It has been announced only a few days ago that Twitter will be sold to Elon Musk following weeks of negotiations. It is estimated that the transaction will be in the region of forty-four billion United States Dollars. This deal which further underscores Elon Musk’s success as a businessman and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, places him in a position of owning one of the leading social networks in the globe.
Elon Musk has commented positively about Twitter, highlighting it as a platform where important matters about the future of humanity are discussed. He also emphasised that Twitter has enormous potential and that he looks forward to working with the company and its users.
The offer made by Elon Musk was considered at length by the board of Twitter. A statement by the company referred to the move as the best course of action for Twitter’s stockholders. Once the deal announcing Musk’s takeover was announced, Twitter stock increased by six percent. At the time of writing, the deal still requires the approval of shareholders and regulators.
Musk is no stranger to Twitter. He is a popular user of the social network, stirring controversy on a regular basis. His profile on Twitter holds over eighty million followers, after a number of years of presence on the platform. He has used his Twitter profile to share a lot of content including information surrounding his companies, memes, insults to politicians and updates about COVID-19. His comments made with regards to the transgender community were deemed as controversial.
One of the objectives of Elon Musk following his successful deal is to spearhead free speech capabilities across the platform. The social network seems to be in for some exciting times as Musk is committed to enhance Twitter with new features, improving algorithms, authenticating individuals and combat spam. In one of his statements, Elon Musk mentioned that he would prefer if his critics remain on Twitter, as that is what free speech entails.
There are those who have expressed their concerns about this latest move. Some of the worries include that the work done to dilute hate speech, misinformation, harassment and other detrimental content could be curtailed. Another area of concern by some critics is whether Elon Musk would reinstate former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account. This could be a key maneuver with the United States presidential election coming up in 2024.
What do you make about Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
