To believe his Twitter feed, Elon Musk was on a trip to Germany last weekend. In the Berlin region, more precisely, where his Tesla group has just deployed a Giga Factory, a huge assembly plant. Busy weekend for the businessman who split from a long visit to the site and tried to enter the Berghain, one of the most popular nightclubs select of the planet. Before renouncing it, on the grounds that the word Peace was inscribed on its facade – he was reportedly refused entry, according to other sources.
They wrote PEACE on the wall at Berghain! I refused enter.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2022
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The two events are detailed there on the Twitter feed of the businessman, reputed to be provocative, transhumanist and libertarian. But not the one that made the front page of the financial press on Monday April 4 and drove the markets. Elon Musk has become Twitter’s largest shareholder, tied with Morgan Stanley. According to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), signed by him and dated Monday, he now owns 9.2% of the capital of the social network after having spent some 3 billion dollars. Or about 1% of his professional fortune.
15.000 tweets
Everyone is wondering about the intentions of the billionaire who has a complicated relationship with the social network and its leaders who closely monitor his activity. A user since 2009, he is extremely active there with his community of more than 80 million subscribers with more than 15,000 tweets posted to date. Lots of elliptical or esoteric messages. But above all comments on his investments in cryptocurrencies or on the health of his two babies, his space company Space X or Tesla electric cars.
The SEC, the European stock market policeman, has placed Elon Musk under surveillance since the publication of one of his tweets, in 2018, by which he claimed to have the necessary funding to withdraw Tesla from the stock market. The title then soared… In addition to a fine of 20 million dollars, he was forced to resign from his position as chairman of the board of directors of Tesla. He has since been required to submit every tweet about the automaker to the company’s lawyers.
Freedom of expression
Twitter executives strictly adhere to these instructions. But far from distancing himself from the social network, the billionaire has redoubled his activity there. And don’t fail to shoot his arrows at him. On March 25, he organized a poll in which more than 2 million people participated. Question: Does Twitter strictly adhere to the principle of free expression? His fans had answered no, at 70%.
Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.
What should be done? https://t.co/aPS9ycji37
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022
It has just taken a new step today. The 3 billion dollars invested allow it to have a say in the strategy of the social network. And almost give him the right of life or death on Twitter, whose title grew by 25% in the first exchanges in New York. At least Elon Musk will have made a good deal.
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