How Elon Musk’s Twitter Move Could Change Your Social Media Use
You may want to redefine what freedom means to you now.
Apart from achieving success and being in haste, everything on earth happens fast. From questioning Twitter’s free speech policy to becoming Twitter’s largest shareholder in a little over a week, Elon Musk is indeed the stuff of curiosity.
Since the word of his purchase of 73.5 million Twitter shares worth about $3 billion went out on Monday, April 5, other investors rallied around for a piece of the cake within hours.
The increase in demand sent Twitter’s stock price through the roof by 22% and increased Musk’s stake in the company from $2.9 billion to $3.5 billion between Friday and Monday.
While one cannot tell what Musk’s endgame at Twitter is, the vocal Tesla CEO is currently sampling opinion among his 80.5 million followers to know if they want an edit button on Twitter. That should signal his plans to shake that which can be shaken at the social media giant.
Being a passive investor, Elon Musk cannot seek to take control of the company as enshrined in U.S Securities Laws. Would he be able to change the status of his investment from passive to active in the future? Absolutely. Would he then be able to seek control of the company? Absolutely. Would he take over the company? Only time will tell.
In the meantime, this investment allows him a foot in the door.
What Does This Mean For The Social Media (Twitter) User?
Elon Musk’s complaint about Twitter’s content moderation and the First Amendment should not be taken lightly. He had hinted at creating a rival social network, probably to give him the latitude to birth his ideals.
Building a Twitter-scale social network from scratch is no cakewalk, even for Elon Musk. Taking over Twitter (a platform he likens to a Public Town Square) might be an easier play for the SpaceX OG.
Depending on your idea of free speech, which Musk has not stopped speaking about, Elon Musk’s Twitter foray may turn out a dream or a nightmare.
Twitter’s treatment of former President Donald Trump’s use of the platform may have triggered Elon Musk. On Twitter, Musk is keyboard-happy. He freely shares his views on governance, philanthropy, and technology.
So, if you share his ideals of free speech, you may be in for a sweet ride if he should take more leading roles at the company. But if you prefer the way Twitter has used bots to moderate content over the years, Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter might not go your way.
