On Thursday, former President Donald Trump issued a response to news that billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk had officially closed his $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter.
“Congratulations to Elon Musk on his purchase of Twitter. Many people are saying that change was needed, as the old management was too concerned with the woke agenda,” Trump wrote in a statement. “I have been told that my account will be back up and running on Monday – we will see. Happy to be able to engage with an African-American owned business!”
The news comes as Musk’s first day as CEO of Twitter was an eventful one, seeing him fire CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust and safety, and the company’s general counsel, Sean Edgett, The Washington Post reported.
Musk’s purchase of the company was finalized on Thursday evening, and the company’s stock was purchased for $54.20 per share, according to Business Insider.
Musk visited the company’s San Francisco headquarters on Wednesday, bringing a bathroom sink into the building with him and posting a video of the moment with the caption, “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” He changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit” and his location to “Twitter HQ.”
Musk released a statement in the morning, giving his explanation for why he wanted to buy Twitter.
“I wanted to reach out personally to share my motivation in acquiring Twitter,” Musk wrote. “There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong.”
“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk continued. “There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”
“In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost,” Musk continued. “That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.”
“That said, Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” Musk concluded. “In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.”
