Elon Musk, who has been called both a patriot and a villain, continues to move forward with his $44 billion hostile takeover of Twitter.
Musk outmaneuvered Twitter’s board and forced the acceptance of his offer on April 25, but Musk notes it will take another two to three months before the transition of ownership is finalized.
Musk is slowly revealing what changes he plans to bring to the platform. To many cheers but louder jeers, Musk declared on Tuesday that one of the changes users can expect to see is a return of former President Donald Trump to the platform.
Musk made the comment during an appearance at FT Live’s “Future of the Car” conference:
“Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots, or scam, spam accounts,” said Musk. “I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”
Musk previously stated that he wants Twitter to represent all Americans better and be a platform where all can engage in productive dialogue:
Regarding the infamous “Trump ban,” Musk said, “I would reverse the permanent ban,” adding that the decision was not final nor imminent as “I don’t own Twitter yet.”
Interestingly, Musk added that former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey agrees that banning Trump from the platform should not have happened. Fox News, however, notes that “Dorsey has yet to publicly respond to the claim.”
Trump reportedly told Fox News that he would not return to Twitter even if allowed to, saying he would stay on his TRUTH Social platform.
“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on TRUTH,” Trump told Fox News on April 25. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it, and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on TRUTH.”
Fortune Magazine also profiled Musk’s desire to make Twitter more of a hub for free speech:
“Twitter has become the de facto town square,” Musk said. “It’s important people have the reality and the perception that they’re able to speak freely within the bounds of the wall.”
The outlet also reports that Musk said that “he felt suspensions were better than permanent bans, explaining that an important part of free speech is that people you don’t like [should be] allowed to say something you don’t like.”
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