While Musk didn’t provide any details on why he bought shares from Twitter, other than posting a tweet Monday that read, “oh hi lol,” there are some clues as to what he might end up doing at the California-based company .
While Musk didn’t provide any details on why he bought shares from Twitter, other than posting a tweet Monday that read, “oh hi lol,” there are some clues as to what he might end up doing at the California-based company .
Elon Musk is Twitter’s most well-known “Blue Tick” personality, with over 80 million followers on the platform. Tesla’s CEO is a regular user of the microblogging site and its most vocal critic.
Musk had acquired a 9.2% stake in the social media platform Monday, according to a U.S. IPO filing. He said he owned 73.5 million shares of the company on March 14, an announcement that sent the company’s shares soaring 27% on the New York Stock Exchange.
Musk’s stake is valued at $2.9 billion based on Friday’s closing price, making him Twitter’s largest shareholder, holding more than the company’s co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. That size has earned him a seat on the social media company’s board of directors.
While Musk didn’t provide any details on why he bought shares from Twitter, other than posting a tweet Monday that read, “oh hi lol,” there are some clues as to what he might end up doing at the California-based company .
content moderation
Most recently, the billionaire weighed the platform’s commitment to freedom of expression. In some of his tweets, he had touched on the idea of starting his own social media company without giving details.
On March 24, Musk tweeted a pool asking his followers if the platform “rigorously adheres to freedom of expression.” Over 70% of the two million users who voted clicked no.
Musk’s poll came two weeks after the Twitter name of a US-based parody website, Babylon Bee, was removed “for hateful comments.” The website had mockingly bestowed the title of Man of the Year on Rachel Levine, a transgender US government official. The site’s award was in response to United States today Named “Woman of the Year” by health officials.
This satire was posted on Twitter, prompting the platform to ban the parody account name. In response to Twitter’s suspension, Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon stated in a series of tweets that the platform would not restore the account until the Rachel Levine tweet was deleted. Dillon declined. The site’s handle is now unlocked, but it has been blocked from posting new content.
After Musk joined the Twitter board, Dillon responded to the two-week-old pool tweet on Tuesday by saying, “Musk reached out to us before questioning his followers about Twitter’s commitment to free speech. He wanted to confirm that we were indeed suspended. He even considered on that call that he might need to buy Twitter.”
In a separate episode on Monday, several conservatives took to the microblogging site and expressed hope that Musk would overturn Twitter’s decision to fire former US President Donald Trump after the infamous Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol remove platform.
Open Source Algorithm
Later that same day, March 24, Musk addressed his followers again on Twitter. This time he asked whether the platform’s algorithm should be open source or not. The poll was retweeted by co-founder Dorsey, noting that “the choice of which algorithm to use (or not) to use should be open to everyone.” Over 80% of the millions of odd users who took the poll answered “yes.” tuned.
Some experts point out that releasing social media algorithms open-source could weed out misinformation and hate from these platforms. Having an idea of what priorities one platform has over another helps users be better informed and deters bad actors from manipulating the system.
However, others point out that the codes running these platforms are part of the company’s trade secrets. Balancing disclosure and corporate secrecy will be difficult, as most tech companies may not even have a team or department that has a complete view of how their algorithm works. It remains a black box that few have access to.
A battle with the financial regulators
While crafting policies on content moderation and open-source algorithms could take up a lot of Musk’s time at Twitter in the long-term, a battle with US financial regulators will be an urgent priority.
That’s because, according to the filing, Musk’s disclosed 9.2% stake was in a form that investors must use if they select more than 5% of stock without planning to gain control of the company. But Tesla’s CEO will play an active role on Twitter. Additionally, Musk’s announcement to the stock market was sent a few days later.
According to a report by Wall Street Journal, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has already taken enforcement action against some individuals who have repeatedly missed deadlines to disclose ownership information. And Musk’s disclosure could hurt him in his ongoing litigation with the SEC.
