Elon Musk may have won the battle to acquire Twitter after the micro-blogging company’s board accepted a $44 billion offer, but the world’s richest man still has a huge challenge up ahead to win over the users, employees, investors, and advertisers on the social media platform.
Musk’s plans to promote unfettered speech on the platform have many experts and users worried over fears that unbridled free speech could spiral into misinformation and hate speech. “We expect advertisers will be less willing to spend on Twitter if Elon Musk removes content moderation in order to promote free speech,” MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson told Reuters. If Musk makes good on his promises, advertisers on Twitter may shift to platforms such as Alphabet’s Youtube, TikTok, or other channels to build brand awareness, Nathanson added.
Musk, however, believes otherwise. “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.” he tweeted. As if testing Musk’s commitment to free speech, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos quoted a New York Times reporter’s tweet pointing out that Tesla’s business interests in China could give the government leverage over Twitter via its new owner, saying, “Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage over the town square (Twitter)?” Bezos tweeted.
Jittery investors
Investors are also jittery about the hostile takeover, although on paper, Musk is offering a premium. Musk said he’s pledging $21 billion of his own money and will presumably sell a chunk of Tesla stock to raise the funds for the acquisition. Banks are going to lend him $12.5 billion, secured by an additional $62.5 billion of his Tesla shares. The rest of the purchase price and other costs will be funded by $13 billion in debt that Twitter will take on. While this will put pressure on Musk to think about growing revenues, he recently said that he isn’t interested in Twitter for economic reasons. The deal “wouldn’t make much sense to most private equity investors,” according to Bloomberg News.
“The math is sketchy, however, as are Musk’s intentions. Both of those factors promise to make this deal a potential train wreck and will force investors, managers, users, and society to think more clearly and seriously about the role that social media companies play in an era scarred by viral propaganda and misinformation,” wrote Timothy L O’Brien, senior columnist, Bloomberg
Uncertain on future
For employees of Twitter, the path ahead looks uncertain as Musk’s publicly stated plans could be the opposite of what they have been building over the past few years. Twitter’s India-born CEO, Parag Agrawal, told employees that he doesn’t know what direction the company will go in after Musk takes charge. Agrawal’s own future as the CEO of the company is at stake as he may not be aligned with Musk’s strategy for Twitter. “It’s a time of genuine discomfort and uncertainty. Most of us believe deeply that Twitter is much more than a tech platform; we have a deep responsibility to society. I hope our new owner gets that, “wrote one of the employees on Twitter.
Big question
But the biggest question looming in front of Musk is whether he will be able to convince users of his intentions. #Leavetwitter was trending all day with many users, mostly with liberal affiliations, expressing concern over Twitter being overtaken by trolls and harassers. “The sale of Twitter to Elon Musk would be a victory for disinformation and the people who peddle it. Musk could unleash a wave of toxicity and harassment and undo Twitter’s efforts to increase quality engagement and make its platform safer for users,” Media Matters, a left-leaning media non-profit said in a post
However, there were many from the right wing and conservatives who came out in support of Musk. “Totally support Elon taking over Twitter. Free speech is an important part of our democracy. How can we show others about democracy when presently Twitter is an arm of the woke and democratic party. Level the playing field Elon!” said a Republican party supporter.
But the biggest ratification for Musk came from Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, who said that he saw Musk as the “singular solution” to ensure Twitter remained “a public good at a protocol level, not a company”.
Published on
April 26, 2022
