Twitter goes into the hands of Elon Musk: the risk of a billionaire toy

The possible purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk for US$44 billion worries experts in Quebec, who fear that the platform will become a toy for billionaires, which might eventually harm democracy.

“He’s had opinions for a long time on what to say, what not to say, and what’s acceptable as a social media outlet. He himself had very controversial speeches”, indicated to the Journal Yan Cimon, Full Professor in the Department of Management at Laval University.

According to techno columnist François Charron, there are also risks of slippage by possibly allowing more users to give their opinion, and this, without a verification filter.

“There is really a very entertaining play that is going to start, but it scares me,” he said on QUB radio. “She scares me, because the goal is to make it […] the place of debate of the future of humanity.”

Several problems

In recent years, Mr. Musk has made headlines several times in connection with some of his behavior, including when he smoked cannabis and drank whiskey in 2018 during an interview.

The same year, he had announced, in a tweet, that he wanted to withdraw Tesla from the Stock Exchange, which had an impact on the title. He had to pay a fine of $20 million to the American stock market policeman, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Tesla had to pay the same amount.

“This purchase is significant because it’s not like the family that owns the New York Times, which has always been a guarantor of objectivity and of having a quality information product. There, we are talking regarding one of the most important platforms in the world which will be private,” said Professor Yan Cimon.

The latter believes that the United States will have to question itself concerning the framework to be given to the Twitter platform.

“The danger of skidding is great in the current state,” believes Mr. Cimon. “The danger is that it becomes a toy,” he added.

The billionaire with some 83 million subscribers has also not hesitated, in recent years, to take a position in the public square on various issues or to target companies. It now remains to be seen whether he will be more embarrassed if he becomes the big boss.

On Twitter, he recently challenged Vladimir Putin to a duel or compared Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler.

“If he chooses to pay a premium to acquire Twitter, it’s because he believes he has a way to value the platform and is in the best position to do so,” Cimon said. “It’s clear that acquiring Twitter is much more efficient than starting another social media outlet,” he continued.

The richest man in the world, whose fortune is estimated at nearly US$270 billion, has already announced in recent weeks that he wants to make changes to Twitter’s formula.

As of December 31, according to SEC filings, the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec owned 225,800 shares in Twitter. This transaction might earn him more than US$12.2 million.