this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2023
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As Twitter, renamed X, faces increased scrutiny in the EU and usage falls, Elon Musk has floated drastic action.

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[–] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 34 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (4 children)

~~Nah, he never wanted to buy it.~~

~~It was a pump and dump and then the SEC forced him to actually buy it.~~

He tried to back out but was forced to complete the sale.

Now he has no idea what to do with it and is just digging himself deeper and deeper and deeper.

[–] microphone900@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

What was Elon Musk’s strategy for Twitter?

Well, he is kinda following a random message he got from an unknown person:

The three texts were sent on April 4, 2022. In the nearly 18 months since then, many of the decisions Musk made after he bought Twitter appear to have closely followed that road map, up to and including his ongoing attacks against the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization founded by Jewish Americans to counter discrimination.

The text messages described a series of actions Musk should take after he gained full control of the social media platform: “Step 1: Blame the platform for its users; Step 2: Coordinated pressure campaign; Step 3: Exodus of the Bluechecks; Step 4: Deplatforming.”

Seems he's killing it to get cheers and adulation from the far right.

[–] Fades@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why try to back out then? If this was some catch and kill op why did he humiliate himself and involve a fuck ton of bank loans??

Also it’s not like that text is some grand fuckin plan lmao

It’s a damn copy paste from the fascist playbook, reverse victim and offender/gaslight/silence those you don’t like with your new power

[–] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 10 points 1 year ago

Frankly he's a fucking idiot. He and his parents have been wealthy enough that he's never actually had a meaningful consequence of any decision he's ever made.

And, if he's sad about it, he just cries into a mountain of money until he feels superior again.

[–] ech@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

If he wanted to kill it, this whole charade would be utterly pointless. He could literally just pull the plug.

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

He signed a contract to buy it, then tried to back out.

[–] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 9 points 1 year ago

Good point, you are correct. I worded that incorrectly and have edited it.

To people like EM, laws are only there to force others to do what they want, not to bind or limit their actions. When he decided to back out of the deal, as far as he was concerned, he should have been allowed to.

When they sued to force the sale, it was the legal discovery that scared the shit out of him. So he had to go through with the purchase.

[–] hoshikarakitaridia@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

porque no los dos?

I think he found himself between a rock and a hard place having to buy Twitter, but now he is realizing he can't make his money back and his attempts to alter the platform to his liking are failing miserably as well, he is probably dead set on killing it for good.

[–] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm not so sure.

He owns it outright now.

There are no other shareholders to answer to.

If he wanted to close it down tomorrow, he could just turn off the servers and sack everyone.

[–] orcrist@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is likely that some of his employees have contracts, and he might have to pay out the remainder of those contracts, depending on the details and national labor law.

I also think as he doesn't align politically with a lot of ppl on Twitter, he might wanna phase it out slowly, so there's no sudden jump in other platforms trying to take over the role of Twitter.

Ofc I have no evidence for that, but I could see him doing that.

[–] mibo80@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

I like this take, too. I also see him spinning this into major tax write offs, or something. Even losses benefit billionaires in this country it seems.