Elon musk buys twitter for $44 billion shocks everyone

Twitter’s board has accepted a $44 billion (£34.5 billion) takeover offer from billionaire Elon Musk.

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Musk, who made the surprise bid less than two weeks ago, stated that Twitter had “tremendous potential” he intended to unlock. He proposed several changes, including relaxing content restrictions and eliminating fake accounts. Initially, Twitter’s board rejected Musk’s offer, but now they plan to ask shareholders to approve the deal.

According to Forbes magazine, Musk is the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of $273.6 billion, largely due to his shares in Tesla, the electric vehicle company he runs. He also heads the aerospace firm SpaceX.

In a statement announcing the deal, Musk emphasized the importance of free speech for a functioning democracy, calling Twitter the digital town square for vital debates about humanity’s future. He expressed his desire to improve Twitter by introducing new features, making algorithms open source to boost trust, combating spam bots, and verifying all users.

“Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it,” he said.

The decision comes as Twitter is under increasing scrutiny from politicians and regulators regarding the content on its platform. The company has faced criticism from both the left and right for its attempts to manage misinformation. In a significant move last year, Twitter banned former US President Donald Trump, one of its most influential users, citing the risk of “incitement of violence.” At the time, Musk commented: “A lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech.”

The news of the takeover has been welcomed by the US right, though Mr. Trump told Fox News on Monday that he has no plans to return to the platform. The White House chose not to comment on the acquisition, but spokesperson Jen Psaki remarked that the president has long been concerned about the influence of large social media companies.

UK MP Julian Knight, chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, described the deal as an “extraordinary development in the world of social media.” He added, “It will be interesting to see how a privately owned Twitter (run by a free speech absolutist) will respond to global regulatory efforts.”

BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin notes that scientists are apprehensive about the takeover’s potential impact on the climate debate. He highlights that Twitter recently announced a ban on advertisements that deny the scientific consensus on the climate crisis, acknowledging that misleading information can hinder environmental protection efforts.