Bloomberg oped claims Elon Musk Twitter takeover ‘bad news’ for free speech, Musk responds

A Bloomberg op-ed printed on Monday claims Tesla CEO Elon Musk could be “lousy news” for cost-free speech as the most recent member of the board of administrators at Twitter.

The column, penned by Bloomberg Impression senior columnist and MSNBC political analyst Tim O’Brien, mentioned Musk’s current acquire of a 9.2% stake in the enterprise, which came roughly a 7 days after the billionaire criticized Twitter for a deficiency of determination to cost-free speech. On the other hand, in accordance to O’Brien, no cost speech advocates really should be apprehensive that Musk cares less about upholding the Initially Amendment, and much more about bringing the social media platform “to heel.”

Elon Musk when joked he’s “not perverted adequate to be on CNN” as the liberal network struggles through a sequence of embarrassing scandals. 
(REUTERS/Aly Music/File Photo)

PROGRESSIVE ACTIVISTS, MEDIA PUNDITS React TO ELON MUSK’S TWITTER TAKEOVER

“I suspect there’s some thing additional major informing Musk’s conclusion to make investments in Twitter, even if he revels in buffoonery: Probably he wishes to carry Twitter to heel,” he wrote. “Does Musk want to acquire around Twitter? I don’t assume so. The company’s financials are not great, and managing social media firms is hard. Does Musk want to title some men and women to Twitter’s board of directors? It’s possible. That would allow him to have some say over its affairs without investing too considerably time or revenue.”

O’Brien argued that Musk, not determined by dollars, is in it to “scare Twitter’s management.” 

“That’s worrisome because it really is not suitable to have a free of charge speech absolutist who is not absolutely in favor of free of charge speech at the helm of — or even near to — a media company,” he wrote. “Musk has currently been given a great pop on his Twitter stake. The shares jumped 26% on Monday following his financial investment was disclosed in a regulatory submitting. He’ll adhere about more time, of program, and speculation that Twitter could be in enjoy will even more inflate his holdings.

Oct. 18, 2013: Twitter app displayed on an Apple iphone monitor in New York.
(AP Picture/Richard Drew, File)

“But Musk possibly isn’t in this for the dollars. He’s in it to make a point. And he’s in it to scare Twitter’s management. Someone who has complained that his cost-free speech is getting ‘chilled’ must, most likely, be sensitive to those nuances,” he included. 

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The column, which was aggregated by the Washington Publish on Tuesday, eventually caught Musk’s awareness soon after a screenshot of the headline ‘Elon Musk’s Twitter Expense Could Be Terrible Information for Absolutely free Speech’ was posted on Twitter by business tech entrepreneur Marc Andreessen.

“WaPo often fantastic for a chuckle,” Musk quipped.