The richest man in the world Elon Musk has clinched a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion cash, in a transaction that will shift control of the social media platform.
The deal has resulted in both cheers and fears of the billionaire’s “free speech” plan for the social media site. Musk calls himself a free speech absolutist and has criticized Twitter’s moderation. He wants Twitter’s algorithm for prioritizing tweets to be made public and objects to giving too much power on the site to corporations that advertise there.
Conservatives and the far-right are celebrating Musk’s purchase, cheering the prospect of fewer controls.
But some human rights activists fear there will be a drastic rise in hate speech.
The deal also marks another moment in an ongoing tradition of billionaires buying control of influential media platforms. In 2013, Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post, for example.
The deal between Musk and Twitter accelerated over the weekend after Musk wooed Twitter shareholders with financing details of his offer. Twitter fell under pressure to negotiate and began discussions with Musk to buy the company at his proposal of $54.20 a share.
Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted about the deal late Monday night, thanking both Musk and the current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal for “getting the company out of an impossible situation.”
After weeks of discussions, the company said it will accept Musk’s one and only offer. The Tesla CEO bought a 9 percent stake in Twitter earlier in April, flirted with the idea of taking a board seat, and then said he would actually want to buy the whole company.
Regulators still need to approve the deal. Despite Musk’s tense history with them, the agreement is expected to close later in 2022. Twitter still has about 217 million daily users, including politicians, world leaders, and celebrities.
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