Deal With the Devil – The Hard Part Begins for Twitter Now That Elon Musk Is Getting Into the Game.
Deal With the Devil – The Hard Part Begins for Twitter Now That Elon Musk Is Getting Into the Game.
The Tesla founder's hidden agenda may well be to reverse the current executives.
Elon Musk has just taken control of a little over 9% of Twitter's capital. This makes the boss of Tesla and SpaceX the first shareholder of the social network created by Jack Dorsey. Since he announced this investment, Elon Musk multiplies the blows against the social network with which he maintains a chaotic relationship.
It all started the day after the announcement of his takeover of 9.2% of Twitter. Elon Musk, who has more than 81 million followers on Twitter, made a poll on his account to propose “a button to edit tweets”. This corresponds to a long-standing point of contention between Twitter and its users.
A few days later, on April 9, 2022, Elon Musk went further by posting this tweet:
This time, Elon Musk attacks the “top” accounts of Twitter that publish very little content. He then wonders if Twitter would not be dying.
In the list published by Elon Musk, we find Barack Obama, and his 131 million followers, followed by several entertainment stars (Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, ...). In answer to his tweet, Elon Musk explains that Taylor Swift has not posted anything for 3 months, and that “Justin Bieber only posted once this entire year”.
A troublesome shareholder on the horizon for Twitter executives
Elon Musk's attitude contrasts with the statement he made to the SEC when he took control of 9.2% of Twitter's capital. He said he wanted to be a “passive” shareholder. A shareholder as any other ...
This was a major source of concern for the SEC because everyone knows that the slightest tweet from Elon Musk can have a huge impact on market prices, whether it is the stock markets or the cryptocurrency market.
Following this takeover, Parag Agrawal, Twitter's CEO, took the lead in inviting Elon Musk to join Twitter's board of directors. It's better to have him around so you can try to channel him better. That must have been the motivation for Twitter executives.
Nevertheless, it looks like a deal with the devil.
Even if he was invited to join the Twitter board, Elon Musk doesn't intend to hold back his blows against his new toy. A few days ago, Elon Musk published a meme, using a famous photo where he can be seen holding a joint in a halo of smoke during one of his appearances in the podcast of the controversial host Joe Rogan with the caption: “Twitter’s next board meeting is gonna be lit”.
In front of the concern raised by Elon Musk's current attitude, it is even planned that he will soon come and meet Twitter employees for a question and answer session. The goal is clear: to try to calm the many concerns.
Isn't Elon Musk's intention to bring down the current executives of Twitter?
For the moment, Elon Musk's level of participation in Twitter's capital does not allow him to influence executive decisions. However, it would not be the first time that a shareholder slowly enters the capital to end up turning the tables.
The method is well known:
Target a company in difficulty or that is not successful enough in the eyes of the market.
Gradually take a stake in the company by stirring up the anger of small shareholders through increasingly targeted criticism of executives.
Eventually demand a change in management.
Twitter is not there yet of course, but the company seems to be a good target for an activist shareholder like Elon Musk: its potential is real but its strategic choices are contested and it does not manage to find the miracle recipe for its monetization.
Elon Musk is one of the most critical personalities on the current functioning of Twitter. He has continued to publish numerous tweets criticizing Twitter and its current operation:
Among the criticisms he often repeats, Elon Musk considers that Twitter is curbing freedom of expression with its moderation policy. Twitter defends itself by saying that the goal is to fight fake news, hate, and online harassment. However, even the American regulators judge that it does not work properly.
So we'll have to watch carefully Elon Musk's attitude about Twitter in the weeks and months to come. The biggest blow would be if Elon Musk ends up trying to become CEO of Twitter. That would be a huge bombshell, but with the Tesla founder, you can expect anything. Even the most implausible.
Some reading
3 Psychological Reasons You Struggle To Regulate Your Emotions With Bitcoin. #3: You don't have a plan.
You Can’t Change Your Past With Bitcoin, but You Can Still Change Your Future for the Better. Take action and seize the opportunity.
You Buy Bitcoin To Get Rich, Then You Get Something That Is Priceless: Freedom. More and more people will understand it in the coming years.
Twitter has been narrowing discussion to those on the Left. Musk wants to expand discussion to both Left and Right (twice as many). Would an expanded audience be a good thing? And, wouldn’t free speech be a “good thing”?