Elon Musk is now the ‘Chief Twit.’ The now-on, now-off takeover saga of Twitter which kept netizens and citizens busy worldwide is now on to the next chapter.
One of Twitter’s priorities, as set out on its website, is “Play by the rules and you’re free to express yourself however you like”. Musk is known for many things, but playing by the rules isn’t his forte. In October 2018, he tweeted about securing funds for making Tesla Inc. private. The SEC did not like the tweet. It led to an agreement under which his tweets were to have the prior approval of an attorney.
The world’s richest man is on record saying he did not buy Twitter for the economics but to further the ‘interests of civilization’. Musk is a self-declared free-speech absolutist who intends to roll back content moderation and make Twitter a free-wheeling place.
First things first
Keeping aside Musk’s assertions of helping humanity, let’s talk about economics. As a business, Twitter generated only $5bn in revenue last year and did not make a profit. After taking over, Musk has already fired several top executives, including the board, which is not surprising since the same committee had earlier thwarted his moves. The man has now speculated laying off as much as 50 per cent of the workforce to “place Twitter on a healthy path.” He has also hinted at exploring new revenue streams and is preparing to charge $20 a month for every ‘verified’ account.
Musk has reached out to advertisers. He has told investors he will double revenue in three years, and given his aura, the savvy CEO may be able to do it. Of course, close to 48 per cent of the users get their news on Twitter, which is good news from the revenue perspective. But lest it is forgotten, it needs telling that building product is very different from keeping users hooked, even if you have a massive fan following.
Planning to integrate
Given his association with PayPal and his emotional support for crypto, Twitter may be the next Libra in the making, which tried to provide crypto wallets for Facebook users. Though it failed, Twitter might finally succeed with its Bitcoin Lightning network. Musk plans to launch Application X, similar to WeChat in China and buying Twitter is a step towards that, he tweeted. For all that we know, he might be planning a Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn rolled in one!
Musk currently leads SpaceX and Tesla Inc. and has stakes in The Boring Company, Neuralink and Open AI. Though he has expressed in the past his fear of AI going wrong, his companies are all about it. AI functions well with simulations based on data. With more than 395 million users on Twitter, imagine the simulations that can be achieved using their reactions and opinions! Wonder if this goldmine that Musk was seeking. His talk of a digital Townsquare indicates, he would want to lord this space. Time will tell.
Pragya Panda: She is a chartered accountant and a former banker.
A good read on the recent development and apprehensions about the aftermath.
Thanks for your feedback Mr Sahoo.