Just because it doesn't mean it's true.
According to his bio on the company website, Musk is a genius. He joined after Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning created the company. Musk's fans may admire him for building a space exploration company, however, he later said that the company's success was made possible through billions in government funding.
Musk boasted about sending ventilators to hospitals during the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic, but he didn't. In October of 2021, Musk told the U.N.'s World Food Programme that he would donate $6 billion if they provided him with a plan of action. Musk went silent on the issue after the director of the program gave more information. He never donated.
There are many examples like this, but my point is that Musk is nothing but a hype man. There is no need to worry about his takeover of the social networking site. At least not yet.
Here is why.
You might think that Musk is running the company after hearing that it had accepted his offer to buy it. The jubilant reactions from Musk's fans might lead you to believe this as well. The deal has not been finalized. Musk doesn't own a verified account. It will probably be months before the deal is done.
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The deal might not go through. I am not saying that it won't. There is a chance that Musk will not end up owning the social networking site. It could happen. Some have laid out how it could happen.
Where will the funds come from? He does not have a lot of liquid assets. He will sell off some of the stock in the company. Bank financing will give another chunk. That won't cover everything. Does he have investors lined up? People can pull out even if he does. Things can change.
Let's say everything goes according to plan and Musk ends up owning a company. His fans believe this will mean a return to a more unregulated social media forum, one where previously moderated accounts and offensive content, much of which would be categorized. Previously banned users would be allowed to rejoin.
Even if all this happens, Musk will still depend on other tech companies to distribute its services. Parler, a conservative social media platform, went down last year.
The mobile market is dominated by Apple and Google. If you want your service to be successful, you need to distribute it via the App Store and the Google Play store. The social media app was removed from both app stores after Parler failed to moderate its platform. Parler was kicked out of Amazon's hosting platform.
Parler had to change its policies for approval in order to get back on to the App Store.
I am not saying that these other companies will save you from Musk. That is ridiculous. Musk will have to play ball with the rules of third-party platforms if he wants to succeed with his account.
In the end, it's a business. The purpose of Musk's hype is to make more money. Musk has money on the line and he has bank financing to think about. They will want a return on their investment because he will need outside investors to help pay the bill. Since Musk announced his takeover bid, the stock of the company has taken a hit.
billionaires who are new to the social media business crash and burn. The ruination of the platform was not caused by ideological reasons or terrible users joining the platform. Business went bad because News Corp. didn't understand the social media space. Musk doesn't seem to get the industry either based on his lackluster takes on moderation and engagement.
If Musk changes his policies so dramatically that they fill with bad actors, white supremacists, hate speech, and other noxious content, the company will likely lose business. Advertisers would likely take their advertising dollars elsewhere. Even a political user might leave the platform. It would lose money.
There's no denying that it's important. Networking on the platform has helped build careers for people. It has been used by activists to organize and spread the word on important social justice issues. The social network has been used by news outlets to find important stories. There is a lot of concern about what will happen to the site under Musk.
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Musk has more to lose here than the users. Musk says that he is giving him way too much credit. He is all hype. He is basking in the attention he is getting for being an asshole.
If Musk's worst tendencies don't prevail, then users will be fine. If Musk tanks the business of the social media site, its users will be fine as well. Musk will have lost billions, possibly even bringing his other companies down with it. His ego will have been hit. Can you imagine his reaction to a failure?
It would be really funny to watch.
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