Elon Musk Backs Out of Twitter Deal and his “Free Speech” Absolutism
--
After an almost three-month-long saga of Elon Musk flirting with buying Twitter, it was announced on July 8th that he is backing out of the deal. I always believed that the Twitter purchase would never go through. Elon’s reasoning for backing out is vague — claiming that Twitter was withholding information regarding spam accounts. Furthermore, I don’t think this was the quest for free speech that Musk claimed. Instead, it was a publicity stunt to overshadow sexual misconduct allegations and claims from former employees of poor working conditions (coupled with OSHA violations) while appeasing his army of Elon bros by reinforcing the idea that he is some sort of “genius.”
Who is Elon Musk?
Elon Musk is most known currently as the CEO of Tesla Inc., as well as the founder and CEO of SpaceX. While Musk primarily focuses on projects that will advance the future, much of his past continues to be rewritten. Here is why the common belief that Musk is a “self-made genius billionaire” is incorrect.
“Elon is self-made.”
It’s no secret that many of us love a typical “American Dream” success story — a man who comes from nothing, works hard and makes a name for himself in America. Except, it is not true for Elon. Elon was born in South Africa to two wealthy parents, Errol and Maye Musk. Errol Musk wore many hats, being an electromechanical engineer, pilot, and property developer by day — while also a part-owner in an emerald mine in Zambia for much of Elon’s youth. It isn’t a secret that he was wealthy. Errol Musk was once quoted in Business Insider, “We had so much money at times we couldn’t even close our safe.” Unfortunately, Elon was also raised on tough streets, one where he could sell diamonds he stole from his dad to make a quick profit.
Why Would Elon even want to buy Twitter?
Probably for the same reason that Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post, Rupert Murdoch ran Fox and the tabloid circuit forever, and Mark Zuckerberg is (somehow) still at Meta: Power.
Besides tweeting memes that only his loyal fanbase would enjoy, Elon posts a lot about free speech. Although it has been a consistent Republican talking point…
