Elon Musk officially buys Twitter — will it impact you?

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There might be a significant effect if Twitter becomes private.

Finally Twitter belong to Elon Musk by the end of today
image via CNBC

Finally, it’s over. In a deal for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share, Elon Musk has completed his acquisition of Twitter. It’s been reported in a recent press release.

As soon as the sale is completed, Twitter will become a privately owned firm, according to a press statement. A 38% premium over Twitter’s closing price on April 1, 2022, is the acquisition price. That was the last trading day before Musk declared that he had a 9 percent share in the firm.

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Daniel Ives, managing director at Wedbush Securities, said in a statement that no further bids or white knights emerged in the M&A process. As a result, the Twitter board’s “back was against the wall” when Tesla CEO Elon Musk disclosed his $46 billion in funding last week.

Also fascinating is the fact that Twitter is scheduled to release its quarterly results this week, and maybe it felt the need to make this agreement with Musk since the company’s quarterly figures were not looking so well, according to analysts.

In light of these data, social media specialist Matt Navarra wonders exactly how grim they may be. When it comes to earnings and new user growth, it has been “stagnating and flatlining for years.”

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Why is Twitter being taken private by Musk?

As a result, what’s the point of making Twitter private? Musk claims that the goal of this measure is to safeguard the right to free expression.

Tweets are “the digital town square where things essential to the future of mankind are argued,” stated Elon Musk in the statement. “I also want to improve Twitter by adding new features, making the algorithms open source to promote trust, beating spambots, and authenticating all people. I’m excited to work with Twitter and the rest of the Twitter community to help the service realise its full potential.”

“It’s critical that people have the reality and impression that they may talk freely within the confines of the law,” Elon Musk stated at the TED 2022 conference, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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A public platform that is “maximally trustworthy and widely inclusive is vitally crucial to the continuation of civilisation,” Musk argued at the time.

When it comes to tweeting, Navarra predicts a “loosening of the regulations.” Due to the fact that advertisers are “unlikely to display their logos next to poisonous and abusive tweets,” Twitter might shift away from advertising income as its principal source of revenue.

Critics are concerned about what they see.

Critics claim that Musk would reinstate users who were previously banned for discussing things that were deemed hazardous to the general public interest. Additionally, it has been stated that workers are alarmed by this change. Nevertheless, Musk says Twitter should not go beyond what is required by law.

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Having to put up with someone you dislike saying something you don’t agree with is really infuriating. When someone you dislike says something you don’t agree with, he added at the conference, “that is the role of a robust free speech scenario.”

Musk has also come under fire for his Twitter antics, particularly in relation to statements about Tesla. After tweeting in 2018 that he had secured finance for $420 per share to take Tesla private, he was placed under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Musk has been accused of securities fraud by the SEC.

After accepting the deal, Twitter put a hold on any modifications to its social media platform until Friday, Bloomberg reports. According to the sources, any modifications to the product will need to be approved by a vice president. In order to prevent disgruntled workers from “going rogue,” Twitter apparently “implemented the interim suspension.”

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That’s for sure,” Navarra said. “Many will find it extremely alarming that two affluent white guys now control the most popular social platforms in the world, which regulate what people may say and do online.”

Is Trump going to rejoin Twitter?

Is Elon Musk willing to let Donald Trump, who was banned from Twitter in 2021, to rejoin the conversation? Former President Barack Obama started his own social network, Truth Social, earlier this year. Musk has indicated that permanent bans are preferable than “time-outs,” but he hasn’t said anything about it.

Trump, on the other hand, has said that he would not return to Twitter even if Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchases the social network. According to the previous president, we will officially join Truth Social within the next seven days.

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President Trump remarked, “I’m not going on Twitter, I’m going to stick to the facts.” Even if I’m rooting for Elon Musk to acquire Twitter, I’ll be sticking with Truth instead.

On Twitter, where does ‘freedom of expression’ fit in?

As Musk has said, he is committed to defending free expression with this purchase, but what does this imply for the average user?

Electronic Frontier Foundation civil liberties director and senior staff attorney David Greene says, “It all depends on how ‘freedom of expression’ is executed. “To just let everything become public and ignore community norms, trust and safety teams isn’t an option… These kinds of situations are consistent with history in that individuals who have been historically marginalised are the first ones to be ostracised.”

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“Musk is not one who has showed much care for the right of expression for those [whose] freedom is actually endangered,” writes Greene.

The future of Twitter in the age of Tesla CEO Elon Musk:

Until Elon Musk reveals his intentions for Twitter, it is premature to assess. It’s possible he may genuinely benefit the platform. The possibility of editing tweets and the expansion of the number of individuals who may have their accounts verified were both highlighted by Musk.

However, there are many who doubt Musk’s ability to have a lasting influence on the Twitter platform in the long run.

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“Mavericks are needed on Twitter. It’s time for a new thinker to take the reins. A cause for concern, “Navarra chimed in. If Elon Musk, who can be all of these things at once, disrupts the same elements that make Twitter the digital town square he believes would be so vital in the future, it will be a huge question.

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