Let’s be clear: on Twitter, the billionaire dares everything, and that’s even how we recognize him. He has, for example, already called “stupid” coronavirus panic. Or explained considering creating a school named “Texas Institute of Technology & Science”, whose acronym “Tits” means “tits” in French. But also launched “I keep forgetting that you’re still alive”, to Bernie Sanders, in response to one of the 80-year-old former US presidential candidate’s tweets. But since the announcement of his takeover of Twitter on Monday, the account of the boss of Tesla spreads his triumph, between memes, schoolboy valves and uninhibited megalomania.
“Next step, I buy Coca-Cola to put cocaine back in”, he writes Thursday to the attention of thousands of hilarious Internet users, who in turn offer him to buy TikTok “to remove it”Sprite for “add codeine” or the Rolling Stones for “put music back” in the group. A series of jokes in which the richest man in the world participates himself. Reacting to the editing of a tweet announcing the takeover of McDonald’s for “repair all ice cream machines”he tempers: “Look, I can’t do miracles, okay?”
And Elon Musk can smile. Among the tweets he has liked recently, photomontages glorifying him, messages from big names in tech, like Jack Dorsey, the founder of the network himself, congratulating him. Not only by reaching an agreement for the acquisition of Twitter on Monday, he won the first round of a battle waged against the board of directors of the company, initially unfavorable to his proposal but, in addition, with this turbulent news, the CEO has gained more than 5 million followers in one week, according to the site Social Blade.
Propaganda by tweet
Even before the agreement was concluded, and contrary to the silence traditionally respected on this kind of mega-transaction, the billionaire was already chronicling his buyout wishes in part on his profile. “If our Twitter bid succeeds, we’ll beat the spambots or die trying!” he wrote, cavalier, on April 21.
Caught in the whirlwind of his own exultation and the strong reactions – both enthusiastic and devastated – provoked by the announcement, the founder of SpaceX now uses part of his account to fight for his project. Knowing how to make the network the “free speech platform” and make twitter “fun”. When the takeover was announced on April 25, this convinced libertarian wrote: “I hope even my worst critics stay on Twitter because that’s what free speech means.”
Critics, fearful of seeing insults and intox explode on the site if the billionaire were to reduce his moderation, which he does not hesitate to tackle: “The extreme revulsion of those fearing freedom of expression is eloquent”, he replies, philosopher, in another tweet. And to try to convince them, he clarifies his definition of “freedom of expression” as being what “corresponds to the law”. “I am against censorship which goes far beyond the law”, he proclaims to largely conquered followers.
Democrats in the sights
In addition to the jokes and inspired reflections, the entrepreneur from South Africa also seems to be testing the waters of another battle: that of politics. After insisting on the importance for Twitter to be “politically neutral” in order to “earning the public’s trust”, he published on thursday a meme wanting to illustrate its own positioning. What to remember? According to him, the left would have tended to radicalize, bringing the billionaire to get closer to the conservatives. An analysis not only questionable but which, in addition, addresses a direct hook to the Democratic camp, more mobilized against its new transaction.
Indeed, if the Republicans welcomed his purchase, like Senator Marsha Blackburn or former President Donald Trump, the accounts of Democratic personalities like Barack Obama or Bernie Sanders suffered a drop of several thousand. subscribers. A potential sign of massive departure of network users.
But Musk’s libertarian freewheeling may well cause him to veer off course. Accusing Twitter of having a bias in favor of “left” in his moderation, the entrepreneur posted a meme on Wednesday derogatory towards Vijaya Gadde, Senior Director of Policy and Safety at Twitter. Problem: The merger agreement signed between Twitter and Musk stipulates that the billionaire is authorized to tweet about the operation… Only if his tweets “do not disparage the company or any of its representatives”. Magnifying glass.