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Businessman and U.S. political figure
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...
initiated an acquisition of the American
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
company
Twitter, Inc. Twitter, Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the V ...
on April 14, 2022, and concluded it on October 27, 2022. Musk had begun buying shares of the company in January 2022, becoming its largest shareholder by April with a 9.1 percent ownership stake. Twitter invited Musk to join its
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
, an offer he initially accepted before declining. On April 14, Musk made an unsolicited offer to purchase the company, to which Twitter's board responded with a " poison pill" strategy to resist a
hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (law), company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast t ...
before unanimously accepting Musk's buyout offer of $44 billion on April 25. Musk stated that he planned to introduce new features to the platform, make its algorithms
open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
, combat
spambot A spambot is a computer program designed to assist in the sending of spam. Spambots usually create accounts and send spam messages with them. Web hosts and website operators have responded by banning spammers, leading to an ongoing struggle betwee ...
accounts, and promote
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...
, framing the acquisition as the cornerstone of X, an " everything app". In July, Musk announced his intention to terminate the agreement, asserting that Twitter had breached their agreement by refusing to crack down on spambot accounts. The company filed a lawsuit against Musk in the
Delaware Court of Chancery The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court. Since 2018, the court consists of seven judges. The cour ...
shortly thereafter, with a trial scheduled for the week of October 17. Weeks before the trial was set to begin, Musk reversed course, announcing that he would move forward with the acquisition. The deal was closed on October 28, with Musk immediately becoming Twitter's new owner and CEO. Twitter was taken private and merged into a new
parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...
named X Corp. Musk promptly fired several top executives, including previous CEO
Parag Agrawal Parag Agrawal (; born 21 May 1984) is an Indian-born American software engineer and businessman who was the CEO of Twitter, Inc. from November 2021 to October 2022. Early life and education Agrawal was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan. His father wa ...
. Musk has since proposed several reforms to Twitter and laid off half of the company's workforce. Hundreds of employees then resigned from the company after Musk issued an ultimatum demanding they commit to "extremely hardcore" work.
Linda Yaccarino Linda Yaccarino (born December 21, 1963) is an American media proprietor serving since June 2023 as chief executive officer (CEO) of X Corp., X Corp. She previously served as chairwoman of global advertising & partnerships at NBCUniversal from 2 ...
was appointed CEO of X Corp. In July 2023, the
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
service was rebranded as X. Reactions to the buyout were mixed, with praise for Musk's planned reforms and vision for the company, particularly his calls for greater free speech, but criticism over fears of a potential rise in misinformation and disinformation,
harassment Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates, and intimidates a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and ...
, and
hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
on the platform. Within the United States,
conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
have largely supported the acquisition, while many liberals and former Twitter employees have voiced concerns about Musk's intentions. Since becoming owner, Musk has faced backlash for his handling of the company and account suspensions, including the December 2022 suspensions of ten journalists.


Prelude


Background

Businessman
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...
published his first tweet on his personal
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
account in June 2010, and had more than 80 million followers by April 2022. In 2017, in response to a tweet suggesting that he buy
Twitter, Inc. Twitter, Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the V ...
, Musk replied, "How much is it?" On March 24, 2022, Musk began tweeting criticisms of Twitter, polling his followers on whether the company adhered to the principle that "free speech is essential to a functioning democracy". Days later, he discussed the future of social media with Twitter co-founder and former CEO
Jack Dorsey Jack Patrick Dorsey (born November 19, 1976) is an American businessperson, who is a co-founder of Twitter, Inc. and its CEO during 2007–2008 and 2015–2021, as well as co-founder, principal executive officer and chairman of Block, Inc. (deve ...
and explored the possibility of joining Twitter's
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
with
private equity firm A private equity firm or private equity company (often described as a financial sponsor) is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of a Startup company, startup or of an existin ...
Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban. He relayed this idea to Twitter board chair
Bret Taylor Bret Steven Taylor (born 1980) is an American computer programmer and entrepreneur. He is most notable for leading the team that co-created Google Maps and his tenures as the CTO of Facebook (now Meta Platforms), as the chairman of Twitter, Inc.' ...
and CEO
Parag Agrawal Parag Agrawal (; born 21 May 1984) is an Indian-born American software engineer and businessman who was the CEO of Twitter, Inc. from November 2021 to October 2022. Early life and education Agrawal was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan. His father wa ...
, proposing to either take the company private or start a rival social media platform. Dorsey responded to Musk with a text message, saying he hoped Twitter could become
open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
d and that he had unsuccessfully pushed for Musk's induction into Twitter's board a year earlier, a move that had prompted his departure from his role as CEO.


Early developments

Musk began purchasing Twitter
stock Stocks (also capital stock, or sometimes interchangeably, shares) consist of all the Share (finance), shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided. A single share of the stock means fractional ownership of the corporatio ...
on January 31, 2022. On April 4, he announced that he had acquired 9.2 percent of the company's shares totaling $2.64 billion, making him the company's largest
shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of corporate stock refers to an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the ...
. Following the announcement, Twitter's stock experienced its largest intraday surge since the company's
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
(IPO) in 2013, rising by as much as 27 percent. The next day, Twitter invited Musk to join the company's board, which Musk accepted. This had been recommended to the board by Twitter's Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee three days earlier, with some board members expressing concern about potential "adverse impacts on stockholder value". The position would have prohibited Musk from going beyond a 14.9 percent ownership stake and limited his ability to speak publicly about the company. That day, Musk phoned Dorsey, who declined Musk's suggestion for him to remain on the board. On April 11, after publishing several tweets critical of the company, Musk announced he had decided not to join the board. Instead, he informed Twitter that he intended to make an offer to take the company private. On April 12, Twitter's board met with lawyers and financial advisors to deliberate the ramifications of such a deal as well as their options, while a company shareholder sued Musk for allegedly manipulating the company's stock price and violating
Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
(SEC) rules.


Buyout offer


Takeover bid

On April 14, 2022, Musk made an unsolicited and non-binding offer to Twitter to purchase the company for $43 billion, or $54.20 per share, and take it private. Though the offer was made to company management, the bid was described as a
hostile takeover In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company (law), company (the ''target'') by another (the ''acquirer'' or ''bidder''). In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are publicly listed, in contrast t ...
attempt because of the implied threat to purchase the outstanding stock if management declined. The board responded that it would "carefully review the proposal". In a TED interview, Musk said he aimed to make Twitter a "platform for free speech around the globe", hailing
free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...
as a "societal imperative for a functioning democracy" and insisting that he had not made the offer to increase his wealth. Critics noted that he showed more interest in altering Twitter's
moderation Moderation is the process or trait of eliminating, lessening, or avoiding extremes. It is used to ensure normality throughout the medium on which it is being conducted. Common uses of moderation include: * A way of life emphasizing perfect amo ...
policies than in fighting government censorship. According to ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', the banning of accounts such as ''
The Babylon Bee ''The Babylon Bee'' is a conservative Christian news satire website that publishes satirical articles on topics including religion, politics, current events, and public figures. History ''The Babylon Bee'' was founded by Adam Ford and was la ...
'' had prompted Musk to initiate the acquisition. The price of $54.20 per share is believed to be a reference to
420 420 may refer to: Science and technology * 420 (number), in mathematics * 420 Bertholda, a main-belt asteroid * 4:2:0, a chroma subsampling layout Cannabis culture * 420 (cannabis culture), informal reference to cannabis use and celebrations ...
, a slang term in
cannabis culture Cannabis culture describes a social atmosphere or series of associated social behaviors that depend heavily upon cannabis consumption, particularly as an entheogen, recreational drug and medicine. Historically, cannabis has been used as an ...
for marijuana consumption. On April 15, Twitter's board of directors announced a " poison pill" strategy which would allow shareholders to purchase additional stock in the event of a hostile takeover; the plan expired on April 14, 2023. On April 17, Taylor was urged by Twitter's largest institutional shareholders to "seriously consider" the offer. On April 20, Musk disclosed that he had secured financing provided by a group of banks led by
Morgan Stanley Morgan Stanley is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 42 countries and more than 80,000 employees, the firm's clients in ...
,
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
,
Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...
,
MUFG is a Japanese bank holding and financial services company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. MUFG was created in 2005 by merger between and UFJ Holdings (株式会社UFJホールディングス; ''kabushikigaisha yūefujei hōrudingusu'' ...
,
Société Générale Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English-speaking countries as SocGen (), is a French multinational universal bank and financial services company founded in 1864. It is registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby i ...
,
Mizuho Bank is the integrated retail and corporate banking unit of Mizuho Financial Group (; ). It is one of the largest financial services company in Japan with total assets of approximately $1.9 trillion USD in 2023, and considered one of Japan's three ...
, and
BNP Paribas BNP Paribas (; sometimes referred to as BNPP or BNP) is a French multinational universal bank and financial services holding company headquartered in Paris. It was founded in 2000 from the merger of two of France's foremost financial instituti ...
, for a potential
tender offer In corporate finance, a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation (usually announced in a newspaper advertisement) by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corp ...
to acquire the company. The funding included $7 billion of senior secured bank loans; $6 billion in
subordinated debt In finance, subordinated debt (also known as subordinated loan, subordinated bond, subordinated debenture or junior debt) is debt which ranks after other debts if a company falls into liquidation or bankruptcy. Such debt is referred to as 'subord ...
; $6.25 billion in bank loans to Musk personally, secured by $62.5 billion of his Tesla stock; $20 billion in cash equity from Musk, to be provided by sales of Tesla stock and other assets; and $7.1 billion in equity from 19 independent investors. The initially proposed $13 billion in money borrowed by Twitter was equivalent to seven times the company's 2022 projected
operating cash flow In financial accounting, operating cash flow (OCF), cash flow provided by operations, cash flow from operating activities (CFO) or free cash flow from operations (FCFO), refers to the amount of cash a company generates from the revenues it brings i ...
; some banks found that multiple too risky and opted to participate only in the $12.5 billion
margin loan In finance, margin is the collateral that a holder of a financial instrument has to deposit with a counterparty (most often their broker or an exchange) to cover some or all of the credit risk the holder poses for the counterparty. This risk ...
to Musk. The debt was estimated to cost Twitter approximately $1 billion in annual interest and fees. Two days after announcing his bid, Musk registered three holding companies under the name "X Holdings" in preparation for his takeover. Tesla shares fell 12 percent on the day after the acquisition was announced, amid smaller declines in the broader markets. Musk incurred a $21 billion paper loss that day.


Acquisition announcement

On April 23, Musk informed Taylor that his offer was "best and final", urging him to accept in a letter sent the following day. Multiple outlets subsequently reported that Twitter was in final negotiations to accept Musk's offer, with a deal expected to be reached by the next day, though
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
cautioned that the deal could still fall apart. On April 25, Twitter shares rose by 5 percent following reports that Twitter was poised to accept Musk's offer. Twitter advisors
Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered in Lower Manhattan in New York City, with regional headquarters in many internationa ...
and
JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...
approved of the deal, deeming it fair from a financial perspective. Twitter's board publicly and unanimously accepted the buyout offer for $44 billion, and Twitter was to become a private company once the transaction was completed sometime in 2022. Negotiations with Musk were led by the board's transaction committee, composed of Taylor,
Martha Lane Fox Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho (born 10 February 1973) is a British businesswoman, philanthropist and public servant. She co-founded Last Minute during the dotcom boom of the early 2000s and has subsequently served on public servi ...
, and
Patrick Pichette Patrick Pichette (born 1962) is a Canadian business executive and venture capitalist who was the senior vice president and the chief financial officer of Google from 2008 until 2015. He then became a venture capital fund manager, and is a dire ...
. The deal would require shareholder and
regulatory approval Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
before it could be finalized, though analysts believed it was unlikely to be challenged by regulators. Musk was barred from disparaging the company or its employees when tweeting about the acquisition before the transaction closed. The agreement also stipulated that if Musk failed to close the acquisition, he would be required to pay Twitter a $1 billion
breakup fee A breakup fee (sometimes called a termination fee) is a penalty set in takeover agreements, to be paid if the target backs out of a deal (usually because it has decided instead to accept a more attractive offer). The breakup fee is ostensibly to co ...
. Agrawal was set to receive $39 million from the buyout, while Dorsey would receive $978 million. Musk had privately selected a new CEO to replace Agrawal upon completion of the acquisition, though he was expected to serve as interim CEO in the months after its completion. Tesla's stock sank by more than $125 billion the next market day, causing Musk to lose about $30 billion of his
net worth Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, so net w ...
. Within three days after Twitter agreed to be acquired, Musk had sold $8.5 billion of his Tesla shares. After the acceptance was announced, Musk said that his first goal would be to make the
algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...
that ranks tweets in the content feed open-sourced, in an effort to increase transparency. He has also stated that he intended to remove
spambots A spambot is a computer program designed to assist in the sending of Spam (electronic), spam. Spambots usually create accounts and send spam messages with them. Web hosts and website operators have responded by banning spammers, leading to an ongo ...
and "authenticate all real humans", suggesting that he might convert Twitter's San Francisco headquarters into a
homeless shelter Homeless shelters are a type of service and total institution that provides temporary residence for homelessness, homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather whi ...
. Musk said he lacked confidence in Twitter's
corporate management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administr ...
, telling banks that he had considered reducing executive and board pay. He published tweets critical of decisions made by Twitter executives such as Vijaya Gadde, who was subsequently harassed by Twitter users using racist and sexist language. On April 28, Twitter told
advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...
that their work would not be seen next to offensive material. Musk also discussed with bankers with the ideas of cutting jobs and costs, encouraging
influencers A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...
to be creative, and adding
subscription services The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a Product (business), product or Service (business), service. The model Publication by subscription, was pioneer ...
to Twitter. On May 4, the
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, formerly the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, is one of the Select committee (United Kingdom), select committees of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, es ...
of the
House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...
summoned Musk to discuss the effect of his buyout on free speech and "online harms". Musk secured another $7.1 billion in funding the next day, including from
Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational computer technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Co-founded in 1977 in Santa Clara, California, by Larry Ellison, who remains executive chairman, Oracle was ...
co-founder
Larry Ellison Lawrence Joseph Ellison (born August 17, 1944) is an American businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded software company Oracle Corporation. He was Oracle's chief executive officer from 1977 to 2014 and is now its chief technology officer a ...
, Saudi prince Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud,
venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...
firms
Andreessen Horowitz AH Capital Management, LLC (commonly known as Andreessen Horowitz, or a16z) is an American privately held venture capital firm, founded in 2009 by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. As of M ...
and
Sequoia Capital Sequoia Capital Operations, LLC is an American venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California, specializing in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors. the firm had appro ...
, as well as
sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), or sovereign investment fund, is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, Bond (finance), bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...
Qatar Holding. The equity infusion reduced his original $12.5 billion personal bank loan to $6.25 billion and his required cash equity contribution from $21 billion to just under $20 billion. On May 11, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' reported that the SEC and
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
(FTC) had launched investigations into events leading to the acquisition. The next day, Agrawal fired Twitter general manager Kayvon Beykpour and revenue product lead Bruce Falck.


Attempted termination


Alleged hold

On May 13, Musk revealed that he had placed the deal "on hold" in the wake of reports that 5 percent of Twitter's daily active users were spam accounts, causing Twitter shares to drop more than 10 percent. Musk clarified that he remained committed to the acquisition, and Agrawal stated he expected the deal to close. In response to a May 16 Twitter thread in which Agrawal said an external review into the platform's users was impractical, Musk tweeted out a poop emoji. The following day, Musk reiterated that the acquisition could not "move forward" until Twitter could prove the aforementioned reports false, urging the SEC to investigate Twitter's daily user numbers. The same day, Twitter filed new documents with the SEC, including a detailed timeline of Musk's purchase, and affirmed they would "enforce the merger agreement" regardless of Musk's actions. On May 25, Musk abandoned plans to partially fund the deal through margin loans against Tesla stock, instead opting to pledge an additional $6.25 billion in equity financing. Dorsey departed Twitter's board the same day, while Twitter investor William Heresniak filed a
class-action A class action A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage R ...
lawsuit against Musk, alleging that he had violated corporate laws in California by manipulating the market. The lawsuit further declared that Musk was not permitted by the acquisition contract to place the deal on hold, and that Musk's misleading statements had contributed to declining Twitter stock prices. On June 3, the acquisition was cleared by U.S. antitrust review. In an email sent by Musk's attorney to Twitter three days later, Musk threatened to terminate his agreement with Twitter because the company had refused to give him data pertaining to its users. Twitter responded that they would continue to cooperate with Musk to ensure that the transaction was closed in accordance with their agreement. On June 8, Twitter's board complied with Musk's demands, agreeing to provide him with a "firehose" data stream of tweets. A week later, the SEC asked Agrawal to provide information on how Twitter estimated its number of spam accounts, to which the company obliged; the SEC concluded its inquiry on July 27. Musk attended an all-hands meeting on June 16 to answer questions from Twitter employees, discussing Twitter's content moderation policy, freedom of speech, potential layoffs,
remote work Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...
, and "the cosmic nature of Twitter". Musk also expressed his desire for Twitter to reach one billion active users, and pledged his commitment to advertising as a source of revenue for Twitter. In a complaint filed by
Whistleblower Aid Whistleblower Aid is a nonprofit legal assistance organization co-founded by John Tye (whistleblower), John Tye and Mark Zaid to help whistleblowers in government and the private sector. It provides free legal services as well as support and securi ...
with the SEC,
U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
, and FTC on July 6, former Twitter security officer
Peiter Zatko Peiter C. Zatko, better known as Mudge, is an American network security expert, Open-source software, open source programmer, writer, and Hacker (programmer subculture), hacker. He is currently the chief information officer of DARPA. He was th ...
accused several Twitter executives, including Agrawal and certain board members, of making false or misleading statements about privacy, security, and content moderation on the platform in violation of the
Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 is a United States federal law which established the Federal Trade Commission. The Act was signed into law by US President Woodrow Wilson in 1914 and Trade regulation, outlaws unfair methods of Competitio ...
and SEC disclosure rules. These included misrepresentations to Musk made during the course of the acquisition bid, with the complaint specifically calling Agrawal's May 16 thread deceptive. In a July 7
conference call A conference call (sometimes called an audio teleconference or ATC) is a telephone call in which several people share a telephone line at the same time. The conference call may be designed to allow the called party to participate during the cal ...
, Twitter revealed that over one million spam accounts were removed daily, and reiterated that it was impossible to externally determine the exact number of these accounts as it would involve private user data. That same day, ''The Washington Post'' reported that the deal was "in peril" amid a slowdown in discussions on funding.


Attempted withdrawal by Musk

On July 8, Musk announced his intention to terminate the proposed acquisition, claiming in a regulatory filing that Twitter was in "
material breach Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party ...
" of several parts of the agreement by refusing to comply with Musk's requests for spambot account data and dismissing high-ranking employees. In response, Taylor pledged to pursue
legal action In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the part ...
against Musk at the
Delaware Court of Chancery The Delaware Court of Chancery is a court of equity in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is one of Delaware's three constitutional courts, along with the Supreme Court and Superior Court. Since 2018, the court consists of seven judges. The cour ...
with the goal of completing the acquisition, with the ensuing lawsuit once again overseen by the Twitter board's transaction committee. Twitter's stock sank by 7 percent after the news, dropping by a further 11 percent the next day. On July 10, Twitter hired the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to represent its case, including "key lawyers" William Savitt and Leo Strine, along with Potter Anderson & Corroon, Ballard Spahr, Kobre & Kim, and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Musk again employed the services of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan after previously doing so for '' Unsworth v. Musk'' and '' SEC v. Musk'', including his personal lawyer Alex Spiro, as well as
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates (known as Skadden) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm comprises approximately 1,700 lawyers and is the fourth highest ...
. Twitter formally launched its lawsuit against Musk at the Delaware Court of Chancery on July 12, with Musk tweeting in response, "Oh the irony lol". Twitter requested that the trial be held from September 19 through September 22, before the deal's originally scheduled "drop dead" date on October 24. Musk's legal team objected to this, asking for the trial to be held from February 13 through February 22, 2023. On July 19, judge
Kathaleen McCormick Kathaleen Saint Jude McCormick (born 1979) is an American lawyer and judge on the Delaware Court of Chancery, first as a vice chancellor from 2018 to 2021 and then as the current chancellor since 2021. She is the first female chancellor in Delaw ...
ruled that the trial would last for five days in October, with Twitter seeking an October 10 start date. During its quarterly earnings investor call on July 22, Twitter cited the "chaos" caused by the proposal as the primary factor for its decline in revenue. In a letter to McCormick on July 26, Musk's lawyers complained that Twitter had hindered them from commencing the
discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...
process and requested an October 17 start date, which McCormick granted three days later with a duration of five days. In a tweet on August 6, Musk challenged Agrawal to a
public debate Public debate may mean simply debating by the public, or in public. The term is also used for a particular formal style of debate in a competitive or educational context. Two teams of two compete through six rounds of argument, giving persuasiv ...
on Twitter's spambot accounts, before polling his followers on whether they believed that less than 5 percent of Twitter accounts were "fake/spam". On August 10, Musk sold 7.92 million Tesla shares worth a total of $6.9 billion as backup should he lose the lawsuit, despite previously stating he would no longer sell Tesla stock. The next week, McCormick ordered Twitter to produce documents from Beykpour, which Musk's team had requested along with files from 22 other Twitter employees and 41 "custodians". Shortly thereafter, Musk subpoenaed Dorsey. Other businessmen and investors subpoenaed include
Marc Andreessen Marc Lowell Andreessen ( ; born July 9, 1971) is an American businessman and former software engineer. He is the co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used web browser with a graphical user interface; co-founder of Netscape; and co-founder and ...
, Ellison, David Sacks, and
Joe Lonsdale Joseph Lonsdale (born ) is an American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He co-founded companies including Palantir Technologies, Addepar, and OpenGov, and co-founded and serves as the managing partner at the technology investment firm 8VC ...
, while Twitter and Musk also subpoenaed Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital,
Salesforce Salesforce, Inc. is an American cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It provides applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, e-commerce, analytics, artificial intelligence, and ap ...
, Mastercard, and more. Sacks and Lonsdale were both irritated that they were being subpoenaed, with the former filing a failed motion to dismiss the subpoena. In total, lawyers for Twitter issued over 84 subpoenas, while Musk's lawyers issued more than 36. Facing increasing pressure from Musk, Twitter announced that it would combine its health team, tasked with preventing non-consensual nudity and child sexual exploitation on the platform, with its anti-spam team. McCormick rejected much of Musk's team's "absurdly broad" request for data pertaining to all of Twitter's users, but ordered the company to produce data from 9,000 accounts it previously audit sampled. Musk filed a "termination letter" with the SEC on August 29, citing Zatko's claims as evidence Twitter breached their contract, before asking McCormick to delay the trial by a few weeks. McCormick rejected the request, and Musk's team sent a third termination letter to Twitter. On September 13, Zatko testified before the
Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...
, while Twitter shareholders voted in favor of the acquisition. Musk privately offered to purchase Twitter at the reduced prices of $31 billion and $39.6 billion, both of which the company rejected.


Revival and closing


Revitalization of bid

On October 3, Musk's legal team informed Twitter that Musk had changed his mind and decided to move forward with his proposed acquisition at the originally agreed-upon price of $54.20 per share, on the condition that Twitter drop its lawsuit. The reason for this reversal was attributed to concerns from Musk's team that they would not be able to prove that there was a material adverse effect justifying a break from contract. Musk and Agrawal's depositions were originally scheduled for October 6 and 10, respectively. Musk stated that his purchase of Twitter was part of his ambition to create an " everything app" called X, which would offer many different services. In response, McCormick asked both sides to propose to her how they should proceed. Twitter shares surged by 23 percent as a result of Musk's announcement. Neither Twitter nor Musk responded to McCormick's request, prompting her to announce that the trial would go forward as planned. On October 6, McCormick agreed to a request by Musk to postpone the trial to October 28 so Musk could finalize his
debt financing Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Commer ...
for the acquisition, adding that the trial would be rescheduled to November if the deal did not close by then. During this time, Musk deposited a $1 billion loan from his company
SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...
, paying back the loan with interest the following month. On October 13, court filings revealed that Musk was being investigated by the
U.S. government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...
for his conduct in the proposed buyout. Musk later stated that he believed Twitter's long-term value would exceed the price of $54.20 per share, which he considered an overpayment. On October 20, ''The Washington Post'' reported that Musk intended to terminate 75 percent of Twitter's staff, and that Twitter executives were keen on selling the company to Musk so they could mitigate their planned payroll and infrastructure cuts. In an open letter, Twitter employees condemned Musk's intentions and warned of negative consequences on the future of Twitter.
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...
and the ''Post'' further reported that officials in the
Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...
were considering a
national security National security, or national defence (national defense in American English), is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of ...
review of Musk's proposed acquisition and other ventures via the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS), with the possibility of
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
blocking the purchase if need be; the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
denied the reports. By October 21, both parties' bankers and lawyers were set to complete the paperwork for the acquisition by the end of the month, with the deal expected to close by then. The banks funding the acquisition were to hold the $13 billion worth of debt incurred as opposed to selling it. In a video call with banks who helped Musk fund the acquisition, Musk assured them he would complete the buyout by the deadline. Musk made a trip to Twitter's headquarters on October 26, tweeting a video of him jokingly carrying a kitchen sink at the site's lobby and changing his Twitter bio to "Chief Twit". Musk also told Twitter employees that while layoffs were still likely to happen, he did not intend to do so at the scale the ''Post'' had previously reported. The next day, Musk wrote in an open letter to advertisers that Twitter would not become a "free-for-all hellscape", reiterating that his motives for the purchase were not based on greed but rather a desire to create "a common digital town square". He then asked Tesla engineers to meet with Twitter's product managers in order to assess the platform's
codebase In software development, a codebase (or code base) is a collection of source code used to build a particular software system, application, or software component. Typically, a codebase includes only human-written source code system files; thu ...
, which was frozen until November 1.


Completion of purchase

In the afternoon of October 27, Musk and Twitter closed the deal, with Musk tweeting "the bird is freed". Musk immediately became Twitter's new owner, summarily firing Agrawal,
chief financial officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...
(CFO) Ned Segal, Gadde, and
general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
Sean Edgett, with the executives escorted out of the company's headquarters by security. This move came to the surprise of many involved, who had expected Musk to allow the executives to voluntarily resign; Agrawal had prepared a draft of his resignation letter before his access to his Twitter email account was cut off. According to
Walter Isaacson Walter Seff Isaacson (born May 20, 1952) is an American journalist who has written biographies of Henry Kissinger, Benjamin Franklin, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, Jennifer Doudna and Elon Musk. As of 2024, Isaacson is a profes ...
's biography ''
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...
'' (2023), Musk "meticulously" changed his plans so "he could terminate their employment before their stock options would vest", seeking retribution for Agrawal's handling of the spambot incident. Agrawal, Segal, and Gadde were set to receive "
golden parachute A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee (usually an upper executive) specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. These may include severance pay, cash bonuses, ...
" sums of $38.7 million, $25.4 million, and $12.5 million, respectively, but ''The New York Times'' reported that Musk was unlikely to make the payments because the executives had been dismissed
for cause Just Cause may refer to: * Just cause (employment law), a common standard in United States labor arbitration, and a reason for termination of employment. * Just Cause (film), ''Just Cause'' (film), a 1995 legal thriller starring Sean Connery * Just ...
. According to the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'', Musk's justification for this assertion was that the company had been mismanaged, and the executives were "weighing their legal options over the decision". Dorsey retained his $1 billion ownership stake, and several other executives departed Twitter in the ensuing days. Musk assumed the position of CEO, merging the company with X Holdings and dissolving Twitter's board of directors. With this merger, Twitter ceased to be an independent company, with X Corp. later created in March 2023 to house the company. Musk uses the title "Chief Twit" to refer to his position as CEO. A "war room" was established at Twitter, with Musk meeting with Spiro, Sacks, and others to discuss his next steps. According to ''The New York Times'', the group's two primary objectives were to reduce the size of Twitter's workforce and overhaul the platform's mobile app. Twitter employees were not formally informed of the change in management, with Musk originally said to be planning a town hall meeting with employees but ultimately not doing so. The next day, Twitter shares ceased trading in accordance with Musk's pledge to take the company private; the company's
stock ticker Ticker tape was the earliest electrical dedicated financial communications medium, transmitting stock price information over telegraph lines, in use from around 1870 to 1970. It consisted of a paper strip that ran through a machine called a sto ...
was
delisted In corporate finance, a listing refers to the company's shares being on the list (or board) of stock that are publicly listed. Some stock exchanges allow shares of a foreign company to be listed and may allow dual listing, subject to conditions. ...
from the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
(NYSE) on November 8.


Post-acquisition

Since becoming owner, Musk has enacted a series of changes, including overhauling Twitter's verification system by requiring new applicants to purchase a
Twitter Blue Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
subscription. Many Twitter staff members were directed to extend their working hours in order to meet Musk's deadlines for his desired changes to the platform. On November 4, Musk laid off roughly half of Twitter's workforce, and two weeks later, he issued an ultimatum to employees to commit to "extremely hardcore" work in order to realize Musk's vision of "Twitter 2.0", or leave. Hundreds of employees resigned in response. From the layoffs and resignations, the company went from close to 7,500 employees to approximately 1,500, a reduction of about 80%. Meanwhile, Musk began restoring previously banned accounts such as
Jordan Peterson Jordan Bernt Peterson (born 12 June 1962) is a Canadian psychologist, author, and media commentator. He received widespread attention in the late 2010s for his views on cultural and political issues. Often described as Conservatism, conservativ ...
,
Kathy Griffin Kathleen Mary Griffin (born November 4, 1960) is an American comedian and actress who has starred in television series, comedy specials and has released multiple comedy albums. In 2007 and 2008, Griffin won Primetime Emmy Awards for her rea ...
, ''The Babylon Bee'', and
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
, while suspending
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
accounts at the urging of far-right figures, as well as accounts that parodied Musk. Musk also relaxed the platform's hate speech policies and removed its policy prohibiting
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
misinformation, resulting in an increase in hate speech. In December, Musk faced backlash after banning ElonJet, a
Twitter bot A Twitter bot or an X bot is a type of software bot that controls a Twitter/X account via the Twitter API. The social bot software may autonomously perform actions such as tweeting, retweeting, liking, following, unfollowing, or direct messagin ...
account operated by Jack Sweeney which tracked Musk's private jet in real-time using publicly accessible data. These protests intensified when Musk suspended multiple journalists who had been covering the ElonJet incident. Days later, Musk conducted a Twitter poll asking users whether he should step down as CEO of Twitter, to which voters responded in the affirmative. Musk stated he would step down after selecting his replacement, and he was succeeded by
NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...
advertising sales chair
Linda Yaccarino Linda Yaccarino (born December 21, 1963) is an American media proprietor serving since June 2023 as chief executive officer (CEO) of X Corp., X Corp. She previously served as chairwoman of global advertising & partnerships at NBCUniversal from 2 ...
in June 2023. Musk's acquisition of Twitter was principally responsible for the development of Threads, a social media platform which closely resembles Twitter, by rival company
Meta Platforms Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Meta owns and operates several prominent social media platforms and communication services, including Facebook, Instagram, Threads ...
. Work began on the service in November 2022, and it was released on July 5, 2023, amidst continued backlash to changes to Twitter enacted by Musk and Yaccarino. In response, Twitter threatened to sue Meta over
intellectual property infringement An intellectual property (IP) infringement is the infringement or violation of an intellectual property right. There are several types of intellectual property rights, such as copyrights, patents, trademarks, industrial designs, plant breeders ri ...
. Agrawal, Segal, and Gadde filed a lawsuit against Twitter in April 2023, claiming that the company had failed to pay them for the legal fees they had incurred during their tenure. McCormick ruled in the executives' favor in October. In June, X Corp. sued Wachtell to recoup a portion of the $90 million fee the law firm had paid, accusing the firm of "unjust enrichment" for charging a bonus fee on successful completion of the acquisition when the agreement with prior Twitter management stipulated billing only on an hourly basis. The Twitter app was rebranded as X in July, an unprecedented decision which has created confusion among users. In September, Musk failed to appear before the SEC in response to the agency's investigation into his purchasing of Twitter stock the year prior, prompting a lawsuit. ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported in October 2023 that the seven major banks that had provided Musk's acquisition loans failed to follow the standard practice of quickly selling down their exposure to other banks due to a lack of appetite for the debt since Musk took over, instead expected to mark down the debt by at least 15 percent in order to sell it. The company's financial outlook improved in 2025, partly due to Musk's close relationship with
President Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
and the platform's move away from an advertising-only model toward user subscriptions and artificial intelligence, leading to a revival in investor interest and successful refinancing of the remaining debt. By April 2025, banks had sold off the last of the debt related to the company at about 98 cents on the dollar, in what
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...
described as a remarkable turnaround. Earlier in March, Musk announced that xAI, the AI company he founded two years earlier, would acquire X in an all-stock transaction for a total enterprise value of $45 billion, a billion more that what he paid in 2022.


Reactions


Takeover bid

Following Musk's induction to Twitter's board of directors on April 5, Agrawal wrote that he believed Musk's appointment would bring long-term value to the company, while Dorsey wrote that Musk "cares deeply about our world and Twitter's role in it". Dorsey privately relayed his appreciation to Musk for his commitment, texting that he trusted Musk. On April 11, Agrawal stated that he believed Musk's withdrawal from the board was "for the best", noting that the company would "remain open to his input". Musk's offer to take over Twitter was met with both praise and criticism. On April 14, Twitter employees expressed concern with Musk's views on free speech. Media outlets expressed concerns that his proposed changes to Twitter would result in an increase in
disinformation Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic dece ...
and
online harassment Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using Electronic communication network, electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and Adolescence, a ...
.
Jim Cramer James Joseph Cramer (born February 10, 1955) is an American television personality, author, entertainer, and former hedge fund manager. He is the host of ''Mad Money'' on CNBC, and an anchor on ''Squawk on the Street''. After graduating from Ha ...
of
CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...
opined that the Twitter board would have "no choice" but to reject Musk's offer due to potential
personal liability In law, liable means "responsible or answerable in law; legally obligated". Legal liability concerns both civil law and criminal law and can arise from various areas of law, such as contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given by government agencie ...
faced by the board members. On April 19, the
National Urban League The National Urban League (NUL), formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for Afri ...
urged Twitter to turn down Musk's takeover bid, warning of potentially negative consequences on users'
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
.
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
and Republican commentators and politicians in the U.S. who believed Twitter discriminated against
right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...
speech expressed enthusiasm for Musk's proposed changes. On April 22,
U.S. House The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
Republicans demanded that Twitter's board preserve all records pertaining to Musk's takeover proposal, which sets the stage for a potential congressional probe following the 2022 midterms.
Jimmy Patronis Jimmy Theo Patronis Jr. ( ; born April 13, 1972) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Florida's 1st congressional district since April 2025. A member of the United States Republi ...
, the
Chief Financial Officer of Florida The chief financial officer of Florida is an elected statewide constitutional officer of Florida. The office was created in 2002 following the 1998 reforms of the Florida Cabinet. The CFO is a combination of the former offices of comptroller and ...
, praised Musk's offer and was critical of Twitter's "poison pill" strategy. According to a poll conducted by
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
's
Center for American Political Studies The Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University (abbreviated CAPS) is an interdisciplinary program of Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences that studies the politics of the United States from the perspective of political ...
(CAPS) and the
Harris Poll The Harris Poll is an American market research and analytics company that has been tracking the sentiment, behaviors and motivations of American adults since 1963. In addition to the traditional consulting offered, Harris has developed software ...
, 57 percent of American voters approved of Musk's purchase of Twitter.


Acquisition announcement

Agrawal applauded the purchase and assured employees that no layoffs were planned at that time, adding he was proud of Twitter employees "despite the noise" around the company. He also led an all-hands meeting on April 29 to address concerns raised by employees. Dorsey endorsed the sale, saying that "taking witterback from Wall Street is the correct first step" and that he trusted Musk to be the owner of the company. Former Twitter CEO
Dick Costolo Richard William Costolo (pronounced: ) (born September 10, 1963) is an American businessman. He was the CEO of Twitter, Inc. from 2010 to 2015; he also served as the COO before becoming CEO. Career Costolo was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. In 1 ...
denounced Musk's criticism of the company. Gadde allegedly cried during a meeting about the announcement and was subjected to online trolling. Musk's June 17 meeting with employees was generally negatively received by participants, who found Musk's statements "incoherent" and "uninspiring". Musk was repeatedly derided and mocked by Twitter employees on their internal Slack channels after the deal was brokered. Republican lawmakers in the
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...
such as
Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. ...
, Yvette Herrell,
Marsha Blackburn Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first ...
, and
Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
praised the deal, calling it a restoration of free speech. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers such as
Pramila Jayapal Pramila Jayapal (born September 21, 1965) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she represents most of Seattle, as well as some suburban areas of King County. Jayapal ...
, Jesús García, Marie Newman,
Mark Pocan Mark William Pocan ( ; born August 14, 1964) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district since 2013. The district is based in the state capital, Madison. A member of t ...
, and
Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...
criticized Musk and the buyout. In June, Texas
attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Ken Paxton Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the e ...
launched an investigation into whether Twitter had misled authorities on its number of spambot accounts, alluding to prior claims made by Musk. Former U.S. President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
expressed approval with the deal but stated that he would not rejoin the platform, even if he is unbanned, due to his preference for his own social media platform,
Truth Social Truth Social (stylized as TRUTH) is an alt-tech social media platform owned by Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), an American media and technology company majority-owned by U.S. president Donald Trump. It has been called a "Twitter clone" ...
; Musk later indicated his intention to reverse Twitter's ban on Trump.
Mexican President The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...
Lopez Obrador stated that he hoped Musk would rid Twitter of "the corruption that's there, manipulation with bots".
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...
(FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr responded to calls for the agency to block the purchase by saying that it has no authority to do so, calling such requests "absurd".
Thierry Breton Thierry Breton (; born 15 January 1955) is a French-Senegalese business executive, politician, writer and former Commissioner for Internal Market of the European Union from 2019 to 2024. Breton was vice-chairman and CEO of Groupe Bull (1996–19 ...
, the
European Commissioner for Internal Market The Commissioner for Internal Market is a member of the European Commission. The post is currently held by Stéphane Séjourné, appointed on December 2024. Responsibilities The portfolio concerns the development of the 480-million-strong Europ ...
, emphasized that "any company operating in Europe needs to comply with
heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...
rules", while the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
(EU) announced that new online rules would "overhaul" the digital market and Tech Giants. By April 27, 30,000 new users had joined the decentralized network of servers running open-source Mastodon software. Conservative Twitter accounts experienced a significant increase in followers, while liberal ones experienced a slight decrease; additionally, thousands of
left-leaning Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commonl ...
users deactivated their accounts following the buyout. LGBTQ+ users and activists expressed apprehension about the deal based on tweets by Musk mocking
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
people, fearing that the re-platforming of suspended Twitter accounts would lead to a rise in
online harassment Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using Electronic communication network, electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and Adolescence, a ...
and
hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
. On June 3, a group of political
advocacy groups Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
which included the
Center for Countering Digital Hate The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), formerly Brixton Endeavors, is a British-American not-for-profit NGO company with offices in London and Washington, D.C. with the stated purpose of stopping the spread of online hate speech and di ...
,
GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...
, and MediaJustice initiated a campaign to block the proposal by calling for a review of the deal by the government and a boycott of the platform by advertisers.
Henrik Fisker Henrik Fisker (born 10 August 1963) is a Danish automotive designer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles, California, US. He is best known as the founder of Fisker Automotive and Fisker Inc, and as a designer of luxury cars. After working a ...
, co-founder of
electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...
maker Fisker Inc. and a rival of Musk's, left Twitter shortly after the acquisition announcement.
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
founder
Jeff Bezos Jeffrey Preston Bezos ( ;; and Robinson (2010), p. 7. ; born January 12, 1964) is an American businessman best known as the founder, executive chairman, and former president and CEO of Amazon, the world's largest e-commerce and clou ...
questioned whether Tesla's business interest in China would give the
Chinese government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...
leverage over Twitter via Musk, before answering that it would "probably not".
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
co-founder
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
questioned if Musk would allow the spread of
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...
misinformation, including
vaccine misinformation Misinformation related to immunization and the use of vaccines circulates in mass media and social media despite the fact that there is no serious hesitancy or debate within mainstream medical and scientific circles about the benefits of vaccination ...
.
Wikipedia Wikipedia is a free content, free Online content, online encyclopedia that is written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and the wiki software MediaWiki. Founded by Jimmy Wales and La ...
co-founder
Jimmy Wales Jimmy Donal Wales (born August 7, 1966), also known as Jimbo Wales, is an American List of Internet entrepreneurs, Internet entrepreneur and former Trader (finance), financial trader. He is a Founders of Wikipedia, co-founder of the non-profi ...
speculated that Twitter could either thrive or fall within five years under Musk's supervision.
Bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...
investor
Roger Ver Roger Keith Ver (born 1979) is an entrepreneur who was an early investor in Bitcoin, Bitcoin-related startups and an early promoter of Bitcoin, and sometimes known as Bitcoin Jesus. He now primarily promotes Bitcoin Cash. He previously was CEO ...
and
Coinbase Coinbase Global, Inc. is an American cryptocurrency exchange. It was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam. Coinbase has over 100 million users, and is the largest U.S. based cryptocurrency exchange as well as the world's bigge ...
CEO Brian Armstrong welcomed the buyout, citing the potential for reduction of perceived censorship on Twitter.
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
and
Alphabet An alphabet is a standard set of letter (alphabet), letters written to represent particular sounds in a spoken language. Specifically, letters largely correspond to phonemes as the smallest sound segments that can distinguish one word from a ...
CEO
Sundar Pichai Pichai Sundararajan (born June 10, 1972), better known as Sundar Pichai (pronounced: ), is an American business executive. He is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google. Pichai began his career as a mate ...
said that he hoped Twitter would improve over time due to its importance to society, while
Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
and Meta founder and CEO
Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling sharehold ...
expressed confusion and uncertainty over the proposed buyout.


Attempted termination

Edgett instructed employees not to share commentary on the purported cancellation; nonetheless, several Twitter employees posted humorous messages making light of the situation. Tesla shares rose 2.11 percent in the hours after Musk's announcement. Trump criticized Musk and called the acquisition "rotten", which led to a protracted feud between the two. With the exception of Trump, most conservatives sided with Musk, with former White House chief strategist
Steve Bannon Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist for the first seven months of president Donald Trump's first ...
attacking Twitter for allegedly lying about the prevalence of its spambot accounts and
Turning Point USA Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for Conservatism in the United States, conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses. It was founded in 2012 by Charlie Kirk and Bill Montgo ...
CEO
Charlie Kirk Charles James Kirk (born October 14, 1993) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political activist, author and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist media personality. With Bill Montgomery (activist), Bill Montgome ...
musing that Musk may have been seeking to "expose" Twitter the whole time. In an email sent to Twitter's employees in response to Zatko's complaint, Agrawal sharply rejected the claims and called them a "false narrative".


Completion of purchase

Trump responded approvingly of the purchase after the deal was closed, saying that he was pleased Twitter was "in sane hands", rather than what he termed "radical left lunatics". Other Republican politicians, including
Dan Crenshaw Daniel Reed Crenshaw (born March 14, 1984) is an American politician and former United States Navy SEAL officer serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 2nd congressional district since 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. Cre ...
,
Darrell Issa Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 48th congressional district. He represented the 50th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A memb ...
,
Marjorie Taylor Greene Marjorie Taylor Greene ( Taylor; born May 27, 1974), sometimes referred to by her initials MTG, is an American far-rightSources describing Greene as "far-right" include: * * * * * * * * * * * politician, businesswoman, and cons ...
,
Marsha Blackburn Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Tennessee. Blackburn was first ...
, Anthony Sabatini, Amy Kremer, Lauren Boebert, Dick Black, Cruz, and Jordan applauded the purchase as well. Democrat
Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member o ...
voiced her distrust of Musk and called for tighter government regulation of the platform, while Democrat
Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from the state of Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the U ...
advocated for a federal investigation into the role of Saudi Arabia in the purchase.
Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...
, deputy chairman of the
Security Council of Russia The Security Council of the Russian Federation ( SCRF or Sovbez; ) is a constitutional consultative body of the Russian president that supports the president's decision-making on national security affairs and matters of strategic interest. Comp ...
and former
President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...
, was pleased with the news, stating that he hoped Twitter would eliminate "political bias and ideological dictatorship". Breton again emphasized that Twitter was bound by the EU's laws, alluding to the recently passed
Digital Services Act The Digital Services Act (DSA) is an EU regulation adopted in 2022 that addresses illegal content, transparent advertising and disinformation. It updates the Electronic Commerce Directive 2000 in EU law, and was proposed alongside the Digital ...
. Internally, Twitter employees expressed concern that Musk would lay off employees before they receive their compensation payments, among other messages criticizing Musk and voicing solidarity with each other. Amid conflicting reports on whether Musk was planning sweeping layoffs, many employees expressed uncertainty and fear on Slack,
Discord Discord is an instant messaging and Voice over IP, VoIP social platform which allows communication through Voice over IP, voice calls, Videotelephony, video calls, text messaging, and digital media, media. Communication can be private or take ...
, and
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented Social networking service, social network. It was launched on May 5, 2003 by Reid Hoffman and Eric Ly. Since December 2016, LinkedIn has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. ...
. Women's rights activist Seyi Akiwowo tweeted her disappointment with Gadde's dismissal, while children's rights activist
Beeban Kidron Beeban Tania Kidron, Baroness Kidron, (born 2 May 1961), is a British politician and a filmmaker. She is an advocate for children's rights in the digital world and has played a role in establishing standards for online safety and privacy across ...
said that Musk's newfound power would not result in more free speech. Podcaster
Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...
praised Musk for his aspirations, while right-wing Twitter account
Libs of TikTok Libs of TikTok is a handle for various far-right and anti-LGBT social-media accounts operated by Chaya Raichik ( ), a former real estate agent. Raichik uses the accounts to repost content created by left-wing and LGBT people on TikTok or othe ...
rejoiced over the news of the purchase. Media personality Stew Peters, who had been blocked from Twitter for months, attempted to circumvent the block after the purchase using a new account, which was later suspended.
Margarita Simonyan Margarita Simonovna Simonyan (born 6 April 1980) is a Russian media executive. She is the editor-in-chief of the Russian state-controlled broadcaster RT,RT broadcasting service, demanded that Musk lift her Twitter suspension. Bin Talal Al Saud congratulated Musk on the purchase, and JPMorgan Chase CEO
Jamie Dimon James Dimon ( ; born March 13, 1956) is an American businessman who has been the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of JPMorgan Chase since 2006. Dimon began his career as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group. After earnin ...
urged Musk to eradicate spambot accounts. Tesla rival
General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...
announced it would temporarily stop paid advertising on Twitter. Advertising agencies IPG Mediabrands and Omnicom Media Group recommended their clients temporarily pause advertising on Twitter due to safety and trust concerns over Musk's ownership. A slew of companies proceeded to do so, including
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...
,
Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...
, the
Carlsberg Group Carlsberg A/S (; ) is a Danish multinational brewer. Founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen, the company's headquarters is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since Jacobsen's death in 1887, the majority owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation. Th ...
,
General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...
,
Lamborghini Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. ( , ), usually referred to as Lamborghini or colloquially Lambo, is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is owned by the Volkswagen Group through its su ...
,
Mondelez International Mondelēz International, Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, Holding company, holding, drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual rev ...
,
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...
,
Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...
,
REI Recreational Equipment, Inc., doing business as REI, is an American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation. It was formerly governed, and continues to brand itself, as a consumers' co-operative. REI sells camping gear, hiking, clim ...
, and the
Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxon ...
.
Media buying Media buying refers to the procurement of advertising on mediums such as a television, newspapers, commercial radio, magazines, websites, mobile apps, over-the-top media services, out-of-home advertising etc. It also includes price negotiation and ...
agency
GroupM WPP Media, formerly GroupM, is a U.S. based media business which is owned by the multinational holding company WPP plc. GroupM was the world's largest media buying agency, as of 2023. WPP Media's headquarters are located at 3 World Trade Center ...
also advised its clients against procuring advertisements from Twitter. Alt-tech social media platform
Parler Parler (pronounced "parlor") is an American alt-tech social networking service associated with conservatives. Launched in August 2018, Parler marketed itself as a free speech-focused and unbiased alternative to mainstream social networks s ...
welcomed Musk's purchase, while alt-tech platform Gettr was more skeptical, believing Twitter was "fundamentally broken". Similarities have been drawn between the acquisition and the 2022 film '' Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery'', with some viewers comparing Musk to the character of Miles Bron, though director
Rian Johnson Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut with the neo-noir mystery film ''Brick (film), Brick'' (2005), which received positive reviews and grossed nearly $4 million on a $450,000 budget ...
stated that the similarities were purely coincidental. Online reception to Musk's completion of the purchase was mixed. According to Memetica, a digital investigations company, several far-right figures experienced a significant increase in followers after the deal was finalized, while many
progressives Progressivism is a left-leaning political philosophy and reform movement that seeks to advance the human condition through social reform. Adherents hold that progressivism has universal application and endeavor to spread this idea to human so ...
experienced a significant decrease, although it is unclear if Musk's takeover drove the changes in followers. Mastodon once again experienced a surge in sign-ups. Multiple celebrities in the
entertainment industry Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...
announced their departure from the platform, while some left-wing influencers such as
John Pavlovitz John Pavlovitz (born June 1, 1969) is an American former youth pastor and author, known for his social and political writings from a liberal Christian perspective. Early life and education Pavlovitz was born in Syracuse, New York, to a middle ...
and
Rob Reiner Robert Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and liberal activist. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic, Mike "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitc ...
urged fellow leftists to remain on Twitter for the time being. The Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) observed a 500 percent spike in the use of the racial slur "
nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...
" in the 12 hours after Musk completed the acquisition, while ''The Washington Post'' noted an increase in pro-
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
, misogynistic, and anti-LGBTQ+ tweets. Basketball player
LeBron James LeBron Raymone James Sr. ( ; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he is the NBA's all-time leading scorer and ...
expressed concern over the NCRI's report, condemning "unfit people saying hate speech is free speech". Twitter responded by saying that the accounts using racial slurs were part of a " trolling campaign" and would be banned summarily. The
Center for Countering Digital Hate The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), formerly Brixton Endeavors, is a British-American not-for-profit NGO company with offices in London and Washington, D.C. with the stated purpose of stopping the spread of online hate speech and di ...
reported that anti-Black, anti-gay, and anti-transgender slurs had increased since Musk took control of Twitter, while the Anti-Defamation League reported an increase in antisemitic content.


Critical analysis


Takeover bid and acquisition announcement

Anticipating a takeover, Elizabeth Lopatto of ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...
'' predicted that it would lead to a mass employee exodus and a possible reinstatement of Trump's Twitter account. After the acquisition announcement, Alex Werpin of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' warned of widespread repercussions. Greg Bensinger of ''The New York Times'' argued that Musk's acquisition was "about controlling a megaphone" rather than free speech, while Elizabeth Dwoskin of ''The Washington Post'' remarked that Musk's free speech vision for Twitter was considered by technologists to be outdated and impractical. Don Pittis of
CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...
noted the controversy associated with the wealthy gaining control of media platforms. Brendan O'Neill of '' Spiked'' observed that Musk's purchase of Twitter and the resulting backlash represented a "battle for control of the Internet", with ''Business Insider'' Ben Gilbert calling the purchase the latest "battleground" in the
culture war A culture war is a form of cultural conflict (metaphorical " war") between different social groups who struggle to politically impose their own ideology (moral beliefs, humane virtues, and religious practices) upon mainstream society, or upon ...
between Democrats and Republicans.
Michael Hiltzik Michael A. Hiltzik (born November 9, 1952) is an American columnist, reporter and author who has written extensively for the ''Los Angeles Times''. In 1999, he won a beat reporting Pulitzer Prize for co-writing a series of articles about corrupti ...
of ''
The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...
'' commented that Musk's impact on Twitter would depend on his policies and how he chooses to implement them. David Auerbach of ''
UnHerd ''UnHerd'' is a British news and opinion website founded in July 2017 which describes itself as a platform for slow journalism. History ''UnHerd'' was founded in 2017 by the hedge fund manager Paul Marshall as its owner and publisher and co ...
'' saw the purchase as indicative of a "major flashpoint" in the transition of society to "a more decentralized, chaotic, and devolved world". Paul R. La Monica of
CNN Business CNN Business (formerly CNN Money) is a financial news and information website, operated by CNN. The website was originally formed as a joint venture between CNN.com and Time Warner's '' Fortune'' and ''Money'' magazines. Since the spin-off of T ...
suggested that Tesla's declining stock price indicated that
Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...
investors were doubtful on whether Musk's purchase would go through. ''
CleanTechnica ''CleanTechnica'' is a US-based online audio and video media company, that operates a website under the same name, dedicated to aggregating news in clean technology, sustainable energy, and Electric vehicle, electric vehicles, with a focus on Tes ...
'' Matt Pressman believed that Musk's purchase would benefit Tesla because owners of the company's cars often engaged on the platform, and Lindsey Bakes of ''
Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...
'' wrote that Musk could integrate
cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. Individual coin ownership record ...
within Twitter. Kevin D. Williamson of American conservative magazine ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'' likened Musk's purchase of Twitter to the
Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign Donald Trump ran a successful campaign for the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He formally announced his campaign on June 16, 2015, at Trump Tower in New York City, initially battling for the Republican Party's nomination. On May 26, 20 ...
, labeling it a
publicity stunt In marketing, a publicity stunt is a planned event designed to attract the public's attention to the event's organizers or their cause. Publicity stunts can be professionally organized, or set up by amateurs. Such events are frequently utiliz ...
, his colleague
Rich Lowry Richard A. Lowry (; born August 22, 1968) is an American writer, and the former editor and now editor-in-chief of ''National Review'', an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative news and opinion magazine. Lowry became editor of ...
said that liberal politicians' strong reaction to Musk's purchase was an indication that Twitter's existing policies had "political consequences", and the editors of the publication wished Musk well in his quest to promote free speech on Twitter. Bonnie Kristian of evangelical magazine ''
Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
'' felt that the purchase would only "add to the confusion" surrounding the contentious debate on free speech, while Paris Marx of American socialist magazine ''
Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...
'' dismissed Musk's proclamations that he sought to protect free speech as an "example of his hubris". Corbin K. Barthold of conservative public policy magazine ''
City Journal ''City Journal'' is a public policy magazine and website, published by the conservative think tank Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, that covers a range of topics on urban affairs, such as policing, education, housing, and other issues. ...
'' believed it would be difficult but "worth the struggle" to end censorship on Twitter, while Peter van Buren of '' The Spectator World'' opined that Musk should simply take Twitter offline.
Cathy Young Catherine Alicia Young (born Yekaterina Jung; ; born February 10, 1963) is a Russian-American journalist. Young is primarily known for her writing about feminism and other cultural issues, as well as about Russia and the former Soviet Union. Sh ...
of
center-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
news website '' The Bulwark'' felt that Musk's planned reforms to Twitter were "unlikely to succeed", further observing that commentators who opposed the purchase viewed it as right-wing backlash against "perceived left-wing social media bias". Robby Soave of American libertarian magazine ''
Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing valid conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, religion, scien ...
'' postulated that Musk's purchase would not threaten Twitter or democracy, suggesting that those overstating the importance of the platform were "Musk's critics in progressive and
mainstream media In journalism, mainstream media (MSM) is a term and abbreviation used to refer collectively to the various large Mass media, mass news media that influence many people and both reflect and shape prevailing currents of thought.Noam Chomsky, Choms ...
", with James McElroy of ''
The American Conservative ''The American Conservative'' (''TAC'') is a bimonthly magazine published by the American Ideas Institute. The magazine was founded in 2002 by Pat Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos to advance an anti- neoconservative perspect ...
'' further arguing that many journalists' condemnation of the acquisition was motivated by "professional anxiety". Equity analyst Angelo Zino believed that Twitter's acceptance of Musk's proposal may have stemmed from its realization that alternative bidders would be unlikely to emerge due to social media companies' declining
asset prices In finance, valuation is the process of determining the value of a (potential) investment, asset, or security. Generally, there are three approaches taken, namely discounted cashflow valuation, relative valuation, and contingent claim valuatio ...
.
Associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...
Brian Quinn of
Boston College Law School Boston College Law School (BC Law) is the law school of Boston College, a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. It is situated on a campus in Newton, Massachusetts, about from the university's main campus in Chestn ...
noted that it would be difficult for Musk to arbitrarily pull out of the deal due to the contractual doctrines of
fair dealing Fair dealing is a limitation and exception to the exclusive rights granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. Fair dealing is found in many of the common law jurisdictions of the Commonwealth of Nations. Fair dealing is an e ...
and
good faith In human interactions, good faith () is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case with , which i ...
. Kate Klonick, a
law professor A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a legal practition ...
at St. John's University, argued that to allow "all free speech" to exist on Twitter would open the door to the spread of
pornography Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is Sexual suggestiveness, sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolv ...
and
hate speech Hate speech is a term with varied meaning and has no single, consistent definition. It is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as ...
. Similarly, Joan Donovan, research director at Harvard's
Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a Harvard Kennedy School research center that explores the intersection and impact of media, politics and public policy in theory and practice. Among other activities, the center or ...
, stated that the lack of moderation on Twitter would lead to online harassment. Bill George, a senior fellow at
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
and former CEO of
Medtronic Medtronic plc is an American-Irish medical device company. The company's legal and executive headquarters are in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, while its operational headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Medtronic rebased to I ...
, argued that Musk's purchase of Twitter would harm both society and Musk himself, while analyst Mike Proulx of
Forrester Research Forrester Research, Inc. is a research and advisory firm. Forrester serves clients in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The firm is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, MA with global offices in Amsterdam, London, New D ...
cautioned that other companies may leave Twitter if Musk loosens its moderation policies. Proprietary trader Dennis Dick opined that Musk's spambot claims were tactics by him to lower the price of the purchase. Analysts noted that the involvement of foreign entities as independent investors could cause the transaction to face national security scrutiny by the CFIUS. Left-leaning media watchdog
Media Matters for America Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a non-profit left-leaning watchdog journalism organization. It was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media Research Center. It seeks to ...
and think tank
Australian Strategic Policy Institute The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, founded by the Australian government, and funded by the Australian Department of Defence along with o ...
suggested that China could use its influence to extract political concessions or manipulate Twitter due to Musk's ties to the country.
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...
(ACLU) executive director Anthony D. Romero warned of the potential danger of Musk wielding excessive power.


Attempted termination

Following Musk's announcement that he intended to terminate the agreement, legal experts generally agreed it would be difficult for him to do so. Law professor James Park of the
University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...
found Musk's spambot argument weak and doubted it was material, while
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...
business law professor Anat Alon-Beck observed that Twitter was compelled to enforce the merger so as to disprove Musk's allegations. Professor Jennifer Grygiel of
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...
mused that Musk may reverse course and revisit the deal.
Tulane University Law School The Tulane University School of Law is the law school of Tulane University. It is located on Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established in 1847, it is the 12th oldest law school in the United States. Campus The law schoo ...
associate dean for faculty research Ann Lipton and
mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
expert Julian Klymochko both expressed doubts that Musk could prove there was a material adverse effect.
Felix Salmon Felix Salmon (born 1972) is a British/American financial journalist, formerly of ''Conde Nast Portfolio, Portfolio Magazine'' and ''Euromoney'' and a former finance blogger for Reuters, where he analyzed economic and occasionally social issues in ...
of ''
Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...
'' noted that a clause in the contract opened the door for a judge to grant
specific performance Specific performance is an equitable remedy in the law of contract, in which a court issues an order requiring a party to perform a specific act, such as to complete performance of a contract. It is typically available in the sale of land law, b ...
and order Musk to move forward with the deal. CNBC's Jonathan Vanian described Musk's withdrawal as the product of months of
buyer's remorse Buyer's remorse is the sense of regret after having made a purchase. It is frequently associated with the purchase of an expensive item such as a vehicle or real estate. Buyer's remorse is thought to stem from cognitive dissonance, specifically ...
, while his colleague Alex Sherman observed that paying the stipulated breakup fee would not relieve Musk of compensations or sanctions. Writing for ''The Wall Street Journal'',
Holman W. Jenkins Jr. Holman W. Jenkins Jr. is an American right-wing columnist, editorial writer, and member of ''The Wall Street Journal'' editorial board. He writes the biweekly column "Business World," which appears in the paper and online every Wednesday and Satu ...
questioned whether Musk had proposed the acquisition "out of mouth momentum or excessive enjoyment of the limelight or for some mysterious reason that causes an onlooker to throw up his hands". Various news publications believed that Zatko's complaint provided potential evidence in Musk's favor, though Bloomberg News columnist Matt Levine argued that the complaint confirmed Twitter's monetizable daily active users counts do not include spambots.


Revitalization of bid

Greg Varallo of the Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann law firm observed that if Musk failed to secure funding and close the acquisition, he could be barred from claiming that he can terminate the acquisition as per the legal doctrine of
judicial estoppel In the common law, judicial estoppel (also known as estoppel by inconsistent positions) is an estoppel that precludes a Party (law), party from taking a position in a case that is contrary to a position it has taken in earlier legal proceedings. Alt ...
.
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
's Center for Social Media and Politics executive director Zeve Sanderson cautioned that if Musk were to lay off 75 percent of Twitter's workforce, it would make it more difficult for the company to moderate its content. Professor David Kaye of the
University of California, Irvine School of Law The University of California, Irvine School of Law (known as UC Irvine Law) is the law school at the University of California, Irvine, a public research university in Irvine, California. Founded in 2007, it is the fifth and newest law school in ...
and Professor
Eric Goldman Eric Goldman (born April 15, 1968) is a law professor at Santa Clara University School of Law. He also co-directs the law school's High Tech Law Institute. and co-supervises the law school's Privacy Law Certificate. Career Goldman was an assis ...
of the
Santa Clara University School of Law The Santa Clara University School of Law (Santa Clara Law) is the law school of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States, in the Silicon Valley region. The School of Law was founded in 1911. Santa Cla ...
concurred, warning of a potential increase in misinformation and harassment on the platform. However, they noted that the layoffs could still be mitigated through an increase in automated content moderation.


Completion of purchase

Conservative commentators celebrated the purchase's closure.
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
host
Tucker Carlson Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American conservative political commentator who hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News from 2016 to 2023. Since his contract with Fox News was term ...
argued that Musk's ''
laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...
'' approach to moderation on Twitter would reshape American political discourse. Shapiro wrote that he hoped other social media platforms would implement Musk's proposals and called on Musk to reverse Peterson's suspension from Twitter. Political commentator Matt Walsh saw the purchase as an opportunity to rally opposition against the "
trans Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of". Used alone, trans may refer to: Sociology * Trans, a sociological term which may refer to: ** Transgender, people who identify themselves with a gender that di ...
agenda". Political columnist Benny Johnson called on Musk to reverse the suspensions of several prominent conservatives. ''Spiked'' O'Neill claimed that liberals' negative reaction to the closure reflected their fear of freedom and liberty, while ''Washington Examiner'' Christopher Tremoglie disapproved of Musk's idea for a moderation council as continued censorship. Lauren Hirsch of ''The New York Times'' observed that Musk would face financial challenges in owning Twitter, including the company's difficulty in turning a profit. Richard Waters of the ''Financial Times'' echoed Hirsch's sentiments, adding that it would difficult for Musk to allow the right amount of free speech on the platform. Kate Ferguson of
Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
viewed Musk as unreliable and therefore unfit to operate Twitter, and Hamilton Nolan of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' felt the purchase was an attempt by Musk to "control the conversation". Barbara Ortutay, Tom Krisher and Matt O'Brien of the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
noted Musk's contradictory and vague messages in the past regarding his vision for Twitter, while Ben Burgis of ''Jacobin'' criticized liberals'
technocratic Technocracy is a form of government in which decision-makers appoint knowledge experts in specific domains to provide them with advice and guidance in various areas of their policy-making responsibilities. Technocracy follows largely in the tra ...
views and their downplaying of the importance of free speech in response to the purchase, though he remarked that Musk had a history of suppressing his critics. Also writing for ''The New York Times'', Kate Conger,
Ryan Mac Ryan Mac is a Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese-American writer and journalist who works for ''The New York Times''. He has previously worked as a reporter at ''Buzzfeed News'' and ''Forbes''. Mac was awarded the 2019 Mirror Award and the 2020 G ...
, and Tiffany Hsu noted that Musk's meetings with civil rights activists and his plans for a content moderation council were reminiscent of the actions taken by Zuckerberg following backlash on Facebook's handling of the 2016 U.S. elections. ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
''
Jack Shafer Jack Shafer (born November 14, 1951 is an American journalist who wrote about media for ''Politico'' until June 2024. Prior to joining ''Politico'', he worked for ''Reuters'', wrote and edited for ''Slate'', and edited two city weeklies, ''Washi ...
noted that media coverage of Musk's purchase foretold "chaos, greater political oversight, and outright failure." Edward Niedermeyer, an author and critic of Musk, argued that Twitter may fail due to Musk's hubris. Scholars who studied the
First Amendment First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...
, such as professor Jonathan Turley of the
George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a Private university, private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D. ...
, praised Musk's plans to tone down content moderation on Twitter. New York University's Center for Business and Human Rights deputy director Paul M. Barrett speculated that a moderation council under Musk would face skepticism due to Musk's "erratic and imperious" behavior in the past.
Alex Stamos Alex Stamos (born 1979) is an American, cybersecurity expert, the former chief security officer (CSO) at Facebook. His planned departure from the company, following disagreement with other executives about how to address the Russian government's ...
of
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
's
Center for International Security and Cooperation Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...
questioned how Musk would respond to foreign governments attempting to influence Twitter's userbase. Those in the cryptocurrency field, such as podcaster Bryce Paul and investor
Cathie Wood Catherine Duddy Wood (born 1955) is an American investor and founder, chief executive officer (CEO), and chief investment officer (CIO) of Ark Invest, an investment management firm. Her flagship ARK Innovation exchange-traded fund (ETF) has re ...
, expressed excitement at the prospects of Musk's ownership. Media Matters for America president Angela Carusone warned that Musk's leadership would lead to an increase in disinformation, conspiracy theories, and harassment on Twitter. Literary group
PEN America PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide th ...
opined that the midterm elections in November would serve as a test as to whether Musk would allow disinformation to spread rapidly on the platform, while American left-wing activist coalition Stop the Deal warned of real-world consequences if a rise in hate speech occurs on Twitter. Over 40 civil rights groups signed an open letter to 20 Twitter advertisers urging them to abandon the platform if Musk lifts its content moderation measures. Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the purchase, but expressed concerns over a potential rise in hate speech.
Fight for the Future Fight for the Future (often abbreviated fightfortheftr or FFTF) is a nonprofit advocacy organization, advocacy group in the area of digital rights founded in 2011. The group aims to promote causes related to copyright legislation, as well as ...
director Evan Greer appreciated Musk's idea for a moderation council, but noted that Musk had supreme authority on any decisions made. Eliot Higgins of
Bellingcat Bellingcat (stylised bell¿ngcat) is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British citizen journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in Ju ...
believed that Musk's attempts to promote free speech would backfire under increased government regulation. LGBTQ+ advocacy group
Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for L ...
voiced concern at Twitter's new ownership and argued that Twitter has the responsibility to stop its platform from turning into a "dangerous media environment". The Guardian has also suspended submissions to X due to a number of far-right conspiracy theories and posts promoting racism.


Legacy

On the first anniversary of the acquisition, Musk valued the company at $19 billion, a 55 percent decrease from the buyout's $44 billion purchase price.
Fidelity Fidelity is the quality of faithfulness or loyalty. Its original meaning regarded duty in a broader sense than the related concept of '' fealty''. Both derive from the Latin word , meaning "faithful or loyal". In the City of London financial m ...
, which contributed $300 million to the acquisition, depressed the value by 65 percent. Statistics indicated a 30 percent decline in active users, 60 percent decline in advertising, 14 percent decline in website traffic, and 38 percent decline in app downloads. The company has denied this, claiming an increase in engagement. A nonfiction book about the acquisition, ''Breaking Twitter: Elon Musk and the Most Controversial Corporate Takeover in History'', was announced by author
Ben Mezrich Ben Mezrich ( ; born February 7, 1969) is an American author. He has written well-known non-fiction books, including '' The Accidental Billionaires'' and '' The Antisocial Network'', which have been turned into the films ''The Social Network'' ...
in December 2022 and released in November 2023. Many publications reflected on Twitter's first year under Musk's ownership. Journalists for ''The Washington Post'', citing data from the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
, wrote that the platform had "become a cacophony of misinformation and confusing reports", remarking on Twitter's stark shift toward conservatism. Pranav Dixit of ''The Guardian'' lambasted the changes and reforms Musk had instituted in the past year, while Miles Klee of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' criticized Musk's alleged pandering to " right-wing extremists and peddlers of misinformation". ''The Verge'' Jay Peters pointed to Musk's radical changes and declining user numbers as evidence that the takeover was a "disaster", while Bloomberg's Aisha Counts zeroed in on the increase in misinformation and hate speech. Kate Conger of ''The New York Times'' and Alex Kirshner of ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
'' lamented that Musk's acquisition had fundamentally changed the meaning of Twitter. Annika Burgess of the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
declared, "Twitter as the world knew it is dead". Musk has largely dismissed this negative commentary. ''The Wall Street Journal'' opined in 2024 that the $13 billion Musk had borrowed to buy Twitter was "the worst merger-finance deal for banks" since the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
, adding that the "allure" of banking Musk had proved "too attractive to pass up". ''The Washington Post'' reported that the company had lost $24 billion in equity value, "a vaporization of wealth that has little parallel outside the realm of economic or industry-specific crashes, or devastating corporate scandals." Media reported that the Twitter takeover prefigured the attempted takeover of US federal agencies by Elon Musk in 2025.


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * *


External links


Press release
of the acquisition announcement {{Portal bar, Companies, Business, Internet 2022 in Internet culture 2022 controversies 2022 mergers and acquisitions April 2022 in the United States Elon Musk October 2022 in the United States Twitter, Inc. History of Twitter