As Twitter, renamed X, faces increased scrutiny in the EU and usage falls, Elon Musk has floated drastic action.

  • indigomirage@lemmy.ca
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    8 months ago

    It is increasingly likely that the point of purchasing Twitter was to destroy it.

    Edit - FWIW, I waffle back and forth on this one. I mean, the guy’s not a complete idiot. Though I don’t certainly think he’s the genius people often think he is. He’s needed had a fair amount of luck and self-serving coercion to get where he is. The Twitter stuff is just so blind to market reality that I wonder if there’s some self-sabotage in there?

    (Either way, I am genuinely enjoying the the follow-on comments here!)

    • fubo@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Well, mostly to take it away from the libs and hand it to fascists.

      Expect a fire sale to Trump Social.

    • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      His point of purchasing Twitter was to pretend that he was purchasing Twitter. He never intended to go through with it.

      Remember that he tried to back out but courts forced him to go through with it.

      • variaatio@sopuli.xyz
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        9 months ago

        Since he was an idiot and gave a no reservations or conditions bid for the company. At way overpriced at that. The existing biard and owners must have been fainting from shock and glee.

        No one sane ever gives no reservations and conditions bid. That is insanely stupid thing to do.

        Twitter didn’t make Elon buy Twitter. Elon did that to himself. Under normal bid, absolutely he could back out by arguing one of the conditions his lawyers would have put in.

        Either his lawyers were highly incompetent, he didn’t use them or he ignored their advice that it would be highly unusual and monumentally stupid to issue such bid while waiving ones right to have terms and conditions included. Well negotiate in terms and conditions. Since obviously otherside might refuse to accept the buying contract, if they don’t like the terms and conditions.

        In this case all the judge did was looked at the bid contract and went “Mister Musk, you signed bid to buy with no terms and conditions. So you have to honor the bid.”

    • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      Nah, he never wanted to buy it.

      It was a pump and dump and then the SEC forced him to actually buy it.

      He tried to back out but was forced to complete the sale.

      Now he has no idea what to do with it and is just digging himself deeper and deeper and deeper.

        • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
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          9 months ago

          Good point, you are correct. I worded that incorrectly and have edited it.

          To people like EM, laws are only there to force others to do what they want, not to bind or limit their actions. When he decided to back out of the deal, as far as he was concerned, he should have been allowed to.

          When they sued to force the sale, it was the legal discovery that scared the shit out of him. So he had to go through with the purchase.

      • microphone900@lemmy.ml
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        9 months ago

        What was Elon Musk’s strategy for Twitter?

        Well, he is kinda following a random message he got from an unknown person:

        The three texts were sent on April 4, 2022. In the nearly 18 months since then, many of the decisions Musk made after he bought Twitter appear to have closely followed that road map, up to and including his ongoing attacks against the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization founded by Jewish Americans to counter discrimination.

        The text messages described a series of actions Musk should take after he gained full control of the social media platform: “Step 1: Blame the platform for its users; Step 2: Coordinated pressure campaign; Step 3: Exodus of the Bluechecks; Step 4: Deplatforming.”

        Seems he’s killing it to get cheers and adulation from the far right.

        • Fades@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Why try to back out then? If this was some catch and kill op why did he humiliate himself and involve a fuck ton of bank loans??

          Also it’s not like that text is some grand fuckin plan lmao

          It’s a damn copy paste from the fascist playbook, reverse victim and offender/gaslight/silence those you don’t like with your new power

          • deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz
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            9 months ago

            Frankly he’s a fucking idiot. He and his parents have been wealthy enough that he’s never actually had a meaningful consequence of any decision he’s ever made.

            And, if he’s sad about it, he just cries into a mountain of money until he feels superior again.

        • Ech@lemm.ee
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          9 months ago

          If he wanted to kill it, this whole charade would be utterly pointless. He could literally just pull the plug.

      • hoshikarakitaridia@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        porque no los dos?

        I think he found himself between a rock and a hard place having to buy Twitter, but now he is realizing he can’t make his money back and his attempts to alter the platform to his liking are failing miserably as well, he is probably dead set on killing it for good.

        • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
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          9 months ago

          I’m not so sure.

          He owns it outright now.

          There are no other shareholders to answer to.

          If he wanted to close it down tomorrow, he could just turn off the servers and sack everyone.

          • orcrist@lemm.ee
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            9 months ago

            It is likely that some of his employees have contracts, and he might have to pay out the remainder of those contracts, depending on the details and national labor law.

            • hoshikarakitaridia@sh.itjust.works
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              8 months ago

              I also think as he doesn’t align politically with a lot of ppl on Twitter, he might wanna phase it out slowly, so there’s no sudden jump in other platforms trying to take over the role of Twitter.

              Ofc I have no evidence for that, but I could see him doing that.

    • Fades@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Anyone that believes this is truly brain dead. He was humiliated when he didn’t look into the deal signed the contract and then tried to pull out when he realized what was happening. He had to beg for loans for fucks sake, putting up Tesla shares and other things as collateral.

      He’s just a dumb rich piece of shit who is desperate for control and power. He will say or do anything to get what he wants (especially if he thinks it will garner attention) - that doesn’t require a master plan or any real preemptive thought for that matter

      He’s a fucking piece of shit with a golden parachute out his ass and a silver spoon in his mouth since he was a child. He has ALWAYS bought his way in, look at damn near every business venture this piece of shit has had. Shit, he literally bought his way into Tesla, then OUSTED THE OGS AND LABELED HIMSELF A FUCKIN FOUNDER.

      It has always worked for him so he kept trying to buy his way thru shit. Just look at his little spat with Zuck. He is ALL talk; especially when his money gets to do the talking. When shit hits the fan he scrambles. Always has always will

    • Shard@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      “If you don’t like it then leave” never felt so satisfying and justified.

  • aceshigh@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    so his plan is to give another platform a chance… get it popular in EU and then have it spread globally. cool.

  • BarqsHasBite@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Ah business genius. Take your product out of a massive relatively rich population. EU 450 million people, Europe 740 million.