---
title: Why did Elon Musk buy Twitter?
description: The world’s richest man just purchased his favorite social media app.
---

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# [Why did Elon Musk buy Twitter?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/04262022-musk-buys-twitter)

 Written by [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/rob-litterst) | Apr 26, 2022 7:17:44 AM

We knew he loved sh*tposting — we just didn’t know how much.

Per *The Wall Street Journal*, Twitter’s most famous [sh*tposter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shitposting) (AKA Twitter troll), who moonlights as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is [buying](https://www.wsj.com/articles/twitter-and-elon-musk-strike-deal-for-takeover-11650912837?mod=hp_lead_pos1) the company for **$44B**.

#### **So how did we get here?**

Here’s a brief timeline of events leading up to the purchase:

- **April 4:** Musk disclosed he purchased a 9.3% stake in Twitter — becoming the company’s largest shareholder
- **April 5:** Musk was offered a board seat, which he later declined
- **April 14:** Musk [offered to buy](https://thehustle.co/04152022-musk-offers-to-buy-twitter/) Twitter for $43B
- **April 15:** Twitter’s board adopted a “poison pill” defense — a [move](https://twitter.com/TrungTPhan/status/1515012190301917186) that prevents unwanted takeovers
- **April 21:** Musk secured funding for his proposed purchase, including [~$25B](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/21/musk-to-explore-potential-tender-offer-for-twitter-has-46point5b-in-committed-financing-for-potential-deal.html) in debt financing led by Morgan Stanley
- **April 25:** Twitter accepted Musk’s offer

Whew. So what caused Twitter to come around?

Musk, [considered](https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-is-the-greatest-car-salesman-who-has-ever-lived-2016-10) by some the “greatest car salesman who has ever lived,” supposedly took his sales chops to Zoom last Friday, outlining his intentions to a group of shareholders via videoconference…

#### **… which are what, exactly?**

Musk has been adamant about [several changes](https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-elon-musk-would-do-with-twitter-11650200403?mod=article_inline) he would make after taking the company private, including:

- **Reducing content moderation:** Musk [tweeted](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1516483038242385928) that a social media platform’s policies should leave both the left and right equally unhappy, and said Twitter has the “potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe.”
- **Eliminating bots:** Musk [pledged](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1517215066550116354) to “defeat the spam bots or die trying” and “authenticate all real humans.”
- **Relying less on advertising: **In since-deleted tweets, Musk made the case for Twitter embracing a subscription model, and getting rid of ads for premium subscribers.

Additionally, Musk has joined the tech-Twitter elite in advocating for new features — including an edit button, longer tweets, and an open source algorithm.

#### **But Musk has many critics…**

… and they’re not convinced his intentions are pure. *The New Yorker*’s Kyle Chayka [argues](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/why-would-elon-musk-want-to-buy-twitter) that Musk’s bid is an attempt to maintain his ability to influence millions of people without interference.

If that’s the case, Musk’s past criticism of [Jeff Bezos](https://www.foxnews.com/media/elon-musk-mocks-washington-post-op-ed-twitter) and Marc Benioff, owners of *The Washington Post* and *Time *magazine, respectively, could end up looking comically hypocritical.

However, just yesterday, Musk [extended](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1518623997054918657) an olive branch to his critics, tweeting that he hopes they stay on the platform “because that is what free speech means.”

It raises the question: Can you really trust a sh*tposter?

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/04262022-musk-buys-twitter)

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