The long-running Elon Musk–Twitter saga may be nearing a close. In a letter to advertisers shared on social media, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said that he’s bought Twitter and detailed the motivation behind the $44 billion USD purchase.
Musk started the letter by saying that “there has been about why [he] bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong.”
“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” he wrote.
Musk went on to address potential fears of users who worry the platform “will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers.” Despite his earlier stance that Twitter should allow for all legal speech, he clarified that the platform will employ some form of content moderation.
“Twitter cannot be a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!,” Musk wrote.
He described his vision for Twitter as “warm and welcoming to allow,” along with adhering to laws.
The letter arrives amid concerns from advertisers that total free speech on the platform would create strife regarding ads. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal citing sources familiar with the matter claimed that auto advertisers were particularly concerned about potential conflicts given that Musk is the CEO of Tesla.
Along with posting the letter, Musk has crowned himself head of Twitter, changing his bio to read “Chief Twit.”
Twitter has yet to officially confirm the news of Musk’s acquisition.
Dear Twitter Advertisers pic.twitter.com/GMwHmInPAS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022
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