, including Trump’s.
He’s probably going to release Twitter’s source code.
Musk is a big believer of blockchain and NFTs, and he may push the platform more aggressively into the crypto area.
Musk’s growth strategy is what investors and supporters care about the most, though. Existing users have contributed to Twitter’s growth, although it has been gradual and steady in recent years. Unlike Facebook or TikTok, it’s not obvious whether Twitter will ever have the worldwide popularity of these other social media platforms.
In terms of reviving some of Twitter’s most popular celebrity accounts, it’s not obvious what Tesla CEO Elon Musk can do.
The already-under-development Tweet Edits functionality will most likely be expedited by Musk, who made it obvious that he likes it throughout the acquisition attempt.
What will Elon decide?
Whoever Elon Musk shows up to oversee Twitter will decide what happens next. Will it be the smart, sure hand that routinely transports humans and supplies to the International Space Station via SpaceX? The guy who, with Tesla, essentially invented the electric vehicle market?
Maybe.
Also, it might be the impulsive tweeter who expresses his inner self and ego on Twitter. Who posts a photo of himself smoking a joint on Joe Rogan’s show and says, “The next Twitter board meeting is going to be lit.”
Musk, who is both incredibly successful and wealthy as well as extremely impetuous and emotional, sometimes seems to lack any kind of middle ground.
Trump, Nazis, and trolls are all legitimate concerns that people have about Musk reopening Twitter. All voices, including those considered hazardous, should be allowed to be heard by free speech absolutists.
Still, Musk does not have a complete understanding of Twitter’s content-moderation mechanism. He’ll be here soon enough. That might lead to new and more sensible ways of energising Twitter for the future while also safeguarding its most vulnerable users, who continue to use it on a daily basis.