Twitter

Investors will receive $54.20 for each Twitter share they own, the company said in a statement Monday.

Twitter caught fire among politicians, celebrities and journalists and took its place alongside social media stalwarts Facebook and YouTube as a standard bearer of a new, more interactive way of using the web that came to be known as Web 2.0. Twitter on April 15 adopted a shareholder rights plan — a measure known as a poison pill — to fend off unwanted bidders. That served as a catalyst for Dorsey’s eventual second departure so he could focus on his other company, the digital-payments company Block Inc. After rejecting an invitation to join the company’s board, on April 14 he offered to take Twitter private, saying he’d make the platform a bastion of free speech and dropping other hints about the changes he’d make as owner. The deal was unanimously approved by the company’s board, and is expected to be completed later this year. Twitter shares were halted for the news.

PRNewswire/ -- Twitter, Inc. (NYSE: TWTR) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an entity wholly owned by Elon.

Twitter, its directors and certain executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from stockholders in connection with the pending acquisition of Twitter (the "Transaction"). Twitter plans to file a proxy statement (the "Transaction Proxy Statement") with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with the solicitation of proxies to approve the Transaction. Additional information regarding such participants, including their direct or indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be included in the Transaction Proxy Statement and other relevant documents to be filed with the SEC in connection with the Transaction. Information relating to the foregoing can also be found in Twitter's definitive proxy statement for its 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the "2022 Proxy Statement"), which was filed with the SEC on April 12, 2022. This communication contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements regarding: the Transaction, including the expected timing of the closing of the Transaction; considerations taken into account by Twitter's Board of Directors in approving the Transaction; and expectations for Twitter following the closing of the Transaction. If any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if any of Twitter's assumptions prove incorrect, Twitter's actual results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it." The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter's stockholders." Mr. Musk has secured $25.5 billion of fully committed debt and margin loan financing and is providing an approximately $21.0 billion equity commitment. The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter's closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter. Upon completion of the transaction, Twitter will become a privately held company. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal counsel. Additional risks and uncertainties include those associated with: the possibility that the conditions to the closing of the Transaction are not satisfied, including the risk that required approvals from Twitter's stockholders for the Transaction or required regulatory approvals to consummate the Transaction are not obtained; potential litigation relating to the Transaction; uncertainties as to the timing of the consummation of the Transaction; the ability of each party to consummate the Transaction; possible disruption related to the Transaction to Twitter's current plans and operations, including through the loss of customers and employees; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the periodic reports that Twitter files with the SEC, including Twitter's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 16, 2022, which may be obtained on the investor relations section of Twitter's website ( https://investor.twitterinc.com). All forward-looking statements in this communication are based on information available to Twitter as of the date of this communication, and Twitter does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made, except as required by law. To the extent that holdings of Twitter's securities have changed since the amounts printed in the 2022 Proxy Statement, such changes have been or will be reflected on Statements of Change in Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Promptly after filing the definitive Transaction Proxy Statement with the SEC, Twitter will mail the definitive Transaction Proxy Statement and a WHITE proxy card to each stockholder entitled to vote at the special meeting to consider the Transaction. STOCKHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE TRANSACTION PROXY STATEMENT (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS THERETO) AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT TWITTER WILL FILE WITH THE SEC WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Stockholders may obtain, free of charge, the preliminary and definitive versions of the Transaction Proxy Statement, any amendments or supplements thereto, and any other relevant documents filed by Twitter with the SEC in connection with the Transaction at the SEC's website ( http://www.sec.gov). Copies of Twitter's definitive Transaction Proxy Statement, any amendments or supplements thereto, and any other relevant documents filed by Twitter with the SEC in connection with the Transaction will also be available, free of charge, at Twitter's investor relations website ( https://investor.twitterinc.com) or by writing to Twitter, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, California 94103. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Twitter Board of Directors, is expected to close in 2022, subject to the approval of Twitter stockholders, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, Twitter stockholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter common stock that they own upon closing of the proposed transaction.

Twitter is smaller than you think. The company has around 7000 employees, compared to other social media platforms like Meta, formerly Facebook, ...

You can select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Click here to find out more about our partners. - Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address

The outspoken Tesla CEO, the world's wealthiest person, has said he wants to buy Twitter because he thinks it's not living up to its potential as a platform for ...

Eventually he became CEO and led the company to astronomical success as the world's most valuable automaker and largest seller of electric vehicles. But much of his money is tied up in Tesla stock — he owns about 17 per cent of the electric car company, according to FactSet, which is valued at more than US$1 trillion — and SpaceX, his privately held space company. He also acknowledged that Twitter would have to abide by national laws governing speech in markets around the world. In a recent TED interview, the billionaire said he'd like to see Twitter err on the side of allowing speech instead of moderating it. He says it needs to be transformed as a private company in order to build trust with users and do better at serving what he calls the "societal imperative" of free speech. "Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important."

On Twitter, in private messages and in interviews with The Washington Post, employees expressed fear about Musk's $44 billion takeover. Twitter CEO Parag ...

Once the company goes private, employees’ shares would be paid out to them in cash. In the town hall, Twitter executives and board chair Taylor acknowledged emotions were running high for people. The acquisition, which would rank among the largest-ever activist takeovers of a publicly traded company, would take the company private over the course of three to six months, executives said in the town hall. He has also been known as a harsh manager who will seek to fire people on the spot when they are not onboard with his way of thinking, including at one point disbanding his entire public relations team. Twitter was the first company to take action against former president Donald Trump for his tweets supporting Capitol rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, and engineering teams have spent years building tools to fight spam, disinformation and hate speech under an initiative known as healthy conversations. Some tweeted tear-filled emoji and memes of people having emotional breakdowns, while others told The Post they were too in shock to speak.

EXPLAINER: The deal is expected to close sometime this year. But before that, shareholders and regulators still have to weigh in.

Twitter hasn’t announced the timing of a shareholder vote, though the company’s annual meeting is set for May 25, which could offer a convenient time to poll shareholders. At this early stage, it’s unclear what will happen to Twitter's current board or management team if the deal is completed, but Musk has made it abundantly clear that he believes the company has been poorly run. Last year, Twitter generated US$5 billion (NZ$7.5 billion) in revenue, with US$2.8 billion (NZ$4.2 billion) from the US and the rest earned overseas, Zino said. “Musk has the track record that he can do the impossible”. The deal is expected to close sometime this year. Musk said other investors could contribute to the financing.

The social-media company is in discussions to sell itself to Elon Musk, a dramatic turn of events just 11 days after the billionaire unveiled his $43 ...

Assuming there isn’t a last-minute snag, the deal is expected to be announced after the market closes Monday, if not sooner. - Twitter, Elon Musk Deal Could Be Announced Monday You may cancel your subscription at anytime by calling Customer Service.

Elon Musk said last week that he had lined up US$46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company's board to negotiate a deal.

But much of his money is tied up in Tesla stock — he owns about 17% of the company, according to FactSet, which is valued at more than $1 trillion — and SpaceX, his privately held space company. The Times, citing people with knowledge of the situation who it did not identify, said the two sides were discussing details including a timeline and fees if an agreement was signed and then fell apart. Musk said last week that he had lined up US$46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company’s board to negotiate a deal.

The Tesla boss has said he wants to privatise the social media platform because it isn't living up to its full potential.

“Do not allow 45 to return to the platform. Some users have said that they were planning to quit the platform if Musk took it over. So obviously there are some limitations on free speech in the US, and, of course, Twitter would have to abide by those rules.” Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech, or falsehoods that subvert our democracy." Musk said last week that he had lined up US$46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company’s board to negotiate a deal. Musk believes he can increase revenue through subscriptions that give paying customers a better experience, perhaps even an ad-free version of Twitter.

Twitter initially rebuffed Musk's bid, but it will now ask shareholders to vote to approve the US$44 billion deal.

However, he will take on a company with a chequered record of financial performance. It has drawn critics from left and right over its efforts to mediate misinformation on the platform. Musk's targeting of Twitter has moved at remarkable speed. However, its stance shifted after Musk revealed more financial details about his proposed bid. He also leads the aerospace firm SpaceX. "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," he said in a statement announcing the deal.

The outspoken Tesla CEO has said he wanted to own and privatize Twitter because he thinks it's not living up to its potential as a platform for free speech.

In one August 2018 tweet, for instance, Musk asserted that he had the funding to take Tesla private for $420 a share, although a court has ruled that it wasn’t true. Musk himself is a prolific tweeter with a following that rivals several pop stars in the ranks of the most popular accounts. Truth Social is part of Trump’s new media company, which has agreed to be taken public by Digital World Acquisition Corp. Shares of DWAC dropped 16.2% Monday and are down 46% since Musk revealed his stake in Twitter. Eventually he became CEO and led the company to astronomical success as the world’s most valuable automaker and largest seller of electric vehicles. Some users said Monday that they were planning to quit the platform if Musk took it over. It was sold to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002. “Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech or falsehoods that subvert our democracy.” Musk said last week that he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company’s board to negotiate a deal. As both candidate and president, Trump made Twitter a powerful megaphone for speaking directly to the public, often using incendiary and divisive language on hot-button issues. Advertisers, currently Twitter’s main customers, have also pushed for the stronger content rules Musk has criticized. Musk believes he can increase revenue through subscriptions that give paying customers a better experience — possibly even an ad-free version of Twitter. On April 14, Musk announced an offer to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share.

Twitter declined to comment on the reports. Reports that a deal is imminent come after Musk revealed last week he had lined up $46.5 billion in financing to acquire the company. Twitter's board met Sunday ...

Twitter's decision to engage with Musk shows it is exploring whether a sale is possible on attractive terms: Reuters.

In response, Musk has threatened to launch a tender offer that he could use to register Twitter shareholder support for his bid. Short term-minded investors such as hedge funds want Twitter to accept Musk’s offer or ask for only a small increase, the sources said. Twitter has not yet decided if it will explore a sale to put pressure on Musk to raise his bid, according to the sources. Twitter is also looking into whether regulators in any of the major markets it operates would object to Musk owning the company, the source added. Musk’s insistence that his bid for Twitter is his “best and final” has emerged as a hurdle in the deal negotiations, the sources said. The company’s decision to engage with Musk, taken earlier on Sunday, does not mean that it will accept his $54.20 per share bid, the sources said.

When Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter for $43 billion 10 days ago, the platform didn't welcome him with open arms. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is in some ways ...

Among them is Ben Thompson, the writer of the popular newsletter Stratechery, who believes that Twitter should go private—even if that means a transformation engineered by Musk, which could mean less moderation and more acrimonious discourse, as well as a larger focus on subscriptions. Twitter’s board had to justify rejecting a generous offer, more than 10% above the company’s current stock price. On April 21, Musk said he has the funding to get this deal done quickly.

Twitter had originally enacted an anti-takeover measure known as a poison pill that could scuppor a takeover attempt by making it too expensive, but apparently decided to negotiate following an updated proposal from Mr Musk. The board apparently wants to ...

And she added: “Our concerns are not new. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders,” said Bret Taylor, Twitter’s independent board chair. In a statement the company said that the deal had “been unanimously approved by the Twitter board of directors” and that it was expected to close in 2022, if approved by shareholders. “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,” Mr Musk said in the company statement. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

There is every chance that Twitter's board will have extracted an improved offer or terms from Elon Musk as an announcement on a deal is expected later on ...

According to the media outlet, both sides met on Sunday to discuss the proposal - and the social network "is more likely than before to seek to negotiate". Musk argues that the social network needs to be taken private in order to grow and become a genuine platform for free speech. He has offered to buy the social network for $43bn (£33.5bn) and placed the right to uphold free speech at the forefront of his argument for a deal, accusing Twitter of failing its users to date.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk reacts at a post-launch news conference after the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft, lifted off on an ...

CNBC's Jim Cramer agreed, adding that he doesn't expect the company to post a good quarter. The company had been expected to provide an update by the time it reports its latest financial results on Thursday, if not before. Musk is offering $54.20 per share, while the stock was trading just above $50 on Monday afternoon.

Twitter is gearing up to accept Musk's original $43 billion offer. Apparently he wasn't just trolling.

Musk first announced his offer to buy the social media company at around $54.20 per share on April 14. In premarket trading, they reached about $51.50 per share, but at the time of writing, had fallen to around $50.7. Although the deal is unconfirmed, both the Times and Reuters reported that sources tell them a deal could be finalized and made public later today. If Musk makes the purchase, Twitter would no longer be a publicly traded company, but instead, private. Important to point out though, it literally isn’t. The first amendment doesn’t protect anyone’s right to post on Twitter. Though Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, seemingly doesn’t understand that. Any moment now, a deal between between Twitter’s 11-member board and Elon Musk could be announced.

Workers say they have been left largely in the dark about what a sale to the billionaire would mean for them and their shares in the company.

The stress at the mention of Mr. Musk is a stark contrast to the welcome he enjoyed from employees two years ago. But other employees have argued in internal messages seen by The Times that their co-workers have shifted too far to the left side of the political spectrum, making employees who support Mr. Musk’s plans too uncomfortable to speak up. Mr. Musk, after all, fought with officials in California to keep his car factory open early in the pandemic. Employees said they feared missing out on the long-term value of their stock at Mr. Musk’s price of $54.20 per share. “This is meant to provide some peace of mind and explain how these things typically work, not because we believe there will be one outcome versus another,” he wrote in messages to employees reviewed by The Times. As the takeover fight played out over the last two weeks, Twitter employees said they were frustrated that they had heard little from management about what it meant for them, even as Twitter closed in on a deal with Mr. Musk on Monday morning. Twitter’s recruiting problem could balloon further if current employees quit, as some have warned they would do if Mr. Musk took over. One of the top concerns among Twitter workers is whether they will take a financial hit from Mr. Musk’s acquisition. They see Mr. Musk’s proposal to revert to Twitter’s early, lax approach as a rebuke of their work. After years of leadership squabbles, demands for change from activist investors and the boundary-testing tweets of former President Donald J. Trump, Twitter’s more than 7,000 employees are accustomed to turmoil. As the board of directors confers with bankers, lawyers and expensive public relations firms, employees are often kept in the dark. Employees said they had largely stopped celebrating the richest man in the world since he declared his intent this month to buy Twitter, scrap its content moderation policies and transform the publicly traded company into a private one.

Elon Musk has said he wants to promote free and open speech on the service, which he has said he sees as an essential place for sharing viewpoints.

Here’s what he’s said about his plan and how fast he could change things. Musk offered $54.20 per share for Twitter and outlined his plan to secure $46.5 billion to finance his deal.

Twitter initially rebuffed Musk's bid, but it will now ask shareholders to vote to approve the US$44 billion deal.

However, he will take on a company with a chequered record of financial performance. It has drawn critics from left and right over its efforts to mediate misinformation on the platform. Musk's targeting of Twitter has moved at remarkable speed. However, its stance shifted after Musk revealed more financial details about his proposed bid. He also leads the aerospace firm SpaceX. "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," he said in a statement announcing the deal.

Before Twitter accepted Musk's $44 billion offer, he has floated numerous ideas for changing the social network. Not all of those proposals have been ...

You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.

Billionaire's buyout of social media company reignites debate about leaving the platform but is it too soon to act – and where could you go?

The easiest way to do that is through the “Settings and privacy” tab in the menu of the Twitter app. It really comes down to why you used Twitter in the first place. It’s partially why Musk might have been motivated to buy Twitter rather than starting his own social media site, like others, including Trump, have attempted. If you’ve stuck with what many people call “the hell site” for this long, it’s questionable whether Musk taking it over will be some sort of final straw. The Guardian asked Twitter what data was retained once a user permanently deletes their account. Musk has suggested he is a “free speech absolutist”.

"Advertisers may shift budgets to other channels given brand safety concerns," JMP analysts wrote in a Tuesday note.

Those ad budgets would likely shift to other platforms like Snap, Pinterest and TikTok, the firm said. In 2017, brands like Coca-Cola and Microsoft pulled ad spend from YouTube over the misplacement of ads next to extremist content. As part of the "StopHateForProfit" campaign against Facebook in July 2020, major advertisers from Unilever to Starbucks announced various pauses in spending.

Twitter locked down its source code to prevent unauthorized changes, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg. The reports say that this change was ...

You can select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Click here to find out more about our partners. - Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address

Musk, the C.E.O. of Tesla and the richest man on earth, plans to take the social-media company private, and has said that he wants Twitter to adhere more ...

And I think people are recognizing that Elon Musk has created a lot of value for his companies by being unhinged on Twitter. And I think there are imitators, and I think we’re kind of early in the game. If you are the richest person in the world, and annoying, and you constantly play a computer game, and you get a lot of enjoyment and sense of identity from that game, maybe a little addicted, then at some point you might have some suggestions for improvements in the game.” At one level, this is a more personal account of his desire to buy Twitter. And then there is the more financial, or business, account, which you have just explained. But, at the same time, it almost seems like it’s impossible to disaggregate those two things, unless you think that all of his behavior is some elaborate performance or something, which I don’t think anyone really believes. He might say, “Look, I get so much value out of this direct access to the public.” Owning that direct access to the public—owning that thing that creates so much value for Elon Musk and Tesla—it has to be valuable somehow, whether it’s by increasing the value that it creates for Tesla, or whether it’s by finding a way to monetize the value that it creates for sports stars and celebrities and Donald Trump and lots of other people. It’s not obvious how the company would, but if you’re sitting on top of a thing that can create that much value, surely, if you’re really smart then you can extract some value out of it. And those expectations are probably helped by having a charismatic, noisy founder who makes a lot of jokes online and is sort of a science-fiction character himself, and portrays himself as a science-fiction character, and who appeals to people who like that by making jokes. The value of his company is enhanced by his being a very strange public figure on Twitter, and so he clearly sees a lot of value in tweeting, and probably wants to own that for himself. And the stock-market value of Tesla, which makes Elon Musk the richest person in the world, comes from a lot of extreme optimism about Tesla’s future ability to make more cars and become the dominant player in car-making as cars become more electric. And so the value of these companies in the market is largely derived from expectations around how much money they’ll make in the future, as opposed to how much money they’ve made in the past. It’s not obvious to me how, if he bought Twitter, he would then be better able to get his message out, or better able to tell a story in a way that is good for Tesla and good for his economic interests. So how much do you connect Tesla’s worth to Elon Musk as a person and the way he orients himself toward the world, especially on Twitter? To talk about Musk and what the future holds for his newest acquisition, I spoke by phone with Matt Levine, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist who has been comprehensively reporting on and analyzing this story over the past month in his newsletter.

On Monday, Twitter confirmed the billionaire and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX plans to acquire the social media company in a deal valued at $44 billion. Once the ...

Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. How is everyone responding to the idea of Twitter under new ownership? I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness." Reactions to the deal have been mixed. Musk has long criticized the platform for how it moderates content. What does Musk's plan mean for the future of Twitter and its users?

From Donald Trump to David Icke, many high-profile casualties of Twitter's policy enforcement have an interest in a new broom.

The former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard had his account permanently suspended in 2020 due to repeated violations of Twitter rules on hateful conduct. The British rightwing commentator’s account was permanently suspended in 2020 for violating the platform’s “hateful conduct” policy. One of the UK’s most prominent conspiracy theorists, Icke was banned in 2020 for violating policies on coronavirus misinformation. The personal account of the Republican Georgia congresswoman was suspended permanently in January this year for violating policies on coronavirus misinformation. Its success at going viral on Twitter had attracted hundreds of thousands of followers, including MPs and government ministers. The two accounts had about 1.3 million followers combined.

Twitter has agreed to sell itself to Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

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. UPDATE: In his first tweet since the news became official, Musk posted an excerpt of the Twitter press release, quoting him as saying: “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. Twitter has agreed to sell itself to Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. "Once completed, the richest person in the world will own arguably the most influential social platform in the world, though from a business and user standpoint Twitter is significantly smaller than companies like Facebook or TikTok," says The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Weprin." In a tweet hours before the deal was approved, Musk tweeted: "I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means."

Analysis: From founder Jack Dorsey to dotcom pioneer Martha Lane Fox … the big players in line for big payouts.

In 2021 they bought 2.2m shares at an average price of $31, for example, which would be worth a $50m profit at Musk’s offer price. Nonetheless, many now fear Musk’s acquisition will mean missing out on the long-term value of stock they hold. Twitter’s employees have benefited from a generous share scheme, introduced in 2013, taking as much as 50% of their earnings in stock options. Those securities would be worth over $2.2bn at Musk’s price. Other board members hold shares too, and would collect smaller amounts. Dorsey, who stepped down as chief executive last year after pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, still owns 18m shares, or almost 2.4% of its stock, worth $978m at Musk’s agreed offer of $54.20.

Twitter is reportedly set to accept billionaire Elon Musk's offer to purchase every share of the social media giant for about $43 billion.

Musk says he wants to be more judicious and lenient when it comes to deleting tweets and permanently banning users. The billionaire has been a vocal critic of Twitter's perceived flaws when it comes to free speech. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company. You know, timeouts I think are better than sort of permanent bans. “However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” Musk said in a SEC regulatory filing.

After weeks of speculation, Elon Musk will buy social media platform Twitter for $44 billion, PBS NewsHour spoke to three experts in the fields of social ...

And I think we’re going to see that more and more around the world and that’s going to create constraints on his ability to change the rules internationally, too. And so I think that as he kind of relaxes the rules, let’s say, the kind of harm that people see here may be less evident than what people see in other countries where it’s already hard to get the platform to enforce its rules. So, that globally could be even worse, and just over time, I think people will just find it less and less valuable as a place to go if it doesn’t have those kinds of constraints set for it.” We know that Facebook has dramatically under-invested in human moderation in languages other than English. So, if you live outside the U.S. and English is not your first language, your speech on the platform is much more likely to be moderated by robots essentially, than by humans, and robots are not very good at detecting things like satire or nuance or humor, which means that that leads to over-removal of legitimate content by people outside the U.S., and then under-removal of harmful content that does violate terms of service. And if they do, I think people will start to really kind of become frustrated with Twitter. They’ll see it as I think many people saw it five, six years ago, which was a place for Nazis and white supremacists, and others who really just want to use and weaponize the platform for propaganda.” But I think another kind of possibility would be for him to essentially move in a direction of [understanding] that free speech is not just about the speaker, but it’s also about audiences. But he should adopt essentially a human rights approach and say, “This platform is about expanding everybody’s access to information, everybody’s right to freedom of expression, and I want this platform to be the best that it can be in doing that.” David Kaye: “One, is he has talked about transparency and I think there is a lot of value to opening up Twitter — and all of the platforms — to greater disclosure about how they make their rules and how they enforce them. If Elon comes in and changes the way the rules are adopted and the way they’re enforced I think it can just undermine people’s interest in using the platform. But I also think that he’ll figure out pretty quickly that Twitter has rules in order to expand freedom of expression and he’ll probably come to appreciate them the more he’s there and sort of working on making it a better platform.” But to me, this isn’t about Elon Musk. It’s about the fact that we just should not live in a world where one person making the decision to purchase one website or app can have such a profound impact on millions of people’s speech and safety. Roy Gutterman: “There are plenty of other businesses and entities that have single owners or private owners or answer to shareholders.

The social media company has announced a deal that would see the billionaire acquire Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, or approximately $44 billion.

“Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.” Twitter’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, said “Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world,” adding he’s “deeply proud” of their teams and is inspired “by the work that has never been more important,” in response to a tweet that announced the multibillion-dollar deal. “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 said in a post Monday afternoon.

Nanjala Nyabola is a political analyst and the author of "Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics". Published On 26 Apr 202226 Apr 2022.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk lined up a combination of loans and his own equity commitment in getting Twitter to agree to a $44 billion take-private deal. Suzanne ...

It is expected to close later in 2022. On Monday, Twitter (ticker: TWTR) accepted Musk’s $54.20-a-share offer for the social-media platform. Twitter Is Stuck With Musk’s $44 Billion Deal

Twitter's new owner Elon Musk says everyone will have a place on the platform—including those he doesn't like. Even so, one user suspects his days on the ...

Twitter's board of directors agreed to sell the social media company to the Tesla CEO for $44 billion on Monday.

However, shareholders can hold a vote at any time. Twitter’s board agreed to Musk’s “best and final offer” of $54.20-a-share 11 days after the world’s richest man made the initial unsolicited bid. Following the board’s unanimous acceptance Monday, Twitter chairman Bret Taylor said the deal “will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter's stockholders.” The deal is expected to be finalized before the end of the year.

While Musk taking Twitter private may have seemed all but inevitable after he secured the funding, I don't know as if anyone could have predicted this would ...

Slow Ventures, a Boston and San Francisco-based venture capital firm, hired Megan Lightcap, Clay Robbins, and Yoni Rechtman as investors. Its fifth seed fund raised $195 million and is focused on seed and pre-seed companies. Its second opportunity fund raised $130 million and is focused on later staged companies. A Bloomberg investigation in 2019 revealed that Musk personally set out to take down a Tesla whistleblower, who had stated to the press that inefficiencies at the company’s Nevada battery plant was costing Tesla around $150 million. Tesla’s PR department allegedly spread rumors that the whistleblower was homicidal and had planned shooting at a Tesla factory, and Musk questioned on Twitter whether the Business Insider reporter was an inside trading source for Tesla short-sellers and stated that an ex-Tesla employee went on record stating that she had bribed him. Musk also plans to take aim at the plethora of bots and crypto scammers roaming the platform, and he has suggested putting less emphasis on ads in the company’s revenue model. Social media, just as it has brought people and new voices to the table, has also become a daunting—and in many cases, a downright dangerous—haven of the internet. It’s a decision that sparked widespread controversy and became a symbol to a much larger, decades-old question: Where exactly should a company draw the line? A host of investors seem to believe that a Musk-era will usher in a new age of free speech on Twitter. You also have the camp of Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s co-founder and current board member, who says that taking Twitter back from Wall Street “is the correct first step” after the social media network’s era running under an advertising model. But is Musk the one to fix it? The network made a landmark decision to ban former President Donald Trump from its platform last year after the company determined that his tweets had violated their policies and incited violence during the Capitol riots on Jan. 6. “Certainly being a public company has not been the right ownership model to make the big fundamental changes which are badly needed.”