Mega-billionaire Elon Musk, nearing the finish line in his rocky takeover of Twitter, posted an open letter to advertisers on the the social network — seeking to calm their nerves that he won’t turn Twitter into a fever swamp of misinformation and hate speech.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX who is the world’s richest individual, is set to close his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter on Friday, Oct. 28, after months of back-and-forth during which he tried to back out of the pricey deal. Twitter had sued Musk to enforce the terms of his $54.20/share buyout agreement, and the court overseeing the matter had set an Oct. 28 deadline for the close.
In the letter, posted to Twitter on Thursday morning, Musk said most of the speculation about why he’s buying Twitter 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,” the tech mogul wrote.
Musk claimed he’s buying Twitter not “to make more money” but to “try to help humanity, whom I love.”
“Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” Musk wrote. “In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.”
He added, “Fundamentally, Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise.”
On Wednesday, Musk visited Twitter’s San Francisco offices — posting a video of himself walking into the building holding a sink. “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” he tweeted. Musk also changed the bio in his Twitter profile to “Chief Twit” and set his location as “Twitter HQ.”
Banks have begun sending the $13 billion in cash Musk needs in debt financing to close the Twitter deal, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing anonymous sources.
Here’s the text of Musk’s message to advertisers:
I wanted to reach out personally to share my motivation in acquiring Twitter. There has been much speculation about why I 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. There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.
In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost.
That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.
That said, Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences! In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.
I also very much believe that advertising, when done right, can delight, entertain and inform you; it can show you a service or product or medical treatment that you never knew existed, but is right for you. For this to be true, it is essential to show Twitter users advertising that is as relevant as possible to their needs. Low relevancy ads are spam, but highly relevant ads are actually content!
Fundamentally, Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise. To everyone who has partnered with us, I thank you. Let us build something extraordinary together.
