April 29, 2022

Image: Christian Marquardt/Getty Images; Protocol
Good morning! Elon Musk is a free speech absolutist, but he’s learning that freedom has a price. Musk isn’t allowed to tweet whatever he wants about Tesla or Twitter, according to regulatory filings, but if history tells us anything, he’s going to anyway. So how much will it cost him? I’m Owen Thomas, and I think Elon Musk should be free to go to Mars.
Elon Musk will not let you down, and he will not give you up. You just have to have some faith in his sound, which is the one thing that he’s got.
That sound, as George Michael once sang, is freedom. Free speech! Freedom from Wall Street! Freedom from the SEC! Free beer, too, while we’re at it!
Musk is learning a painful lesson this week, as his plan to purchase Twitter to safeguard everyone’s freedom of speech, including his own prized privilege of unlimited gum-running, turns out to be far more costly than he might have imagined.
Free speech is expensive. The $44 billion Musk has agreed to pay for Twitter is just the start. Tesla’s shares have dropped almost 25% since April 4, the day Musk revealed his stake. That’s cost him about $48 billion — more than his bid for Twitter. The primary reason is that Musk, who has already indebted himself by borrowing against his Tesla shares, is going deeper into debt to buy Twitter. At some point, if Tesla shares drop enough, he may have to sell shares to avoid defaulting on those loans.
Musk uncharacteristically agreed to limit his speech to make the deal happen. Of course, just because Musk makes a contractual agreement to do something is no indication that he will abide by those rules.
Musk has suffered another reverse on the speech front. He has long battled with the SEC over his tweets.
This all gets into deep questions about what Twitter is — and what Musk is paying for. Is it the public square? Is it the crucible of democracy? Is it the last vestige of the revolutionary spirit of Web 2.0? Or is it just, you know, a place where people can post things? “Twitter is the closest thing we have to a global consciousness,” Dorsey wrote this week, adding that he trusts Musk’s “mission to extend the light of consciousness.” All of which probably makes more sense after a gallon of salt juice and an infrared sauna, and shows you that maybe we need to pay a little less deference to the freely offered speech of founders like Musk and Dorsey.
So will Musk take these lies and make them true somehow? (Yeah, I’m still on that George Michael kick. Bear with me, it’s a vibe.) Maybe. But more likely he’ll learn that owning Twitter really means that Twitter owns him.
— Owen Thomas (email | twitter | dog’s instagram)At Intel, we have an over 50-year history of manufacturing innovation, and we believe in the power of technology to create a more responsible, inclusive, and sustainable world for all. Discover how smart infrastructure solutions from Intel can help transform the future.
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At Intel, we have an over 50-year history of manufacturing innovation, and we believe in the power of technology to create a more responsible, inclusive, and sustainable world for all. Discover how smart infrastructure solutions from Intel can help transform the future.
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