Elon Musk hears criticism and never hesitates to respond.
Like a boxer who takes the blows of his opponent in the first rounds of a boxing match, the billionaire tends to have phases of observation. He watches his opponents to try to detect their weakness before inflicting the fatal blow.
The bizarre CEO of Tesla (TSLA) – Get Tesla Inc Report has made a takeover bid of $ 44 billion, or $ 54.20 for Twitter (TWTR) – Get to share on Twitter, Inc. Report to buy the social network, which he describes as a “de facto town square” on the Internet.
Musk explains that his decision was motivated by a desire to restore the principles of free speech on the platform. The deal has alarmed Democrats, who say they fear the world’s richest man will cope with the Conservatives’ platform, and especially extremist and far-right voices. They also say they fear an explosion of hate speech in the name of freedom of speech.
New funding?
Musk has so far said that his Twitter will tolerate comments that fall within the legal scope and will comply with current legislation in every country where the social network operates. In principle, as long as something does not break the law, it will be accepted on Twitter.
The deal also raises questions about its financing. The billionaire managed to secure a $ 46.5 billion loan from banks and a margin loan guaranteed by his shares in Tesla. And that part, which is $ 21 billion, is the one that all eyes are on right now. Musk, who sold millions of shares in Tesla for just over $ 8.5 billion, wants to cut that cash contribution tied to his personal wealth, according to Reuters.
New financing can come in the form of preferred or ordinary equity. Musk is trying to persuade some major Twitter shareholders, hedge funds and wealthy people to provide preferred self-financing for the acquisition.
The billionaire is also trying to persuade some shareholders not to sell their shares as part of the offer, but to remain shareholders in the group, even when it is delisted.
Jack Dorsey, founder and former CEO of Twitter, is among the shareholders Musk has announced about his plans.
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Musk himself seems to have confirmed this information by commenting on a Twitter post mentioning the Reuters story.
“Also, as mentioned above, we will try to keep as many shareholders as possible on private Twitter!” Said the billionaire, whose net worth is estimated at $ 258 billion as of May 3, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Fee for commercial / government consumers
Aside from funding, the other question many observers are asking is, what economic model does Musk intend to adopt for Twitter? The tycoon mentioned the idea of removing advertising from the platform, and in particular for Blue subscribers, a subscription service offered by Twitter that gives users access to first-class features such as the ability to cancel a tweet. These features are available wherever you use the Twitter account you subscribed to.
“Anyone who signs up for Twitter Blue (ie pays $ 3 / month) should get a verification mark,” Musk suggested on April 9, citing one of the new products. “Blue now has the ability to change 20 seconds to edit a tweet feature,” he added.
Musk has just unveiled the first ideas for the economic model he intends to introduce after finalizing the acquisition of Twitter in October, if all goes according to plan. The entrepreneur points out that the platform will remain free for ordinary users. But on the other hand, Twitter will charge a small fee for businesses, companies and government users.
“Twitter will always be free for ordinary users,” Musk told his more than 90 million Twitter followers on May 3. “But maybe a light price for commercial / government consumers.”
The billionaire did not give more details: How much will this small price cost? Who falls into the category of government?
Twitter Blue currently costs $ 2.99 per month. However, Twitter mainly derives its advertising revenue.
There is a lot of speculation at the moment about Musk’s intentions regarding Twitter. The Wall Street Journal has just announced that the tycoon intends to resume the public offering of the company with an IPO over the next three years.
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