Elon Musk is the new owner of Twitter. The news is already sensational if we think that the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the richest man in the world according to Forbes, will become the sole owner of one of the most important social networks in the world. In the long history of the myth of Silicon Valley, the one of young geniuses who found empires starting from their garage, such a moment is undoubtedly a watershed between a before and an after, which in this case will not be immediate as some might think, but instead will take some time. In accepting Musk's $44 billion offer, Twitter's board of directors let it be known that the agreement between the parties should be finalized by 2022, the time needed to try to understand what Twitter will become under this new management.
In his press release, Tesla's founder spoke openly about freedom of speech as the
«the bedrock of a functioning democracy», declaring that he wants to relax the rules on Twitter in the moderation of content. A phrase that has made more than one commentator tremble. At the moment it is difficult to imagine what changes will be planned by Musk, but in the United States someone already begins to fear that in the name of free speech Twitter may reopen the doors to
Donald Trump, banned from the social network after the attack on the U.S. Congress. The most obvious discontent, however, is within the company, where many employees have said they are worried about the advent of the new owner. Despite reassurances from CEO
Parag Agrawal, successor to founder Jack Dorsey, and board head Bret Taylor,
The Washington Post reported on the shocked reactions of many employees. «Totally understand that this is entertainment for some,» tweeted someone.
«But please understand that this is certainly not entertainment for me.» During a meeting with workers, Agrawal assured that salaries would remain the same, while no reassurances were given on what company policy will be in the new course.
«Everything In Its Right Place» tweeted founder
Jack Dorsey, quoting Radiohead to assure that
«Elon is the only solution I trust.» Despite Dorsey's confidence though, who defines Twitter as
«the closest thing we have to a global consciousness», Musk's settlement could cause a flight of users from the social network. That of the founder of Tesla is undoubtedly a controversial figure, far from the idea of Jobs and Zuckerberg but closer to that of
Bezos and
Kalanick from the moral and questionable behavior and controversial.
«This company is very much undermonetized, especially compared to other platforms and competitors like Facebook» said
Pinar Yildirim, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.
«If you look at it from a point of pure business value, there’s definitely room for improvement.» Whatever Musk's true intentions, right now the questions are greater than the answers. From who he might choose to lead the company to what his involvement in Twitter's dynamics will be.
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