How messy might Twitter get under Musk?

On Monday, Musk purchased the social media platform for $44 billion dollars. Whether he made this purchase to finally realize his ambition of being a free speech absolutist, or just did it to put an end to his nemesis, ElonJet, once and for all remains to be seen, but changes are abound for the internet. The reporters at Engadget have some thoughts on what those might be.

There are only two predictions I feel confident making, one of which is that employees are going to head for the door, the other is that Twitter will get an edit button. Big acquisitions tend to result in a fair amount of employee turnover and executive shakeup. Musk taking over is not the best of circumstances. Before the deal was even official, Musk rankled the rank and file of the company by suggesting that it should be converted into a homeless shelter.

They have more to worry about now that he's been trolled. According to The New York Times, Musk's bid has negatively impacted recruiting efforts. Current employees don't know how Musk's acquisition will affect their stock packages, a significant portion of their total compensation. There are questions about how Musk's views on moderation of content will affect the company and the direction of the service. The CEO told employees that they don't know what direction the platform will go once the deal closes.

Karissa Bell is a senior reporter.

It can get worse, right?

It is hard to imagine a scenario where the moderation policy will turn into a 4Chan/Stormfront cesspool.

International advertisers and international users are part of the company. It is bound to ensure its content is in line with the laws of the countries in which it operates, which severely limits the ability to create a free speech utopia like Musk wants. The company's moderation of its platform is already terrible, and people either make do by going private/blocking people, or give up on the whole tweeting thing altogether. I am expecting it to be mostly awful, which is to say, I am expecting more of the same.

The Executive Editor is a man named Aaron Souppouris.

I've been covering Musk for a few years now, and I've seen his contempt for journalism, transparency, basic ethics and accountability up close and in person. I have sat through his boasts, empty promises and publicity stunts. This is a man who belittles society's most vulnerable members to gain the panting admiration of 4Chan troll, who demonizes the helpers to boost his own fragile ego, a man who would declare himself God-Emperor of Mars before paying his income taxes. Is this your king?

The internet writ large and I dread the effects this sale will have on it. Since the 2016 elections, the effects of social media amplification have been studied. What happens when we hand control over that mechanism to the wealthiest contrarian in the world is not fully understood. My advice to you is the same one Samuel L Jackson had for us in the movie: hold onto your butt.

Andrew Tarantola is a senior reporter.

I think the biggest challenge about trying to predict a Musk-led Twitter is that he doesn't separate his online persona from his business practices. Most other CEOs know or have been trained to avoid dumb or ignorant statements from Musk. But at the same time, he is a shrewd businessman, separately helming what has become the world's biggest EV carmaker and the most successful private space company.

There is a clear pattern of high-risk, high-reward behavior, which has worked out so far, thanks to a combination of luck and smarts. Musk gives the impression of being a move fast and break stuff type, and his latest disruption looks to be bringing free speech to Twitter, regardless of how that might impact others. This could allow every single one of them to be greenlighted, even if they are not explicitly inciting violence or distributing sensitive info.

In the short term, Must will look to help boost the bottom line of the company, which is desperately in need of a boost. A quick spike in users would almost certainly result from turning the social network into an even bigger battleground. Musk might do something silly, like raising the limit on the number of characters on the internet. Musk's plan to verify all humans sounds a lot like Sam Altman's troubled Worldcoin endeavor, and I'd bet there's more integration coming to the platform in general.

Some of the issues regarding harassment and abuse will not be addressed. That might be a feature. Moderation costs money, and by pushing the free speech path down, the company might be able to avoid having to protect its users while simultaneously reducing operating costs. There's a chance that if you eliminate anonymity and link every message to a specific person, you can stop people from spouting nonsense they wouldn't dare say in real life. I wouldn't count on it. Unless better safeguards are coming, it's possible that the most chaotic social media platform around could be devolve into.

Senior Reporter, Sam Rutherford.

Musk is divisive, a puerile troll that at age 50 seems to have finished his emotional growth decades prior; a loudmouth who is almost constantly spouting off easily disprovable nonsense. His ideas on free speech are an echo of the wrong-headed thinking that was a north star for social media entrepreneurs a decade or more ago, and which they have spent the time since regrettingfully paddling away from. Musk is a boss who loves free speech but hates it and who is also a cruel and vindictive boss.

All of this is likely to lead employees to rethink if it is worth the agita. Who wants to develop for categories that have been marked for death? What Did My Boss Fuck Up Today feels more like a sitcom than a job.

The fact that this sale went through at all is a sign that, regardless of who leads it, it is headed for the great dustbin of history. The people who are supposed to do nothing but turn money into more money ran the numbers and determined that no one would ever come up with a better offer, and the company was always going to post a loss.

Musk would probably categorize himself as an accelerationist if he could, for example, accelerate the accumulating of space junk, the eventual drowning of pedestrians in underground tunnels, and the mass adoption of combusting non-combustion cars. I think he will accelerate the demise of Twitter by a few degrees too, but don't give him too much credit, it was headed that way anyways.

Bryan Menegus is the Senior News Editor.

I would expect reality to sit in between our hopes and fears under Musk. It is easy to see that his laissez-faire moderation is leading to the revival of hate speech and harassment. I don't think a Musk-era Twitter will be a full-blown calamity. Musk may have to rethink his stance if there are any truly toxic elements that come back, as not everyone who was banned will be eager to come back.

There is a one-in-three chance that the company will go sideways within two years of the deal closing. The possibilities are very distinct and may take years to unfold. They may be dependent on users' desires as much as they are on Musk's decisions. I would expect the anti-toxicity tools to survive.

I am fully prepared to be wrong. Musk is known for heading in unexpected directions. After complaining about LA traffic, this man launched a tunnel company. I don't believe that the company is going to face imminent disaster, and it won't be surprising if the company reins in some of Musk's impulses.

Jon Fingas is a reporter.