Elon Musk bought Twitter. Now what?

The billionaire Tesla CEO has promised to change the Social Media platform for the better, but what can Musk actually do to cure the 16-year-old social media network?

By: Mo Gerstley

Elon Musk, the 50-year-old tech mogul and engineer, whose entrepreneurial ventures have landed him at the top spot of the ‘Real Time Billionaires’ list according to Forbes, is moving into the social media game. However, the world's wealthiest man is new to the industry, and some say his perspectives on the platform are naive and foolish, others praise the business magnate for his enthused attitude towards changing its direction, but what will actually happen to Twitter moving forward, in reality?

Musk has long been known for the establishment of the American vehicle manufacturer and clean energy company, Tesla along with his work in founding the prominent private aerospace company, Space X, but his droll and at times controversial comments on social media, particularly on his highly popular Twitter account, have been the central reason for the South African-born American entrepreneur’s popularity. On Twitter, Musk has more than 80.9 million followers, and last month he posted a poll on his page, questioning his fan base about the loss of free speech on platforms like Twitter, and what the best response to it, would have been.

The response was clear. Users thought Twitter’s crackdown on misleading, or misinformed opinions disseminated by much of the right-wing, was troublesome, and seriously threatened the vibrancy of a free-speech platform like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter used to be. The notion that powerful corporations behind the world’s largest microblogging, video-sharing, and social networking sites, home to millions of accounts, can control the content posted by users under the guise of a public forum, is significantly concerning, and social media users know it.

Musk, seeking an additional business venture to expand both his massive personal fortune along with his ongoing goal to better the world in a progressive and modern fashion, initially purchased 9.2% of Twitter, before being added to the board of the company. At the time, many on the left feared that the new leadership at the social media brand would usher in a more lenient policy on misinformation particularly promulgated by right-wing commentators they didn't like, and then threatened to deactivate their accounts if policies like such would be enacted. To avoid angering the mob of sensitive liberals, Twitter told shareholders to avoid worrying about Musk, as they restricted the billionaire's purchase rights to a limit of buying only 19% of Twitter. In true Musk fashion, Elon swiftly exited the board and announced plans to buy the company in its entirety. While executives initially tried stopping a massive purchase as the one Musk offered, the $43 billion deal was too good for shareholders to deny, and so on April 14, 2022, Elon Musk began the process of an all-cash full acquisition of Twitter Incorporations.

The purchase will likely be official by the end of the year, giving Musk full control over the micro-blogging website, marking the end of an unfortunate era of censorship.