Elon Musk has bought Twitter. Now what? 

Words: Meghan Bobrowsky Producer: Bianca Farmakis

Elon Musk’s bid to purchase Twitter has succeeded, with the social media company officially accepting the billionaire’s $US44bn takeover offer.

Mr Musk’s plans for the takeover have been outlined across interviews, a TED conference, and of course, his own tweets.

1/soften moderation

As a self-described “free speech absolutist”, Mr Musk said in a TED conference that “it’s very important for [Twitter] to be an inclusive arena for free speech”. He said Twitter should be more cautious when taking down tweets or permanently banning users. “Time-outs are better,” he said.

2/privatise the platform

Mr Musk’s main aim is to take Twitter off the public stock exchange, which would likely make it easier to implement his changes. However, he said he hopes to retain as many shareholders as possible.

3/abolish the algorithm

Mr Musk proposed making Twitter’s algorithm open source, meaning others outside the company would be able to view and recommend fixes. One way to do that, he said, is to put the code on GitHub, a site used for storing software projects.

4/rely less on ads

Under Mr Musk, Twitter would potentially shift toward a model that relies more on subscriptions. Twitter Blue, an existing subscription features, charges a monthly fee of $US2.99. Mr Musk suggested the perks could also include removing all ads. In 2021, ads = 90 per cent of Twitter's revenue.

5/stop spam and scams

A top priority for Mr Musk is to eliminate “bot armies” on Twitter, which are spam accounts and run scams. He joked, “if I had a dogecoin for every crypto scam I saw…,” during the TED interview.

6/blue ticks, for a fee

Hopeful influencers may delight as Mr Musk suggested users who pay for Twitter Blue should receive an “authenticated” check mark. It would differ from the coveted blue tick that requires accounts to be both authentic and notable.

7/an edit button?

Twitter users have long requested an edit button. Earlier this month, Mr Musk asked his followers if they wanted one. Over four million accounts voted — and 70 per cent said yes.

I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.

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