Member-only story
There’s two stories here, or maybe more, the first is about Musk, his money and his motives, the second is about free speech to which I add a third, the role of technology and the continued efforts of the open web to survive.
The deal
Wikipedia, has a very concise history of the story of the deal, detailing Musk’s pre-offer purchases, the on again, off again negotiations to buy twitter and its final closure. A twitter correspondent, Fr. Robert Ballecer, documents Musk’s funding sources and wonders whether twitter can be made to make money, particularly if its new owner plans a ‘free speech’ agenda. He argues that the ad. revenue won’t come to a cess-pit full of disinformation and fake news. This view is reinforced by Arwa Mahdawi, in an article in the Guardian. Ballecer also points out that the funding of the Twitter acquisition relies on Musk’s Tesla stock price, which isn’t doing so well today; it is also collateral against loans to fund Musk’s lifestyle. (Really, how much can you spend!)
The FT comments (£) on the nervousness of the banks funding the takeover, and notes that these will require collateral which as Tesla stock declines in price may cause, both the banks and Musk, a headache.
One of the first things announced is a “reduction in force”, this is covered from a particular point of view at…
