Elon Musk Reaches Deal On Twitter Takeover

On April 25, 2022, Twitter announced that it accepted a $44 billion takeover offer led by noted Twitter user and world’s richest man, Elon Musk.  Musk’s proposal is subject to closing conditions, including the approval of Twitter stockholders and regulators.  When the transaction is complete, Twitter will become a privately held company.  

The Internet is abuzz with speculation about how Twitter would change under Musk’s ownership.  As the New York Times explains, Musk has been vocal about his concern that Twitter has gone too far in moderating the platform’s content.  In the release (and tweet, naturally) announcing the agreement, Musk stated, “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.”  Of particular interest to many is whether Musk’s Twitter will reinstate former President Trump, who was banned from the platform last year.  

Musk has also indicated a desire to make changes to Twitter’s algorithms by making them “open source,” and “defeating the spam bots.”  Spam bots are automated accounts that are often used to “market products, promote misinformation and conduct scams.”  According to the Washington Post, ridding the platform of spam bots is key to Musk’s vision of making Twitter “a platform populated strictly by humans.”