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Will Elon Musk regret buying Twitter?

The announcement this week that the Tesla chief executive, Elon Musk, had secured the funding to buy Twitter sent shockwaves across the internet. Rightwing free speech absolutists celebrated the acquisition, while many on the left sounded alarm bells about the implications of one wealthy man taking control of such an influential communication platform.



The editors argue that Musk’s acquisition of Twitter is a classic case of a billionaire splurging on a hobby. Musk is a frequent – and remarkably crass – Twitter user, and someone who has repeatedly floated ideas for improving the site. Once he takes over, Musk says he’ll strip away some of Twitter’s posting restrictions, remove bots, and introduce an edit button. But under the terms of his acquisition, he’ll also have to figure out how to make the company swiftly increase its profits.



More context from the BBC:


Elon Musk strikes deal to buy Twitter for $44bn


The board of Twitter has agreed to a $44bn (£34.5bn) takeover offer from the billionaire Elon Musk.

Mr Musk, who made the shock bid less than two weeks ago, said Twitter had "tremendous potential" that he would unlock.

He also called for a series of changes from relaxing its content restrictions to eradicating fake accounts.

The firm initially rebuffed Mr Musk's bid, but it will now ask shareholders to vote to approve the deal.

Mr Musk is the world's richest person, according to Forbes magazine, with an estimated net worth of $273.6bn mostly due to his shareholding in electric vehicle maker Tesla which he runs. He also leads the aerospace firm SpaceX.


"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Mr Musk said in a statement announcing the deal.

"I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans," he added.

The move comes as Twitter faces growing pressure from politicians and regulators over the content that appears on its platform. It has drawn critics from left and right over its efforts to mediate misinformation on the platform.

In one of its most high-profile moves, last year it banned former US President Donald Trump, perhaps its most powerful user, citing the risk of "incitement of violence". At the time Mr Musk observed: "A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech."

News of the takeover has been cheered by the right in the US, although Mr Trump on Monday told Fox News he had no plans to re-join the platform.


The White House declined to comment on the takeover but spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters:

"No matter who owns or runs Twitter, the president has long been concerned about the power of large social media platforms."

Can Musk turn Twitter around?


As part of the takeover, which is expected to close later this year, Twitter's shares will be delisted and it will be taken private. Mr Musk has suggested this will give him freedom to make the changes he wants to the business.

Twitter shares on Monday closed more than 5% higher after the deal was announced.

But the price remained lower than Mr Musk's $54.20 per share offer, a sign that Wall Street believes he is overpaying for the firm.


Mr Musk has said he doesn't "care about the economics" of the purchase. However, he will take on a company with a chequered record of financial performance.

Despite its influence, Twitter has rarely turned a profit and user growth, particularly in the US, has slowed.

The company, founded in 2004, ended 2021 with $5bn in revenue and 217 million daily users globally - a fraction of the figures claimed by other platforms such as Facebook.


It is not clear who will lead the company moving forward. Twitter is currently led by Parag Agrawal, who took over from co-founder and former boss Jack Dorsey last November.

But in his offer document, Mr Musk told Twitter's board: "I don't have confidence in management."

Mr Agrawal told employees on Monday that the future of Twitter is uncertain.

"Once the deal closes, we don't know which direction the platform will go," he said, according to the Reuters news agency.


Analysis: Elon Musk, Twitter's new king

The speed this move has happened at had many heads in Silicon Valley spinning.

From nowhere, Elon Musk is the absolute monarch of Twitter.

He himself has said it's not about the "economics", this is about power and influence.

By taking the company private he will exercise total control over Twitter.

He has the power to do with the company as he pleases. In practice that will mean a much lighter moderation policy.

He also says that he will make its algorithm public - so that people can better understand how Twitter works.

The move leaves the door open to Donald Trump's return to the platform, though he apparently says he would rather use his own social media platform Truth Social for now.

For years conservatives have argued that Twitter is biased against them - and the news has left Republicans in the US delighted.

Others have been left dismayed at what Twitter might look like without strong platform moderation.

You only need to look at how much criticism Facebook has received for not taking down groups linked to the QAnon conspiracy theory, or the Stop the Steal movement to imagine how much criticism Elon Musk is in store for.

The danger that Twitter now faces is that unfettered free speech on social media can become very ugly, very quickly.

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