back to article Elon Musk's latest launch: An unsolicited Twitter takeover

The Twitter-Elon-Musk saga has taken another turn, with the tech billionaire tabling an offer of $54.20 per share to buy the website outright. Musk snapped up a 9.2 percent stake in the company in March (disclosed via SEC filing on April 4) but it was announced earlier this week that he would not be taking a seat on the …

  1. aerogems Silver badge
    FAIL

    Money can't buy maturity

    He was kicked off the board before he even started, now he's pouting like a spoiled child. A spoiled child who can afford to throw around tens of billions of dollars, but a spoiled child just the same. He's like the archetypal rich kid in a children's show who tries to buy friends because that's the only way they can understand the world.

    1. Halfmad

      Re: Money can't buy maturity

      He never joined because of the restrictions over how much stock he could own.

      That would suggest he planned to buy more from day one.

      1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

        Re: Money can't buy maturity

        SEC won't be amused. It was supposed to be a passive investment, now it's turning into a hostile takeover announced via err... Twitter rather than filing.

        Also be interesting if there's market manipulation in the announcement, ie share price rises on this news, so Musk's current stake gains.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Holmes

          Re: Money can't buy maturity

          As I explained three days ago, his first SEC filing was a 13G form for a passive investment while he served on the board. He submitted a revised 13D filing to allow him to be an active investor with no limit to his stock holdings.

          The SEC will have no problem with this particular action, assuming he follows through and is not just trying to manipulate the market.

          As to why, Elon doesn't deal in whys, he deals in whims.

          I stand by my prediction that this was his plan when he refused a seat on the board.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          FAIL

          Re: Money can't buy maturity

          ...now it's turning into a hostile takeover announced via err... Twitter rather than filing.

          His announcement on Twitter was a link to the filing.

      2. Danny 2

        Re: Money can't buy maturity

        Well, it certainly suggests he planned to buy more from day two, when an underling told him about the stock restrictions of being on the board.

        I just don't buy him. For a guy touted as being 'the smartest guy in any room' he must only be in very empty rooms.

        Me, I never learned Latin. I know 'caveat emptor' means buyer beware, but what is the equivalent for beware of the buyer?

        Maxwell, Murdoch, Musk.

        1. David 132 Silver badge
          Headmaster

          Re: Money can't buy maturity

          > Me, I never learned Latin. I know 'caveat emptor' means buyer beware, but what is the equivalent for beware of the buyer?

          That would be "cave emptor", I believe - Latin being very, very beholden to the endings of words (as any fule kno).

          I am now having flashbacks to my year of Latin and Greek lessons aged 11. Eeek.

          1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

            Re: Money can't buy maturity

            "That would be "cave emptor", I believe - Latin being very, very beholden to the endings of words (as any fule kno)."

            I didn't kno that! Clearly I'm not a fule!! Oh, wait. You git! Now I know too!!!

            1. David 132 Silver badge
              Happy

              Re: Money can't buy maturity

              It was a Molesworth reference, but I doubt that name means anything to many of the readers here these days!

            2. jake Silver badge

              Re: Money can't buy maturity

              Actually, that would be caveat emptor, as enshrined nicely in English Law.

              As opposed to cave canum.

              It's a subjective thing.

              1. Steve K

                Re: Money can't buy maturity

                Cave canem surely? Write it out 100 times…

                Cave emptor “Beware buyer”

                Caveat emptor “Let he who buys beware”

                Romani ite domum……

                1. jake Silver badge

                  Re: Money can't buy maturity

                  Ah. I got the short end of the stick. Scrolling to fast and parsing too slowly.

                  I believe cave emptori would be closer.

          2. NeilPost Silver badge

            Re: Money can't buy maturity

            Although I never did Latin, everything I have found says caveat emptor.

            https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caveat_emptor

            Perhaps you went to an inferior school with your prickly - but suspect - grammar correction.

            Romani ite domum

            https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0lczHvB3Y9s&vl=en

            1. veti Silver badge

              Re: Money can't buy maturity

              I think you need to read more carefully.

          3. Margaret Bartley

            Re: Money can't buy maturity

            Cave emptori.

            "of the buyer" is the dative case, which, for this declension, ends in "i".

            Cave is the active form for this conjugation

            1. Julian Bradfield

              Re: Money can't buy maturity

              Cavēre, like most transitive verbs, takes the accusative (hence cave canem), so "beware of the buyer" is cave emptorem.

              Sometimes it was also used with ab + ablative (cave ab emptore). But never with dative.

    2. The Man Who Fell To Earth Silver badge
      FAIL

      Re: Money can't buy maturity

      Great, so Musk now wants to own the high-tech equivalent of a restroom wall.

      I'd suggest he buy Truth Social.

      1. Someone Else Silver badge
        Big Brother

        Re: Money can't buy maturity

        That actually would not be out of the realm of possibility. Musk is a MAGAt, and a tRump apologist. He has stated in the past that tRump should not have been banned from Twatter, and is in favor of rescinding his ban. (It is entirely possible that one of the driving motives to get on the board and/or to control Twatter is to allow tRump and other such liars back onto the platform, in return for unspecified "future favors" from the head MAGAt.)

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: Money can't buy maturity

          >tRump should not have been banned from Twatter

          Something that many non-Trump fans also agree with.

          Should the head of state be banned from Twitter? From Facebook, from Google, from ICANN ?

          Next time it might be your candidate that is banned from the modern world.

          1. Martin-73 Silver badge

            Re: Money can't buy maturity

            He was warned plenty of times. And he wasn't the head of state, he was a manbaby

            1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

              Re: Money can't buy maturity

              Was he not banned while still wearing the big hat? To be honest I try not to follow US news too closely for medical reasons

              1. Someone Else Silver badge

                Re: Money can't buy maturity

                He was banned shortly after being replaced by the person who won the 2020 election.

            2. R Soul Silver badge

              Re: Money can't buy maturity

              And still is a manbaby.

    3. Rol

      Re: Money can't buy maturity

      The board offered Elon a seat at the table and he politely declined their offer.

      He's offered well above the market price for shares, but he wants them all, so he can pursue his own agenda,

      An agenda that might not be very rewarding for investors, but possibly very rewarding for democracy the world over.

      1. Someone Else Silver badge

        Re: Money can't buy maturity

        An agenda that might not be very rewarding for investors, but possibly very rewarding for democracy the world over.

        I have a hard time seeing purposely turning the platform into the world's largest disinformation and propaganda spigot can possibly be "very rewarding for democracy", but that's just me, I guess.

        Unless, of course, your definition of "democracy" is the same as tRump's, which is something along the lines of, "You can do or say anything you want, so long as I agree with it, and/or it makes me money."

        1. FeepingCreature Bronze badge

          Re: Money can't buy maturity

          I think this is just what democracy costs. You can't save democracy with censorship, it's like bombs for peace.

          1. Someone Else Silver badge

            Re: Money can't buy maturity

            Yeah, sure. And you can't falsely yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater, either. Democracy does not hinge on either case.

        2. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Martin-73 Silver badge

        Re: Money can't buy maturity

        No, as stated upthread, he's pro-trump. Pro trump people believe the results of the election should be ignored and him given the presidency he LOST. So that's NOT rewarding for democracy to me

      3. Potemkine! Silver badge

        Re: Money can't buy maturity

        I doubt democracy can be a one-man job. The concept of the "providential man" is detrimental to the one of Democracy.

        Twitter is far from being a democratic tool. It's a loud speaker for hatred, racist, xenophobic and fascist contents. Twitter is much more related to Anarchy than to Democracy, it's a tool helping the vilest human instincts to express themselves.

  2. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

    Why buy Twitter for vastly inflated price when you have the cash - and the gumption - to build your own MuskSphere and Musk all you want ?

    You're targetting Twitter just because it's there, like a whore on the street corner ?

    Even a whore can say no.

    1. Wellyboot Silver badge

      Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

      The pimp (shareholders) might disagree. Does that make Wall St. a red light zone?

      I agree with your 'what's the point' though !

    2. fwthinks

      Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

      rem - how to make millions in a few days (aka pump and dump)

      10 - buy shares at x

      20 - offer to buy the company for x+y to push up the price

      30 - sell shares for x+y

      40 - keep profit y

      50 - goto 10

      1. Helcat

        Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

        Erm... not quite...

        40 Keep profit of (y - (y*T))

        Where T is the Tax %.

        You're forgetting capital gains tax.

        1. fwthinks

          Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

          sorry - i assumed rich people don't pay tax

          1. This post has been deleted by its author

          2. This post has been deleted by its author

      2. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

        Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

        You forgot that Pump and Dump schemes are illegal.

        The US SEC would love nothing more than to take Elon down a peg or three.

        1. MrDamage Silver badge

          Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

          Since when has things being illegal stopped His Muskiness?

        2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

          Strewth !.... How much more evidence do you need fed to you?

          The US SEC would love nothing more than to take Elon down a peg or three. ..... Steve Davies 3

          What???? And kill one of its golden geese? I don't thinks so. It is the likes of Elon Musk that keeps the Fed going and the SEC in work pumping and dumping dollars to favoured market players. It's just a flash cash game to play and try not to crash or profit extraordinarily too obviously from.

          Haven't you yet realised that?

          1. Martin-73 Silver badge
            Pint

            Re: Strewth !.... How much more evidence do you need fed to you?

            Sir, who are you and what have you done with the original owner of this handle? .... your post made sense and I agree with it. Have a pint for your dedication!

            1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

              Re: Strewth !.... How much more evidence do you need fed to you?

              Maybe someone with a lot of money has bought the source code to amanfromMars 1?

              1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

                Re: Strewth !.... How much more evidence do you need fed to you?

                Maybe someone with a lot of money has bought the source code to amanfromMars 1? ... John Brown (no body)

                Do you think if that someone was Elon Musk it would be an APTly absurd, remarkably shrewd and obscenely profitable, out of this world purchase/investment which the likes of Earthly regulatory authorities and Securities and Exchange Commissions would have no universal right to tangle with and become embroiled and entangled in?

                And if they did ever presume and further assume to try to exercise such a right to tangle and become embroiled and entangled in any APTly absurd, remarkably shrewd and obscenely profitable, out of this world purchased investments, how well or badly do you think they would rightly fare in such an ACTive Live Operational Virtual Environment in which they are defenceless and easily considered as prey?

        3. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

          >You forgot that Pump and Dump schemes are illegal.

          >The US SEC would love nothing more than to take Elon down a peg or three.

          Only if you are dumb enough to send an email to your accountant saying this is a scheme (which many people have)

          Ideal case would be the SEC blocking him, then he can sell his shares walk away with a profit and say "I genuinely tried but the guberment stopped me!" The SEC can hardly sue him for selling after they told him he couldn't buy

          1. jake Silver badge

            Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

            I just looked at the calendar.

            Gut feeling is that this is nothing more than another one of the stoner's "4/20" pipe dreams, on which date he'll laugh and say "just kidding'" or something equally brilliant.

            We'll know on Wednesday.

    3. Helcat

      Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

      Simple: Twitter is an established platform and has a lot of users already, so there's less risk.

      1. Warm Braw

        Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

        there's less risk

        On the one hand, Musk could start Mutter and fail to get enough users to make it viable. On the other, he could acquire Twitter for an eye-watering sum of money and have sufficient of its users leave after his transformation that it's no longer viable. There's certainly less at stake in the former.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

          OK, but given his character he probably assumes everyone will stay, and I'm afraid he's right - user inertia is hard to overcome.

          1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

            Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

            Second Life. Myspace. Friendster. Google+....

            1. DryBones
              Pint

              Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

              SecondLife is still going and doing fine.

              And has graphics that make the current 'popular' metaverses that are just NFT tie-ins look like toys. Also tons of physics driven vehicles, weaponry, events... SL was doing concerts before Fortnite existed.

              https://www.makeuseof.com/what-is-second-life-history-metaverse/

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

            There is already a flow of people leaving Twitter to decentralised alternatives since the Musk news came out.

            If Musk were to buy Twitter, open it up to Trump, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and various terrorist groups, you can bet that many other people would leave too. And, more importantly, I suspect many official users would leave the platform too. Would governments or heads of state of countries in the developed world still want to have an account on Twitter? Would big brands still want to have a presence on Twitter if he would turn it (further) into a cess pit? Right now they are essentially providing free advertising for Twitter every time they say "Follow us on Twitter for updates on roadworks in your area".

        2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

          Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

          "On the one hand, Musk could start Mutter and fail to get enough users to make it viable."

          I'm not sure the build fast, fail fast, learn, rebuild model works in this case :-)

          Although to be fair, I'd much rather see a Twitter crash'n'burn rather than a Falcon or Starship.

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Sorry Elon, but what's the point ?

      If he gets hold of Twitter then high on his list of things to do is to allow No 45 back on the service.

      The same goes for Marjorie 'Jewish Space Lasers' Taylor Greene.

      The new Messiah... aka Elon Musk will be applauded by his cult members. Controlling Twitter will give him a few million more disciples.

  3. NoneSuch Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Fixed it for you Elon.

    "I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy."

    Should read: I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be my platform for marketing spin around the globe, and I believe is necessary to silence my critics after consistently failing to deliver on multiple occasions.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Fixed it for you Elon.

      If a billionaire wanted to silence critics and spread their own message wouldn't they just buy a major national newspaper?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Fixed it for you Elon.

        It's touching that you think the dead tree press has that sort of influence any more.

        That approach didn't work for Bezos. He bought the Washington Post and there's plenty of critcism of that vile gazillionaire.

        Billionaires who want to silence critics and spread their own message only have to buy a few politicians.

        1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

          Re: Fixed it for you Elon.

          >It's touching that you think the dead tree press has that sort of influence any more.

          With young hip el'reg reading IT professionals = no

          With people that write to their congressperson = yes

          >That approach didn't work for Bezos. He bought the Washington Post and there's plenty of critcism of that vile gazillionaire.

          Although it's stance on unions seems to have shifted recently

          1. heyrick Silver badge
            Happy

            Re: Fixed it for you Elon.

            "With young hip el'reg reading IT professionals"

            Aw, thanks.

            But I haven't been young for too many decades, and I was never hip.

            1. Steve K

              Re: Fixed it for you Elon.

              “Hip replacement” maybe for many of us….

              1. Tom 7

                Re: Fixed it for you Elon.

                Hipster Replacement.

        2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

          If Elon wants to fix things, avoid the obvious glaring mistakes ....

          Billionaires who want to silence critics and spread their own message only have to buy a few politicians. .... Anonymous Coward

          That’s a waste of time, effort and money nowadays, AC, for nobody believes what politicians say or promise what to do. Don’t you read the news and not see the evidence of their fanciful lies in all of their pathetic glory?

          Where have you been? Somewhere strange and foreign?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: If Elon wants to fix things, avoid the obvious glaring mistakes ....

            You clearly need to return to your home planet.

            Billionaires and crooks don't buy politicians for their words and worthless promises. They buy politicians to get influence, pick up juicy government contracts/assets, make life difficult for their critics, get taxpayer money to prop up their dodgy businesses and/or wacky conspiracy theories, etc, etc.

      2. werdsmith Silver badge

        Re: Fixed it for you Elon.

        A national newspaper = 19th century technology with fast dwindling circulation? Increasingly irrelevant and even tabloid depths of scumminess have been surpassed by social media.

    3. Arthur the cat Silver badge
      Megaphone

      Re: Fixed it for you Elon.

      the platform for free speech

      Anyone who thinks free speech needs a single technological platform has rather misunderstood what free speech is.

  4. fxkeh

    Funds?

    I wonder how's he going to pay for it. He may be "worth" $300m but almost all of that value is in shares of companies - mainly Telsa - he's not going to have $40m sitting in a bank account. Sell some of his Telsa shares? (Would he risk becoming the non-top shareholder in the company he's most associated with?)

    1. Hans Neeson-Bumpsadese Silver badge

      Re: Funds?

      Paradoxically I think the practice with super rich people like that is actually to borrow the money. The lender knows that you should be good for it, as you have that worth in stock. Lots of empires (Trump comes immediately to mind) are built on debt.

      1. Ian Johnston Silver badge

        Re: Funds?

        I read somewhere that Trump is so heavily in debt that his net worth is significantly less than zero.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Funds?

          Trump is so heavily in debt that his net worth is significantly less than zero.

          As a certain Sergeant-Major Williams once put it, and I think rather succinctly, "oh, dear, how sad, never mind"

          1. Natalie Gritpants Jr

            Re: Funds?

            Pretty sure it was: "Oh dear. How sad. What a pity"

            1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
              Facepalm

              Re: Funds?

              "NFT of Jack Dorsey's first tweet struggles to sell"

              https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61102759

              The buyer of a non-fungible token (NFT) of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey's first tweet says he "may never sell it" after receiving a series of low bids.

              Malaysia-based Sina Estavi has been offered just over $6,200 (£4,720), about 0.2% of the $2.9m he paid for it.

              "Oh dear. How sad. What a pity"

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Facepalm

                Re: Funds?

                And to bring it full circle Sina Estavi just tweeted Elon "It's not good if the owner of the whole Twitter does not own the first tweet :)"

                Hope apparently springs eternal.

            2. veti Silver badge

              Re: Funds?

              Not in this case it wasn't.

        2. Paul Crawford Silver badge
          Trollface

          Re: Funds?

          Ah, that reminds me. How is Mr Trump's new social media platform doing?

          1. Strahd Ivarius Silver badge

            Re: Funds?

            Jimmy Carter is rumored to be ready to buy it for peanut

          2. chivo243 Silver badge
            Coat

            Re: Funds?

            Ah, that reminds me. How is Mr Trump's new social media platform doing?

            I think they're still waiting to break ground on that members only project, so it's most likely still underground!

            Thank you! Thank you! I'm here thru Easter :-}

            1. Someone Else Silver badge

              Re: Funds?

              Underground?

              Under water?

              You decide!

            2. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
              Trollface

              Re: Funds?

              "...members only project,"

              No. 45 could always host an "Only Fans" site - I'm sure there must be a gap in the market for fans of orange-hued septuagenarians

          3. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

            Re: Greater IntelAIgent Game Changer Fund Raisers

            Ah, that reminds me. How is Mr Trump's new social media platform doing? ..... Paul Crawford

            Can you imagine the revolutionary bumps a series of Donald and Elon puts/pumps and dumps would do for a novel and unconventional social media platform outside of traditionally established oppressive and coercive suppressive elite unelected office command and control ‽ .

            Do you think IT would prove remarkably popular and attractive and addictive when clearly providing hope and changes you can see, hear and experience ‽ .

            1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
              Joke

              Re: Greater IntelAIgent Game Changer Fund Raisers

              Great American Comedy Partnerships...

              Abbot and Costello,

              Burns and Allen,

              Laurel and Hardy,

              Tom and Jerry,

              Bert and Ernie,

              Cheech and Chong,

              Donald and Elon

      2. Helcat

        Re: Funds?

        The point of wealth is it's the estimated value of what you own minus what you owe.

        Converting that wealth into money is a risk, and you lose value via capital gains tax (Capital Gains Tax is a tax on the profit when you sell (or 'dispose of') something (an 'asset') that's increased in value. ).

        It gets complicated with the various allowances and exceptions - and don't expect me to explain them as I'm not the right person to do so.

        Anyway, liquidating assets to gain money to buy something is very, very inefficient due to taxes. Instead it's better/cheaper to borrow against your assets to buy more assets then pay off the loan. It may be possible to sacrifice existing assets to do so, but that depends on the exceptions under Capital Gains.

        So no, it's not paradoxical: It's how to avoid liquidating $2m in assets just to make a $1m purchase.

        1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

          Re: Funds?

          That's why it's cheaper to borrow. The value of assets is collateral against the debt. If the debt defaulted the lender would take over the assets.

          The downside is all on the victim the company being bought. That ends up being saddled with the debt. The interest and payments can become a money pit. Maplin is an example UK readers will be familiar with.

          1. IGotOut Silver badge

            Re: Funds?

            "Maplin is an example UK readers will be familiar with."

            Or pretty much every major sports club owned by million / billionaires.

          2. Brewster's Angle Grinder Silver badge

            BHS

            Or the Sir Philip Greedy model: you take out a loan against future earnings of your company, use most of that to pay your wife a massive dividend, let the company fall apart, and then sell it for £1 to an ex-con.

            1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

              Re: BHS

              All he had to do was make sure he was a non-dom while doing it and he gets the set (and is sent to the House of Lords soon after)

            2. Brewster's Angle Grinder Silver badge
              Pirate

              Pluggin the Dyche

              Something similar seems to have happened at Burnley FC:

              Club builds up pile of cash while starving football team of funds. Investor takes out loan against all that money and future earnings, then uses it to buy club and adds the debt onto the club's books. So club that had a huge mountain of cash is dropped into a giant debt hole. Original owner walks away pocketing huge payout. Cash starved football team has a wobble and threatens to exit the Premier League and the new owner panic fires their prima facie prize asset.

              I'm not a football person so what happens next is anybody's guess. But if bankers weren't profiting from all this, I'd say they were the most gullible twits. "Yes, of course we'll be able increase revenues 5000%! We'll just unlock the potential."

      3. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Funds?

        >The lender knows that you should be good for it, as you have that worth in stock.

        If the bank is convinced the stock has long term value they will take the stock as collateral.

        You never pay back the loan and the bank takes the stocks when you die.

        Effectively you get tax-free money for life in return for considering the bank in your will

      4. Falmari Silver badge

        Re: Funds?

        @Hans Neeson-Bumpsadese "Paradoxically I think the practice with super rich people like that is actually to borrow the money. The lender knows that you should be good for it"

        The Million Pound Bank Note: Mark Twain

    2. Mike 137 Silver badge

      Re: Funds?

      "I wonder how's he going to pay for it"

      Folks in Musk's financial league can borrow almost any sum (indeed as Trump could).

    3. Arthur the cat Silver badge

      Re: Funds?

      He may be "worth" $300m

      I think you've dropped some zeroes.

      1. fxkeh

        Re: Funds?

        Whoops. $300b even.

    4. chivo243 Silver badge
      Headmaster

      Re: Funds?

      I'm no financial wizard, but how is 300mil going to buy a company that "The deal puts a $43 billion price tag on Twitter".

      Where's the Vinnie Barbarino icon? I'm so confused!

      1. doublelayer Silver badge

        Re: Funds?

        "I'm no financial wizard, but how is 300mil going to buy a company that "The deal puts a $43 billion price tag on Twitter"."

        The $300M figure was a typo. They meant to say $300B, which is sufficient to cover the charge except it probably won't come out of that money.

  5. TrevorH

    Another dangerous megalomaniac throws a strop.

    1. FIA Silver badge

      Another dangerous megalomaniac throws a strop.

      LOL, don't worry.

      It's not like he's trying to R&D an army of self driving robots, or has access to a giant missle factory or anything really supervillanous.

      1. chivo243 Silver badge
        Thumb Up

        When I see him stroking a white cat... I know who to call!

        1. WolfFan Silver badge

          Only if the pussy-stroking takes place inside a hollowed out volcano.

          Hmm. Time to place an ad to get a few ninjas. And an autogyro.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        You forgot about the planting chips in victim's people's brains to read and write to their brain function.

    2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      "Another dangerous megalomaniac throws a strop."

      Unlike the others, he's not planning on sticking around long term. Once he's living on Mars, he'll have a lot less interest in Earthly goods and chattels :-)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        In that case I want him to focus very, very hard on that goal to the exclusion of anything else, and not plan on coming back soon.

        On the plus side, him owning Twitter will see an exodus of sane people and it'll become the wasteland it deserves to be. Sane people would only keep an account to keep an eye on what him and Trump are up to (because I have no doubt re-instating Trump will be pretty much his first act when he has control, likely followed by Putin & other Russian state media).

        Twitter is an internet business, which means it serves people with the attention span of a mosquito on acid and retains users only for as long as there is no new fad for people to migrate to like TikTok or Instagram or whatever is next. Hamsters have a longer lifespan than the average mass market platform but I guess the aim is to dump/launder some cash into it, saddle it with a mountain of debt by using it as collateral and move on - worryingly, I see this trend at the moment too with a lot of the IT security industry.

        1. FIA Silver badge

          On the plus side, him owning Twitter will see an exodus of sane people and it'll become the wasteland it deserves to be.

          I'll confess to not having been on for a while, but didn't that happen ages ago? I thought it was just a playground for the hate filled and spiteful these days?

          Twitter is an internet business, which means it serves people with the attention span of a mosquito on acid and retains users only for as long as there is no new fad for people to migrate to like TikTok or Instagram or whatever is next. Hamsters have a longer lifespan than the average mass market platform

          How long is a 'fad' these days? Facebook is 18 years old, Twitter 16, Instagram and Snapchat both over 10. Even TikTok has lasted 5 years, which is longer than MySpace's hayday.

          1. Man inna barrel

            I thought it was just a playground for the hate filled and spiteful these days?

            For some reason, I tend to attract tweets from well-meaning lefties. That is probably because I am a well-meaning leftie, though I prefer the term "progressive".

            The problem I have with Twitter in particular is its shallowness, and tendency to create echo chambers. I presume both of these are considered features. I like to stir it up a bit, by getting people to question what everybody implicitly agrees with.

      2. veti Silver badge

        Not a comforting thought. As president of Mars, I confidently predict his first act would be to declare war on Earth and start slingshotting asteroids at us, with the goal of forcing us to send him whatever other resources he wants at our own expense.

        1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

          his first act would be to declare war on Earth and start slingshotting asteroids at us

          Doing that from Mars is a tad more complicated than in the story I think you got that idea from :).

  6. msknight

    If my offer is not accepted....

    "Give me what I want, or I'll sell my shares and you can watch the value of your shares plummet." ... that's serious toys out of pram territory which shows exactly why he shouldn't be the head of a social media company. But then, we have Zuckermuck... so... what a world we live in.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: If my offer is not accepted....

      Elon is stating that the usual tactic of turning down the offer in the hope of another increased offer will not work.

      So an adult approach that has nothing to do with toys or prams at all - all of the pressure is now on the board given the premium of the offer.

      1. DS999 Silver badge

        Re: If my offer is not accepted....

        It is a rather pathetic premium, usually hostile takeovers are 30-50% premium and sometimes more.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: If my offer is not accepted....

          It's a 54% premium over the day before he began investing and a 38% premium over the day before his investment was publicly announced.

          This clearly meets your 30% to 50% criteria !

          1. DS999 Silver badge

            Re: If my offer is not accepted....

            Twitter was significantly higher just six months ago. The premium needs to be over recent highs, not the current stock price during a market downturn thanks to inflation news and war in Ukraine.

            The board would be sued into oblivion if they accept this offer. I imagine they will be sued when they reject it, but unlike the former suit would be quickly dismissed.

      2. msknight

        Re: If my offer is not accepted....

        Pointless comment because no body asked him to make an offer in the first place. I can see more people being inclined to say, "Pi** off" rather than say, "Nah, give me more money." and Twitter could well be worth more. It hit 66.11 6 months ago, so his offer seems a bit of a low ball to me. If I was a shareholder and that was his offer, I'd tell him to shove it.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    With Elon Musk, it appears to me that before expressing any strong opinions on what he says and/or does, one should at least consider the possibility that he might be a Troll of epic proportions. If one is so inclined, one might even see rather quirky messages in his stunts, possibly even critiques in a "theater of the absurd" kind of way.

    But then again, there is no way to know for certain. In any case:

    “I'd far rather be happy than right any day.” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

    1. My other car WAS an IAV Stryker

      You mustn't omit the comeback

      [Arthur Dent] "And are you?"

      [Slartibartfast] "No, that's where it all falls down, of course."

      "Pity," said Arthur with sympathy. "It sounded like quite a good lifestyle otherwise."

    2. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

      I think it is a mixture of trolling and loss of connection to reality caused by being surrounded yes-men attracted to his money. The sooner the Programmatic Environmental Assessment for Boca Chica is completed the better. Hopefully he will go back to building rockets and will be to busy too spout much non-sense on twitter.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Devil

    [ ... ] I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.

    That's a great idea. Reconsider your position and then Shut The Fuck Up for a while.

    5-year old child trapped in a 50-year old man's body.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Watch this be a pump and dump. Buy a ton of shares, announce he's going to buy the rest, inflate the price and back out while dumping what he has. Same trick he pulled with Tesla accepting bitcoin payments.

  10. mark l 2 Silver badge

    If Musk wants to be able to post whatever he wants without infringing on the T&Cs of a platform run by a third party, why not just create his own blog where he can post whatever he wants? Even if his blog were getting millions of hits per day its going to cost a significantly lot less than $40B to run.

    After all unlike us plebs, who if we made our own blog would unlikely to get too much attention. Musk has enough fan who would follow him elsewhere even if he closed his twitter and posted everything on a private blog. And hes still going to make the news when he posts something controversial. I've just checked and pedoguy.com is available if he wants it. Obviously Pedoguy is a local slang term from where i am from meaning tech entrepreneur, and im sorry if that means something else where Musk is.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Musk is the leader

      of a cult. The sooner people wake up and accept that the better.

      There are even cult members lurking here. I nearly got sucked in but decided on buying a different EV.

      1. Tilda Rice

        Re: Musk is the leader

        Good grief. Why is it that people who buy a different product are a "sheep" or have a positive view on another human are "cult members" or insert some other toxic word.

        On the EV part. The reason people are pro Tesla EV isn't primarily the cars, its the charging network. That a) mostly works and b) is high powered. Versus the current public non Tesla charging stations which are sparse, often broken, often super slow/low powered.

        The mashup of Merc parts and iphone on wheels device that is a Tesla isn't actually a terribly bad car either.

        You seem bitter / jealous.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Musk is the leader

          The reason people are pro Tesla EV isn't primarily the cars, its the charging network

          Is that the charging network Tesla excludes you from the moment they catch but a whiff of you not using their approved network of rarely available repair services or having the audacity to recycle some parts from other Teslas?

          Mercedes just tested a new model which clocked over 1000km on a single charge. Not by using a bigger battery, but by being more efficient. Now I am no fan of Mercedes, but that's a company that has garages everywhere (they had a low quality period in which they needed that, but I digress), and doesn't use the public as guinea pigs. Also, they don't have a sociopath as spokesperson. In addition, there are already a lot of vehicles out there than can handle 800V charging now, which can dump up to 270kW into a car which is more than Tesla's superchargers and, as it's not a mIcrosoft-alike lock-in, can also be obtained from other charging networks.

          Yes, I'm interested in an EV but no, there's too much wrong with Tesla for me to even consider buying one. There's more to long term driving than the ability to go from 0 to illegal in seconds, there's also the fact that in. real life accidents can also happen even if your own car doesn't cause them and that means service and repair is still needed. Teslas are already problematic when they're new. Given how much I drive I will probably end up with a PHEV instead - local electric, no range anxiety long distance, even though it means having two drive trains in one car. I will keep an eye out on full EV, IMHO we're not there yet, also because there will be a fundamental change in how driving is taxed once EVs start to impact the government's income from fuel taxation.

          1. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
            Unhappy

            Re: Musk is the leader

            Quote

            " also because there will be a fundamental change in how driving is taxed once EVs start to impact the government's income from fuel taxation."

            And knowing this governments methods, the solution will be to put a new fuel tax on electricty.

            Which means if you're rich enough to own an EV , with off road parking to install a charger, you'll be in a net zero situation(saving on fuel duty, but paying more in electricity) but if you're a min wager struggling in a run down housing estate , you'll just be paying more for electricty to make up for fuel duty for a car you cant afford...

            1. Man inna barrel

              Re: Musk is the leader

              And knowing this government's methods, the solution will be to put a new fuel tax on electricity.

              My proposal is a road wear charge, based on axle weight and mileage. This would be a tax that increases based on what you use. If you can't afford to have run a car, you don't pay a penny extra to heat your home and cook the dinner.

              However, my policy would run counter to the fundamental principles of Tory economic policy, which is that you get rich people to make even more money by cutting taxes, and you make poor people work harder by taking away what little they have.

    2. Danny 2

      Great post Mark, pun unavoidable.

      Thousands of wee British blogs got plenty of attention when we called out Alisher Usmanov, but the bad type of attention from posh Londongrad lawyers. You couldn't even post about it on newspaper forums who were scared they'd be sued too, although you could here IIRC - security through obscurity?

      You don't buy Twitter to trumpet your views but to muzzle other opinions. The inequity, the inequality is , well it's not what I signed up for. It's dystopian.

      If Isaac Asimov was alive today then he'd kill himself tonight. If Philip K Dick was alive today then he'd kill himself yesterday.

  11. Rphilipson00

    "free speech"

    Free speech in these sorts of contexts always seems to be more about the freedom to spread disinformation and bigotry than anything noble.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: "free speech"

      Free speech is publishing the political opinions of the owner that don't offend the advertisers

    2. DarkwavePunk

      Re: "free speech"

      I'd generally be careful there. "You're a right fucking knob and talking steaming piles of bollocks you utter pillock" seems like a perfectly reasonable response to many things. I understand where you're coming from. I'm not targeting you personally in this response. If only "Social Media" was as civilised as USENET was... (AFK Mind Bleach).

  12. Russell Chapman Esq.

    Musk is bored.

    He needs a new toy to play with. Money does not buy you happiness. He is looking for amusing diversions. Even if he buys Twitter, it won't hold its allure for very long, he would probably sell it again in 6 months to a year.

    1. julian.smith
      FAIL

      A wannabe

      He couldn't fool the doorman at Berghain .... he's seen plenty of wannabes

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What's the matter, Musk? Your buddy Drumpf get banned?

    So what's the deal you have with him? You spend a few billion buying Twitter and letting him back on (seeing as his much blabbed about "alternative" flopped miserably), and then he drops all the monopoly investigations the government is doing into your greed?

    Sounds like a HORRIBLE deal for the average person in society. :(

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      If he lets Trump back onto Twitter then the Biden administration will drop the non-existent monopoly investigations because .... 5g chips ... space laser ... vaccines microchips ... the MMB....

    2. heyrick Silver badge

      "and then he drops all the monopoly investigations"

      You know he lost, right? He's not in a position to tell the government anything other than "I plead the fifth".

  14. Redact Ted

    Open source The Algorithm?

    Interesting idea, let the advertisers figure out how to better game it.

    Better yet would be the option to return to the simple time based wall.

  15. Winkypop Silver badge
    FAIL

    Coming soon - Anti-gravity, time travel and cold fusion

    In 2 to 5 years…..

    Just after Hyperloop, Mars colony and true self-driving.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Maybe someone told him the current plan for an Edit button includes a change log so that previous versions of a tweet remained available to interested parties.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    can't stand the guy

    he really is like a child, given money from an apartheid era emerald mine by his parents. what can you say about a guy who broke up with his wife and told everyone she died. madness!

  18. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
    Alert

    Plan B

    Give away all his possessions and wealth for the betterment of all earthly life, then go and join a silent order of monks?

    "She used to joke – we all thought it was joke – that when her children were grown, she would become a Carmelite nun and my father would become a Trappist monk and, as long as they allowed conjugal visits, she would be quite content."

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/oct/24/my-mum-the-nun-by-mark-r-miller-age-61-ann-russell-miller-entered-a-monastery

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    all hail the new world emperor

    Elon Musk.

    That's how it seems to be going. He wants to control the world and make himself the only one with any money.

    This is going to get a lot worse.

  20. tarvos
    Big Brother

    @ElonJet

    Musk is just that desperate to stop the whereabouts of his private jet being tracked on Twitter.

    https://observer.com/2022/02/elon-musk-private-jet-tracker-twitter/

    "I was so mad, I bought the network!" ~ Elon Musk, Newly Crowned Twitter Monarch.

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