Elon Musk’s bid to acquire Twitter for $44 billion has been accepted by the company, according to a press release. This move will give Musk complete control over the social media platform. The Tesla CEO said in a statement that he plans to make Twitter even better by improving the product, making the algorithms open source, defeating spam bots, and authenticating all humans.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal also praised the deal and said that the platform has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world. However, the loans that will be used to fund the deal could cost Twitter up to $1 billion per year in service costs, which is approximately 20% of the company’s annual revenue, according to analysts.
When Musk first disclosed his 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, he polled Twitter users on the creation of an “edit” button, which the company was already developing. He also suggested removing ads from Twitter Blue, lowering its subscription price, and adding Dogecoin as a payment option.
Musk has been a vocal critic of Twitter moderation and considers himself a “free speech absolutist.” He believes that free speech is essential for a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. Musk has raised concerns over how the platform would moderate under his control, and he emphasized the importance of increasing trust in Twitter as a public platform.
The buyout plan initially faced resistance from Twitter’s board, which instituted a “poison pill” measure. However, the reasons for the change of heart are unclear. It remains to be seen how Musk’s ownership will impact Twitter and what changes he will make to the platform.