When a Twitter user pointed out he could create another social media platform for much less
than his $44 billion dollar Twitter purchase and reminded Musk that he apparently said
he wouldn’t sell Tesla assets unless it was to fund Mars, Musk responded: You might
be right.
If he walks away from the deal, he’s obligated to pay a $1 billion termination fee.
However, Musk reiterated he’s still committed to buying Twitter in a follow-up tweet.
Besides the fears and questions about how the Twitter acquisition impacts Tesla and
Tesla’s stock price, there’s been a whole other tidal wave of criticism since the world
found out that Elon Musk struck a deal to buy Twitter.
Here’s just some of the reaction from news networks.
You cannot let these guys control discourse in this country or we are headed to hell.
We are there.
Trump opened the gates of hell and now they’re chasing us down.
If you get invited to something where there are no rules, where there is total freedom,
do you actually wanna go to that party, or do you decide to stay home?
And that’s a question for Twitter users.
"If [the “neo-Nazi faction" of the GOP expands in Nov.], we may look back on this .. as a
pivotal moment, when a petulant & not-so-bright billionaire casually bought one of the most
influential messaging machines & just handed it to the far-right”
To that comment, Musk tweeted: “NBC basically saying Republicans are Nazis”
Elon Musk’s $44 billion dollar purchase of Twitter has clearly triggered an outpouring
of disgust from some on the left.
Twitter’s top lawyer, who earned $17 million last year reportedly cried during a meeting
about Musk’s takeover.
Tennis star Martina Navratilova has vowed she’ll never buy a Tesla.
Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is concerned about an explosion of hate crimes
because a billionaire controls a massive communication platform.
To which Musk jokingly tweeted back: “Stop hitting on me, I’m really shy”.
AOC clarified she was referring to Mark Zuckerberg before deleting her reply shortly after.
Progressive users of Twitter who advocate for progressive social justice causes have
been nervous about the leadership change.
They fear Musk will promote conservative content on Twitter.
And give those on the right a stronger voice.
Musk has said he’ll allow Trump back on the platform.
During a recent Financial Times interview, he called banning Trump a “morally bad decision…and
foolish to the extreme.”
“I think it was a morally bad decision, to be clear.
And foolish to the extreme,” he said
He’s said timeouts are better than permanent bans.
Conservatives have accused Twitter of censoring them so they’re now cheering on Musk’s
takeover because he has vowed to reduce censorship and bring more “free speech” to the platform.
When Twitter prevented users from sharing a New York Post article critical of Hunter
Biden when his father was the then-Democratic presidential nominee, Musk said it was “obviously
incredibly inappropriate”.
Twitter explained it banned the article because of its policy on hacked materials.
However, conservatives accuse the platform of not applying that policy evenly.
Musk is actually NOT a conservative.
At best he might be described as a moderate.
He said he was a registered independent when he lived in California, the state he loudly
left for Texas.
He said he strongly supported Barack Obama for president but believes “today’s Democratic
Party has been hijacked by extremists.”
A meme he recently shared showed a person who had leaned slightly left and was now surprised
to find themselves right of center even though their own views remained the same.
That’s because according to the meme, the “woke” left has drafted radically further
to the left.
Musk has made it known that he is out to save the world and often touts his other ventures
– Tesla and Space X - as being part of that mission.
In the same way, he believes free speech is vital to saving democracy.
Yet his critics believe too much free speech is dangerous.
They wonder how Musk will deal with harassment and disinformation on Twitter.
Although Musk views Twitter as the digital public town square, the left-leaning Guardian
argues:
“Twitter is less like a ‘town square’ and more like any Starbucks, McDonalds, or
shopping center.
It has other obligations and interests that are at odds with completely unfettered speech.”
Content moderation is difficult.
The former Reddit CEO said Musk is “in for a world of pain” and will “be forced to
censor things” due to the difficulty of enforcing free speech online.
Musk didn’t appear to take his comments seriously at the time.
His response to the “novella of a thread” as he called it was: “Twitter is way overdue
for long form tweets!”
Some observers compare the chatter from those who have vowed to quit Twitter as akin to
those who said they were moving to Canada after Trump got elected.
Most never followed through.
If he decides to go ahead with his purchase pending shareholder approval, Musk is counting
on his critics to stay on the platform.
Tweeting: “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free
speech means.”
The news sent Twitter shares down more than 20% in premarket trading.
Twitter’s stock price has been on a roller coaster of a ride.
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