Jeff Bezos has questioned whether China will rely on Elon Musk’s business with Tesla to quell criticism of Beijing on Twitter.
The world’s second-richest man tweets raising concerns about Beijing’s potential influence on Twitter hours after Tesla’s chief executive and current wealth leader reached a $ 44 billion deal with Twitter to buy on the influential social media platform.
Bezos quoted a New York Times reporter as saying China’s importance to Tesla’s business, including the fact that it is the second-largest electric car maker’s market. The tweet says China may already have an influence on Twitter.
Bezos replied: “Interesting question. Has the Chinese government just gained some influence in the town square? Musk called Twitter a “digital town square” after concluding a deal Monday and making his belief in open debate a central goal for the acquisition.
The agreed takeover sparked a debate over the effects of the influence of a powerful and wealthy man with many business interests, a platform used by 217 million people that plays a key role in shaping the political and media agenda in the United States and elsewhere.
Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, clarified his comments in subsequent tweets and said that any Chinese pressure is unlikely to lead to censorship. “My own answer to this question is probably not. The more likely result in this regard is the complexity in China for Tesla, not censorship on Twitter.
He added: “But we will see. Musk is extremely good at navigating this kind of complexity. “
Musk’s takeover was unexpected and controversial among Twitter employees. Speaking at a general meeting Monday after news of the deal, Parag Agraval, Twitter’s chief executive, told officials that the future direction of the social network was uncertain.
“Once the deal is done, we do not know in which direction the platform will go,” Agraval said. Musk will join Twitter staff for a question-and-answer session at a later date, the employees’ company said.
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