This is the financial news of the moment that no one could miss: Elon Musk officially announced that he wanted to buy Twitter for 44 billion dollars, and the board of directors accepted this unique proposal in ten days only ! A media earthquake as the thing was done quickly and as the billionaire seems to gain influence. But if many things could change with this takeover of Twitter, it is not impossible that Elon Musk decides simply to backtrack.
Elon Musk’s annoying tendency to get carried away
This is probably the most obvious reason for many, but Elon Musk is very versatile and can change his mind from day to day on certain subjects. Let us recall that in 2018, he had mentioned “very seriously” his desire to found a confectionery company in order to compete with Warren Buffett, another American billionaire. The project never saw the light of day. At the end of last year, Musk had pledged $6 billion to the UN, but then stalled and tried to prove he didn’t have to, before he had to give in. And these are just two examples among many others. In short, it is possible that Elon Musk will find a financial agreement allowing him to give up his place after a few months.
Legal issues…
Even though Elon Musk now owns Twitter, nothing says that he will be able to put all these projects in place. Because there is no shortage of crazy projects. From building Hyperloop tunnels to wanting to go to Mars in this decade, its ambition often clashes with the realities on the ground. And sometimes those realities are legal. For example, earlier this year, his company SpaceX was to build one of the bases needed for the development of Starlink near the small French town of Gravelines, but it was unable to obtain a building permit.
… which risk weighing on the freedom of expression wanted by Elon Musk
Coming to the very specific case of Twitter, the most anticipated development following the takeover is a return to greater freedom of expression, which, for example, would no longer allow individuals such as Donald Trump to be banned. But what many fear are the overflows that this may cause, including facilitating hate speech. Earlier this week, the Commissioner of the European Union said that Twitter should control illegal or harmful content and adapt to European legislation so as not to get in trouble with the law.
negative consequences on tesla
Elon Musk’s company specializing in the production of electric and autonomous cars has seen its action has fallen on the stock market by more than 10% since the takeover of Twitter. It must be said that investors have reason to be worried, since the billionaire who celebrated his 50th birthday last year has decided to to pledge shares of the automobile group in order to finance its deal with the company. Focusing all your efforts on the blue bird company while neglecting the others doesn’t seem like a good idea.
The Chinese problem
Finally, since we are talking about Tesla, let’s talk about China, one of the most important countries for the automotive firm founded in 2003. It is indeed from there that a quarter of its income comes, but it is also there that half of Tesla’s cars are produced. However, the Chinese government and Twitter are not particularly good friends, especially when it comes to freedom of expression. Remember that during the demonstrations for the independence of Hong Kong, the social network allowed the people to express themselves freely, where WeChat, very popular in China, was subject to censorship. For its part, Beijing did not hesitate to use Twitter for its propaganda. From there to think that the country could put pressure on Elon Musk – and therefore Tesla – if he continues to make freedom of expression his hobbyhorse, there is only one step.
Remember, however, that all these reasons do not in any way indicate that Elon Musk intends to reconsider his decision to “own” Twitter: these are elements that could make the billionaire think twice before undertaking a other actions on whim.
