Musk Takes 9.2% Stake In Twitter

[kork13]

So basically as long as you use your brain and have the good sense to tell fact from fiction, the Russian bots won't affect you. But if you're someone who believes every conspiracy theory you read, it's probably best for you to stay off of social media.

More or less, yeah. But you also have to hope that your friends and the people you follow practice the same quality of critical thought. Else, they'll see those fake inflammatory articles or whatever that appeal to their viewpoint, share it out of reflex, then you (and all of their hundreds or thousands of friends/followers) wind up seeing it too... And inevitably, not everyone who does will critically assess what they're seeing, and thus further propagate this toxic spread.

Spoiler alert: critical thought is not a common trait across most populations in any forum..... let alone in the online/social media space. While reading/interacting online, social norms break down, people generally feel more comfortable, less bound by social obligation, and less inclined to approach the world with a critical eye.

[ua_guy]

To add to that, though... many of the markers of these ideas make it tough for otherwise rational people to suss out fact/reality from falsehood/skew.

If a handful of doctors is repeating the information....
Friends and coworkers are of the same mindset....
A person in authority believes it or repeats it (teacher, police officer, etc)...
A politician or president repeats it and adds anecdotal color to it...
There is data and visuals assembled which support it....
And it can be found on multiple places on the internet...

...Then, it must be true? Especially if it allows them to demonize or discredit any idea or opponent who is "against" them, even if that opponent or idea is not real.

Look at how many people believe in different religions, where there really is no proof of God except for faith itself, which isn't proof.

People actually died because they were convinced Hillary Clinton was running a child-sex ring under a pizza restaurant.

People literally guzzled hydroxychloroquine and stole their horse's ivermectin....

Almost half the people in this country still think the 2020 election was stolen...

...And behind so much of it is social media influence campaign from many different perspectives. The goal can be to polarize and divide, spread harmful information, harden minds, and create anger and disbelief.

[ua_guy]

Digging this one up again.

To begin to answer the question of what Musk is really up to…maybe he is buying Twitter. Maybe he cares so deeply about free speech that Twitter is his next big investment. Maybe he isn’t buying Twitter because of a massive “bot” problem, although the celebrity and political figure presence is decidedly real.

Or…what if… and this is not an original thought…
What if this is a coordinated strategic end to his companies massive appetite for cash and inability to produce anything other than paper wealth?

Think about it.
If a majority investor or CEO signals they’re pulling out, it tanks a company’s stock value.
Instead, what if they liquidate a massive portion of their shares under the false guise that they need cash for their next big idea, and they then get to liquidate while the stock price is sky-high while still bringing in new investment to their old ideas.

Then, they tank the deal and entangle it in a legal battle, like Musk has done with Twitter.

Meanwhile, Musk extracts another $10B in real cash from his companies in case a mean judge makes him actually buy Twitter, saying he’s short on cash and needs more. It’s a perfect double-dip.

My coin is on the idea Musk soon rides off into the sunset with a pile of cash, leaving shareholders with a couple empty bags and what’s left of Tesla, SpaceX…good ideas and great products, which will ultimately never be sustainable on a balance sheet.

Musk is always pushing the next thing. Here’s a Tesla car…but wait for the truck! (Which still isn’t). Or how about low-orbit high speed satellite Internet, another loss leader. Sell it to mobile customers while current service obligations can’t be met…because it can’t turn a profit. How about another new Tesla model—while existing orders for old models can’t be fulfilled…..

None of this is fact..or maybe it’s not fact just yet.
But does anyone else wonder?
Personally I wasn’t going to believe the “free speech” SJW getup, not even for a minute.

[rennigade]

Good ol Elon is apparently buying twitter now. Bots gonna do bot things. The world is now a better place.

[disneysteve]

Good ol Elon is apparently buying twitter now. Bots gonna do bot things. The world is now a better place.

He probably realized he didn't have a chance in court and would end up having to buy it anyway and deal with that scrutiny and publicity.

I'll believe it when it's a done deal, though.

[james.hendrickson]

Correct Rennigade. This is the headline from CNBC this morning:

Source Link here:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/04/twitter-shares-halted-on-report-that-musk-plans-to-go-through-with-deal-at-54point20-a-share.html

[LivingAlmostLarge]

This market is crazy.

[kork13]

He probably realized he didn't have a chance in court and would end up having to buy it anyway and deal with that scrutiny and publicity.

I'll believe it when it's a done deal, though.

Agreed -- his lawyers probably told him that he's in an indefensible position. If he's truly worried about the bots/fake accounts, once he owns the company he can lead the charge on clearing them out.

[myrdale]

Keep in mind we are talking about a scale of money far beyond what, all of us put together, can imagine. For a $44B deal, even tenths of a percent difference is millions of dollars.

[james.hendrickson]

Agreed -- his lawyers probably told him that he's in an indefensible position. If he's truly worried about the bots/fake accounts, once he owns the company he can lead the charge on clearing them out.

Seriously, what else could have changed his mind?

Maybe he thinks Tesla and SpaceX are in better shape now then when he first launched his bid?

[rennigade]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/48yhx7aHmxI

Let that sink in...savage!

[james.hendrickson]

For those of you who aren't following the latest twitter drama, Musk is set to take ownership of the company on Friday October 28th.

Here are some key points from a recent CNBC story on the issue:

• Billionaire Elon Musk visited Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday.
• The visit came a few days before Musk’s deadline to complete his acquisition of the company, or else face new trial dates.
• A judge gave Musk until Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time to complete the deal after she postponed the original trial dates.

And here is a screenshot from the same story. Its musk carrying a sink into twitter headquarters

Here is a link to the story at CNBC covering the transition.

[ua_guy]

That guy is an absolute buffoon.

Edited to add a quote regarding a message he posted about how he intends to run the platform:

"Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences!"

[rennigade]

For those of you who aren't following the latest twitter drama, Musk is set to take ownership of the company on Friday October 28th.

Here are some key points from a recent CNBC story on the issue:

• Billionaire Elon Musk visited Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday.
• The visit came a few days before Musk’s deadline to complete his acquisition of the company, or else face new trial dates.
• A judge gave Musk until Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time to complete the deal after she postponed the original trial dates.

And here is a screenshot from the same story. Its musk carrying a sink into twitter headquarters

Here is a link to the story at CNBC covering the transition.

Hopefully he shows up Friday or when the deal is closed with cleaning products to signify how he is going to clean up/fire the dead weight that is eating up hundreds of millions of dollars in that company.

I hope those people who snuff out free speech are scared for their jobs...although they'll just head to another tech company and pollute that too.

[bjl584]

I'm not on Twitter, but this should be interesting to watch