The business news of the hour: Elon Musk seeking to buy Twitter for US$43B
I don’t know what’s going on there.
Here’s less than 280 characters resuming the saga:
Elon Musk went from:
1. teasing changes to twitter over a poll
2. buying a 9.2% stake
3. accepting then declining a board seat
4. getting sued by twitter shareholders over delayed disclosure
5. offering to buy ALL of twitter
in just a few weeks. absolute rollercoaster
— litquidity (@litcapital) April 14, 2022
Q1 2022 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
I “like” Twitter. But it’s a savage place. However the FinTwit community is great. It’s my social media of choice. I also like Reddit but barely used it. Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat, Tik Tok…it’s just too much.I have a hard time figuring out Elon Musk. On one hand, I admire the guy. The entrepreneur, the visionary, the dreamer, no project is too big. He’s the CEO of a company that landed a rocket on a barge in the middle of the ocean. A guy that wants to save the world. A new version of Thomas Edison. The world needs more of that version of Elon.
On the other hand, we have Elon that says dumb stuff on Twitter. We have Elon, the fraudulent promoter (remember the fake solar panel tiles demonstration among other things). When you are asking yourself if what he’s doing is illegal, you are answering your own question. The SEC went after people for a lot less.
#1 Why does he care about Twitter so much? I know he has labeled himself a free speech absolutist. It’s a noble cause. But Twitter is not a public square. It’s a private platform. It has rules. And there should be. If there are too many shitty people on it, the good people will just go somewhere else. It’s like that anywhere. When you go to different establishments, there are rules and codes. I don’t see it as an attack on liberty or personal rights.
I believe in free speech too. It’s a fundamental pillar of a democratic society. I don’t think we should censor people that have different opinions than us. We shouldn’t censor people that say things we don’t like. It’s a slippery slope. But when your platform is being used for disinformation, lies, and subverting democracy by foreign powers, it’s hurting society, not helping it. Free speech shouldn’t be manipulating people. Five years ago flat earth theory wasn’t a thing. Now they have a conference.
#2 Why does he care about Twitter so much? It goes back to I don’t get it. Doesn’t he have something more important to do with his time? There are so many causes more worthy of his time. Wouldn’t his time be better spent on building a base on Mars?
Maybe Twitter is a better business than Tesla and SpaceX. Twitter hasn’t been FCF positive (excluding stock based compensation) in years. But it’s probably easier to run Twitter than a car company.
Article by Brian Langis
