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First, Elon Musk became the largest shareholder of Twitter with the purchase of 9.2% of the company. The Twitter board offered Musk a seat, but the billionaire turned it down, aiming to flatten his second move: the hostile takeover of all Twitter, with an offer well above the company’s current value.
It is clear that Elon Musk does not want to own Twitter to get rich, but for ideological reasons. In the first place, Musk has been one of the biggest personalities to denounce the company’s censorship, lack of freedom and intolerance. His goal is to exploit Twitter’s potential to the fullest, turning it into a space where freedom of expression reigns supreme. There is no doubt that we all want Twitter to pass into Musk’s hands.
Well, not everybody…
Major media outlets like the The New York Times, Bloomberg or The Washington Post reacted against Musk. Dozens of left-wing influencers attacked the South African entrepreneur. Even an MSNBC host had a moment of honesty and said that Musk must be opposed because “he wants to control how people think… And that’s our job.” That last sentence makes it clear why there has been a virulent reaction from the totalitarian, censorious left against Elon Musk’s intentions.
However, it’s not just users who have reacted against Musk. One of the company’s major shareholders as well: it turns out that Saudi prince Al Waleed Bin Talal, who owns a large number of Twitter shares, doesn’t like Musk’s offer. Yes, the prince of a totalitarian monarchy, which suppresses freedoms and murders journalists, is currently one of Twitter’s major shareholders. The man, by the way, has also been accused of funding the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda.
So those who react against Musk buying the company do so because they find it nonsensical that a man like him controls the leading discussion and interaction platform of the moment. Yes, they hate that a man with Musk’s values owns Twitter; they prefer the company to be in the hands of people like Morgan Stanley or the Saudi Arabian royal family—accused, by the way, of using Twitter employees to spy on dissidents of the monarchy.
Behind all this scandal is a deep-seated terror of free speech. That people on Twitter with whom the progressive left dissents, can say what they don’t like. But, in the end, as Musk himself said, that’s what free speech is all about: that “people you don’t like can say things you don’t like.”
Orlando Avendaño is the co-editor-in-chief of El American. He is a Venezuelan journalist and has studies in the History of Venezuela. He is the author of the book Days of submission // Orlando Avendaño es el co-editor en Jefe de El American. Es periodista venezolano y cuenta con estudios en Historia de Venezuela. Es autor del libro Días de sumisión.