Billionaire Musk Proceeds To Buy Twitter
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW YORK (Worthy News) – Billionaire Elon Musk says he will proceed with his original $44 billion bid to take over social networking site Twitter in a move that could see the return of banned conservative and Christian commentators.
He called for an end to a lawsuit by Twitter that could have forced him to pay up, whether he wanted to or not.
An agreement would put the world’s richest person in charge of one of the most influential media platforms. Critics say it would end months of legal wrangling that damaged Twitter’s brand and Musk’s reputation.
Twitter critics hope it will improve freedom of speech on a platform where many have reportedly been banned for “violating” its rules. Among them are supporters of Donald J. Trump, who hope that Musk will reactivate the account of the former U.S. president. Trump
was banned after January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by rioters claiming to be his supporters.
Musk has used Twitter to stir controversy, including on Monday when he proposed a peace plan for the Ukraine-Russia war that drew condemnation from Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Musk, the world’s richest person, proposed U.N.-supervised elections in four occupied regions that Moscow last week moved to annex after what it called referendums.
Kyiv and Western governments denounced the votes as illegal and coercive. “Which @elonmusk do you like more?,” Zelensky tweeted, offering two responses: one who supports Ukraine, and one who supports Russia.
ENDING BATTLE
Yet, Musk’s offer to take over Twitter would end a months-long business battle. In a letter sent to Twitter, he said he intended to proceed with the deal on the original terms if the Delaware judge stayed the proceedings.
Musk said in July he could walk away from the deal without penalty as the number of bot accounts was much higher than Twitter’s estimate of less than 5 percent of its roughly 230 million daily users.
Bots are automated accounts, and their use can lead to overestimating how many humans are on the service. That is important for crucial advertising rates and the overall value of the service.
Twitter’s legal team, on September 27, argued that scientists employed by Musk estimated the number of fake accounts on the platform at 5.3 percent and 11 percent.
“None of these analyses so far as we can tell remotely supported what Mr. Musk told Twitter and told the world,” Twitter lawyer Bradley Wilson told the court.
Experts say that if both sides agree to continue the agreement under the already specified terms, the deal could be closed within weeks.