Elon Musk has an agreement to acquire Twitter for about US$44B

On Monday, Elon Musk agreed to buy Twitter for approximately US$44 billion. He promised a more gentle approach to controlling content on the social media platform, where he – who is the world’s wealthiest person – promotes himself, attacks critics, and pontificates on a variety of topics to his more than 83,000,000 followers.

Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, is outspoken saidHe wanted to buy and privatize Twitter as he believes it isn’t living up to its potential for free speech.

Musk said in a joint statement with Twitter that he wants to make the service “better than ever” with new features while getting rid of automated “spam” accounts and making its algorithms open to the public to increase trust.

“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,” the 50-year-old Musk saidIn a tweet, I added rocket emojis, hearts, stars, as well as rocket emojis, to make the statement more memorable.

Musk’s vision of content moderation being more laissez-faire has many users worried that it will be more open to bullying, disinformation and hate speech than it has been able to combat in recent years. Wall Street analysts saidIf he takes it too far, it can also lead to the exclusion of advertisers.

Two weeks after Musk first disclosed a 9% stake in the platform, the deal was finally sealed. Musk saidLast week, he announced that he had secured $46.5 billion of financing to purchase Twitter. This put pressure on Twitter’s board to make a deal.

Twitter saidThe transaction was unanimously approved and will close in 2022. This is subject to regulatory approval and shareholder approval.

Twitter Inc. shares rose by more than 5% Monday, to $51.70 per Share. Musk made an offer to purchase Twitter on April 14 for $54.20 per shares. Although the stock has risen sharply since Musk’s offer, it still remains well below its February 2021 high of $77 per Share.

Musk has described himself as a “free-speech absolutist” but is also known for blocking or disparaging other Twitter users who question or disagree with him.

In recent weeks, he has proposed relaxing Twitter content restrictions – such as the rules that suspended former President Donald Trump’s account – while ridding the platform of fake “spambot” accounts and shifting away advertising as its primary revenue model. Musk believes subscriptions that offer better customer experiences – perhaps even an ad free version – can increase his revenue.

Asked during a recent TED interview if there are any limits to his notion of “free speech,” Musk saidTwitter would adhere to national laws that limit speech across the globe. He would also adhere to any other national laws. said, he’d be “very reluctant” to delete posts or permanently banning users who violate the company’s rules.

It won’t be perfect, Musk added, “but I think we want it to really have the perception and reality that speech is as free as reasonably possible.”

The NAACP issued a statement after the announcement urging Musk to not allow Trump (45th president) back on the platform.

“Do not allow 45 to return to the platform,” the civil rights organization saidIn a statement. “Do not allow Twitter to become a petri dish for hate speech or falsehoods that subvert our democracy.”

Trump, as both a presidential candidate and a president, made Twitter an effective megaphone to speak directly to the public. Trump often used incendiary, divisive language about hot-button subjects, and frequently used divisive language. After the Jan. 6 storming, Trump was banned permanently from the service.

Advertisers, who are Twitter’s biggest customers, also supported the stricter content rules Musk criticized. Keeping them happy requires moderation limiting hate speech so that brands aren’t trying to promote their products next to “calls for genocide,” saidSiva Vaidhyanathan is a professor of media studies at the University of Virginia.

“If Musk either fires or drives away the team at Twitter that’s committed to keeping it clean and making it less hate-filled, he’ll see an immediate drop in user activity,” said Vaidhyanathan. “I think he’s going to find pretty fast that inviting the bigots back in is bad for business.”

Some users saidMonday, they announced that they would quit the platform if Musk takes it over. To which he responded on Twitter: “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”

Musk’s tweets have also caused problems with federal officials. Some of these tweets were used to ridicule regulators at Securities and Exchange Commission.

Musk, in August 2018, claimed that he had the money to take Tesla private at $420 per share. But a court found that it was not true. Musk continues to fight an SEC investigation. Musk also appeared to have broken SEC rules that required him disclose that he had acquired a 5% share in Twitter. He waited until he owned more than 9. Experts agree that these issues won’t affect Musk’s Twitter acquisition.

Twitter’s user base, at more than 200,000,000, is still smaller than Facebook and TikTok. But, celebrities, world leaders and journalists love Twitter. Musk is a prolific Twitterer, with a following that rivals many pop stars among the top accounts.

Last week, he saidAccording to SEC documents, the money would have come from Morgan Stanley and other banks. Some of it was secured by his large stake in Tesla, an electric-vehicle manufacturer he owns.

Musk’s fortune is estimated to be nearly $268 billion. Much of it is held in Tesla stock and SpaceX his privately-held space company. It is not clear how much cash Musk has.

In 1999, Musk made his fortune when he sold Zip2, an internet mapping and business directory to Compaq for $307million. His share was used to create PayPal, an online service that allowed customers to pay businesses directly and bypassed banks. In 2002, it was sold to eBay at a price of $1.5 billion.

Musk, who was frustrated with NASA’s inability to pay for interplanetary travel, founded Space Exploration Technologies that same year. SpaceX was able to develop reusable rockets that were cost-effective.

Musk was approached by Tesla to invest in them. At the time, Tesla was a startup that was trying to create an electric vehicle. Musk was eventually appointed CEO, and led the company’s meteoric rise to the top as the world’s most valuable automaker.

Musk’s promise that Twitter would be free to express itself could make Donald Trump’s controversial Truth Social app less appealing. Trump has referred to it as a competitor to Twitter, and said it would cater to conservatives. Trump’s media company now includes Truth Social. His shares in DWAC are set to go public by Digital World Acquisition Corp.

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Krisher reported from Detroit. O’Brien was reporting from Providence, Rhode Island. Reporting by O’Brien was made possible by Marcy Gordon (AP Business Writers), Barbara Ortutay (Oakland, Calif.), and Kelvin Chan (London).