Even without the drop in Tesla’s stock, there was some reason for concern about the financial details of the purchase:
It makes you wonder how Musk plans to make this work. Does he think he’s just getting a $44 billion toy, a piece of conspicuous consumption even more impressive than owning a really big yacht? Or does he have a plan to wring more money out of the platform than its current or past executives have been able to do?
However he plans to make it work on a financial level, Musk is throwing up red flags about how it will work for users and current Twitter employees. On Tuesday, Musk targeted two Twitter executives in his own tweets, in both cases piggybacking on attacks on the executives by right-wing media figures seeking Musk’s attention. As a result of Musk’s criticism of Vijaya Gadde, one of Twitter’s top lawyers in charge of trust and safety and legal and public policy, Gadde’s mentions filled with abuse, including overt racism. Musk also responded to a tweet by Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich, saying “Sounds pretty bad” in response to Cernovich’s attack on a different Twitter executive.
Markos and Kerry talk Ukraine and speak with Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler on how hitting back at Republicans helps win elections
It didn’t take Musk long to bolster concerns that he would run Twitter in service to the far right, in other words, and enable abuses.
But we already knew that. Popular Info’s Judd Legum has detailed how Musk's commitment to free speech is situational and self-serving, including Musk’s attacks on journalists who’ve criticized Tesla, Musk’s threats to Tesla workers who’ve discussed unionizing, and Tesla’s ask to the Chinese government to censor criticism of its products. Musk’s idea of free speech is all about punching down and dogpiling, but stops abruptly when his own interests are involved.
About the China thing, too: Another billionaire with too much power weighed in with a concern about Musk’s purchase of Twitter:
No one really knows what the worst-case scenario for an Elon Musk-owned Twitter looks like. But the best-case scenario here may just be that he wreaks havoc with poorly thought-out tweets and ones outright encouraging abuse, then loses interest before the sale ever becomes final. Whatever happens, it’s guaranteed to be a continuing advertisement for taxing the rich a helluva lot more.
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