Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, struck an agreement with the social media company to purchase the platform in a $44 billion deal.
The closed deal was confirmed Monday morning, which would fulfill one of many goals by the South African entrepreneur of one day striking the biggest deal in route of taking a company private, something Elon Musk previously said he would do with this particular social media platform.
Musk, 50, took to Twitter to expressed his excitement in striking a deal with the social media company, stating that his intentions with this purchase is on the basis of free speech and helping the platform reach its maximum potential.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” Musk announced through his Twitter account. “Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
The enormous deal was reportedly approved unanimously by Twitter's board, and is expected to close sometime later this year, as it will go through multiple regulatory approvals and is subject to a vote of the company's shareholders.
Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor delivered a statement on the monumental agreement involving the social media company, stating that proposal made by Musk was analyzed carefully on the basis of value, certainty and the financial aspect. Nonetheless, Bret Taylor says that this proposed transaction is something he considers the best route possible for the stockholders of the company.
In the statement, the Twitter’s chairman mentions that Twitter's board had “conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”
However, not everyone is pleased with this transition involving the social media giant.
Bridget Todd, director at UltraViolet, a women’s rights organization, said that this could potentially be a dangerous evolution for Twitter, and she's afraid that other social media companies follow the same path in the future.
“Without any conditions for Musk to purchase Twitter, the platform’s community standards and recourse to ban users who violate those standards, Twitter could set a dangerous precedent for other social media companies to follow,” said Bridget Todd. “This is a massively slippery slope.”
This comes following Musk's track record of having a shaky relationship with critics involving the topic of online free speech, in particular against advocates that tend to lean left on the political spectrum.
Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), delivered a statement directly for Elon Musk as soon as the deal was confirmed Monday morning, urging him not to allow hate speech on the site in the future, and also urged the entrepreneur to not allow former President Trump back on Twitter by lifting his ban on the platform.
"Mr. Musk: free speech is wonderful, hate speech is unacceptable. Disinformation, misinformation and hate speech have NO PLACE on Twitter. Do not allow 45 to return to the platform. Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech, or falsehoods that subvert our democracy. Protecting our democracy is of utmost importance, especially as the midterm elections approach. Mr. Musk: lives are at risk, and so is American democracy." said Johnson in a statement.
