On Apr. 20th 2022, Tesla CEO and the world’s richest man, Elon Musk proposed to purchase the social media giant Twitter, and as of Apr. 25th, 2022, Twitter executives have accepted Elon Musk’s offer. Musk has also proposed taking the company private and promoting free speech on the platform, while adapting to a much more transparent business model. Although Musk’s plans have promising results, it has been followed by a wave of controversy, and hundreds on Twitter promising to leave the platform for good. 

Musk proposed purchasing the social media giant at an 18% premium on current shares, for 44 billion dollars total. His offer of $54.20 per share wouldn’t be within the best interests of the investors if the board of directors decided to deny this offer, which would cause many problems. 

“My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” said Musk in a statement to the chairman of the board, Bret Taylor. Due to Musk being a majority shareholder at the company already, holding 9.1% prior to the agreement, this statement was alarming. If Musk were to pull out of the company, it could devalue the company by millions of dollars. 

Musk saw the potential in taking the company private, and based his entire proposal around that moral alone. Musk plans to take the company private for the first time since 2013. This decision could financially benefit the company’s inventors heavily. Twitter would be one of the largest private social media platforms if they were to go with this decision. Keeping the company private would allow Musk to make key decisions regarding the platform’s growth, without the global outcry and lengthy board system. 

Twitter’s controversial regulations have resulted in users being removed from the platform for opinionated comments on sensitive topics, which has led to accusations of the platform ‘censoring’ users. These accusations could soon be silenced with Elon Musk’s new plans for a free-speech initiative on the platform. 

“By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law,” stated Musk on Tuesday the 26th. Musk also plans to release the website’s source code to allow anyone on the internet to research the website’s algorithm that’s been in recent controversy over what content it was promoting. This transparency system will probably resolve many questions surrounding the website’s intricate algorithm. These two decisions will hopefully resolve many widespread issues on the platform.

Although these plans seem like a drastic shift, if all goes well, the only major change that will be visible to an average user on the platform will be the free-speech initiative. If you’re not a minor shareholder of the platform, your experience on the website won’t be impacted for the most part. So far, Elon Musk’s plans seem promising and could lead to a lucrative future for the company, if performed correctly. Being the CEO of many multi-million dollar companies already, Elon Musk is more than qualified to complete changes like these.