“He did it!” Read one tweet with a proud looking Elon Musk posted under the caption. This specific tweet is in reference to the monumental announcement: South African-born Musk is now the proud owner of one of the largest social media companies, Twitter.
Musk put his title as the “world’s richest man” to good use by agreeing to purchase Twitter for a whopping $44 billion, that’s R690 billion. The purchase comes on the back of a lengthy saga filled with hostile takeover threats before the billionaire received personal control over the social media platform, reports EWN.
One of the major reasons for Musk’s interest in the 16-year-old platform has been the idea surrounding free speech and what he believes is the platform’s over-zealous content moderation.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk revealed in a statement released by Twitter.
The entrepreneur, who has around 83 million followers on Twitter, has been accumulating shares in the company since January, disclosing a 9% stake earlier this month, reports News24. This earned him a spot on Twitter’s board, a position that he rejected before countering with an unprovoked bid to buy the company.
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots and authenticating all humans.”
While the platform’s board indicated that it was reviewing Musk’s bid, it later turned it down and adopted a “poison pill” as a measure that would make it harder for the billionaire to acquire a controlling position.
Despite its efforts, the firm found itself backed into a corner, accepting Musk’s offer, who had negotiated a purchase price of $54.20 per share, according to Twitter.
“Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important,” the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet.
The publicly-traded company will now be going private under Musk’s ownership.
Numerous critics have claimed that Musk’s need to promote free speech may instead promote and cultivate a platform that is littered with hate speech and misinformation.
The hashtag #RIPTwitter has been doing the rounds on the social media platform, with a few celebrities, including the outspoken British Jameela Jamil sharing her thoughts on the latest announcement.
“Ah he got twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet,” she posted to her 1 million followers.
Ah he got twitter. I would like this to be my what lies here as my last tweet. Just really *any* excuse to show pics of Barold. I fear this free speech bid is going to help this hell platform reach its final form of totally lawless hate, bigotry, and misogyny. Best of luck. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/fBDOuEYI3e
— Jameela Jamil ? (@jameelajamil) April 25, 2022
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Elon Musk launches a hostile takeover of Twitter with a R600 billion offer
Picture: Cape {town} Etc Gallery