Elon Musk weighed in Tuesday to the political left’s outrage over his offer to buy Twitter being accepted by saying that the visceral reaction to those angered by free speech was telling.
Twitter’s board of directors unanimously approved a $44 billion definitive agreement to be acquired by Musk on Monday in which Musk will pay $54.20 per share. The deal is expected to close this year, subject to the approval of Twitter’s shareholders and other regulatory approvals.
Musk responded to a meme on Tuesday afternoon that featured NPCs (non-player characters) representing major publications and tech intuitions who reacted to Musk’s statement about taking over Twitter by saying, “This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.”
Musk responded, “Can someone please give the NPCs a bigger dialogue tree!?”
Can someone please give the NPCs a bigger dialogue tree!?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022
Following the news that Twitter had agreed to accept his offer, Musk said in a statement on Monday, “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.”
“I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans,” Musk continued. “Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
Several minutes later, Musk added in a tweet, “The extreme antibody reaction from those who fear free speech says it all.”
“By ‘free speech’, I simply mean that which matches the law,” Musk tweeted. “I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.”
By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.
I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.
If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.
Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded to the news that the company had agreed to be sold to Musk by claiming that Musk was the only individual that he had confidence in to fix Twitter’s problems.
“I love Twitter. Twitter is the closest thing we have to a global consciousness,” Dorsey said. “The idea and service is all that matters to me, and I will do whatever it takes to protect both. Twitter as a company has always been my sole issue and my biggest regret. It has been owned by Wall Street and the ad model. Taking it back from Wall Street is the correct first step.”
“In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or run Twitter. It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness,” he continued. “Elon’s goal of creating a platform that is “maximally trusted and broadly inclusive” is the right one. This is also @paraga’s goal, and why I chose him. Thank you both for getting the company out of an impossible situation. This is the right path…I believe it with all my heart.”
This report has been updated to include additional information.