agencies
Posted on: Wednesday, April 6, 2022 – 10:32 PM | Last update: Wednesday, April 6, 2022 – 10:32 PM
This may just be another technical performance from Musk, who has endorsed and capitalized on Bitcoin. He has also taken to Twitter to make a fuss over altcoins like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, while simultaneously warning followers: “Don’t farm bet on cryptocurrencies!”
“The real value is building products and providing services to your fellow human beings, not money in any form,” he warned. That might be easy advice from someone with a net worth of $273 billion, whose electric car company is growing, and could launch their rockets into space, according to a Bloomberg report.
So we might see Musk’s investment in Twitter as the same from the man who thought about the meaning of life while sipping whiskey and smoking weed, during a podcast, and once vaguely claimed he got “secured funding” to make the company “Twitter.” Tesla in particular, but I suspect there’s something more serious about Musk’s decision to invest in Twitter, even if he enjoys joking, perhaps wanting to take control of Twitter.
If we take into account the poll he did (on Twitter, of course) 10 days ago, and his question was: “Freedom of expression is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you think that (Twitter) strictly adheres to this principle?”, and more than two million users answered that question, 70.4% of them voted “no”.
Choose “Twitter”
A day later, Musk, the self-proclaimed “free speech absolute,” appeared on the social media platform again, writing: “With Twitter operating as the de facto public square, failure to adhere to the principles of free speech undermines democracy.” Basically, what should be done?” But this time he did not bother to conduct a survey, asking, “Is there a need for a new platform?”
This all comes on the heels of Musk’s ongoing battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which monitors his Twitter posts for the very good reason that it moves the markets. Musk asserted in a lawsuit that the SEC’s oversight appears to be “calculated to temper his exercise” of free speech.
So while there is plenty of space to practice his rhetoric, and his fierce attempt to limit the freedom of expression of some of his critics, it is clear that Musk feels sad. What is not clear is why he chose Twitter as his target.
His vociferous responses on Twitter were broad and unrestrained. He once posted a meme comparing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Hitler, then deleted it. He posted other anti-transgender tweets. A British cave explorer was called “the Bedouin man”. This is great freedom of expression, and Twitter has done little to curtail it.
One explanation for Musk’s sensitivity can be found in his libertarian inclinations. A belated effort by social media platforms to curtail some of the most ferocious forms of political propaganda has infuriated this crowd (along with the far right and Trump supporters). Now Musk has fired at least a stock across the Twitter arc by buying 9.2% of his stock, which is also much less expensive than doing the same with Facebook (a 9.2% stake in Meta would cost him about $58 billion).
Trump experience
Does Musk want to take over Twitter? I don’t think so, the company’s finances aren’t great, and managing social media companies is tough. The failed experience of former President Donald Trump’s attempt to launch Truth Social is a cautionary tale for Musk.
Read also: Musk in court: The tweet converting “Tesla” to a private company was honest
Now, does Musk want to name some people on Twitter’s board of directors? This is possible. This will allow him to have a say in his affairs without spending a lot of time or money.
This is concerning, because it’s not ideal to have someone who wants to use freedom of speech absolutely and who never supports free speech, but is at the helm of a media company, or near that position. Musk has already received a nice profit on his Twitter stake, with shares jumping 26% on Monday after revealing his investment in regulatory papers. Musk will hold the shares longer, of course, and speculation may increase that Twitter might do better than inflating his holdings.
But Musk probably didn’t do it for the money. He participates in it to make his point. He participates in it to intimidate the management of “Twitter”. The person who complained about the lulling of his freedom of expression might have to be sensitive to those nuances, but that would assume that Musk is a philosopher rather than a bully.