Democracy and decency on the brink
It seems that Elon Musk, the architect of Tesla and CEO of SpaceX, may have backed Twitter in a tight corner with his take-it or leave-it purchase offer of $43 billion. A Smooth chess move to dominate the social media space and take over Twitter 100 percent.
How did all this begin? Earlier this month, we learned that the conceited billionaire took a 9.2% stake in Twitter Inc., making him the biggest shareholder of the social media platform. Although 9.2% was not his original purchase, we later found out that he made a 5% purchase and waited to disclose this information to the public until he almost doubled his stake so that he could influence the stock price and the market.
A strategy like this by a powerful market influencer like Musk may be illegal and violative of regulatory deadlines. At least according to a lawsuit filed against him in a federal court in New York.
In less than ten days after becoming the top shareholder of Twitter, Musk dropped a bombshell on Wall Street and rattled Twitter with an announcement to brazenly buy it over and own it outrightly, claiming that Twitter is not living up to his full potential. A very sinister motive but veiled by entrepreneurial shrewdness
In his Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing to Twitter CEO, he wrote: “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. However, since making my investment, I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.
As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder. Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.”
It would be quite an aggressive and astute business proposition only if it were all about making Twitter better. But when you read between the lines of his statement and begin to remove the layers, you’ll quickly realize that there is more to his free speech sermon than what he would have us believe.
Musk is no stranger to controversial comments filled with conspiracy theories and sometimes outright offensive remarks. His statements are mostly made on Twitter and other social media.
When we were first introduced to his wacky tweets, he wrote that “humanity could be saved by colonizing other planets with the same characteristics as our Earth.” Does anything good come out of colonization? Perhaps Musk needs to ask more than half of the world population who suffered under colonization whether they would like a replay.
Last year, he urged that “people should have more sex to populate Earth.”
Well, thanks, Elon; we know that already. We do not need sex advice from you or how we should manage our bedroom business.
But is Earth really that under-populated? Or is there something else to it?
His tweet would have been genuine if it was not lifted from the grab bag of pro-lifers and abortion crackdown right-wingers.
Then in 2018, he made an April fool prank on investors that Tesla had gone bankrupt. That wasn’t funny at all because people’s investments went in the toilet because of his deadpan attempt to humor himself.
There is more to his foot-in-mouth disease. And this one cost him dearly. On August 7, 2018, he Twitted, “I Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured.”
Those words caused the SEC to bring the hammer on him. They slapped him with a lawsuit, and the consequence was dire. He was fined $20 million and forced to step down from Tesla Board of Directors.
I can go on and on.
Let’s not be fooled; Elon Musk’s latest gambit to own Twitter is less about capitalism or doing big and worthy things but more about attempting to reintroduce lies, hate speech, and conspiracy theories into Twitter, like his comrade, Donald Trump.
By owing Twitter, he can allow the free rein of dangerous comments like the one that led to the insurrection and the deleterious attempt to take down the U.S. government on January 6, 2021, by Trump and his foot soldiers.
Take note that Trump had tens of millions of followers, which he could not export from Twitter after he was banned for inciting violence. Apparently, Musk doesn’t like that idea, so he is making this play. The man feared that he might face the same faith as the Donald with his reckless mouth, risking his Twitter influence with his 81 million followers.
So, conclusively, not a bad move to take over Twitter, some will argue, and Trump’s acolytes and the Republican Party are already salivating at the idea of Musk’s ownership of the platform, eagerly drooling, awaiting the return of their spiritual father and champion to social media.
Here is the dilemma Twitter is in:
If it snubs Musk’s offer to seize control of its platform, the latter could dump all his stakes causing Twitter stocks to reel and assuredly nosedive. A falling Twitter stock could incur the wrath of its shareholders and a lawsuit slapped against it for making a wrongheaded decision.
If Twitter accepts Musk’s offer, the platform is changed forever. A Musk 100 percent ownership will usher in the return of hate mongers. Fermenting the cravings of the worst of us, becoming an arena for insane and incendiary speech, lies, psychopathic, and seditious behavior
In essence, Twitter is damned if it accepts and damned if it doesn’t. With billions of cash to throw around, Elon Musk is the worst nightmare of Twitter and decency in our social media space.
Email: JLaBode74@gmail.com
Twitter: @Obanor
