Blog > Has Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter
Has Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter
With 50 per cent of the workforce leaving, a huge backlash from his critics and Elon Musk now agreeing to step down.
Was it the worse business decision known to man, or does Elon have more sinister plans? Let’s talk vision as we discuss Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover.
You were probably stunned, like most of us, when it was announced that Elon Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, well, he was at the time, would be buying Twitter for $44 billion. And possibly even more stunned at the shenanigans that followed.
There has been much speculation over whether Elon Musk truly wanted to buy Twitter, with people arguing that he was forced into the worst deal of the century.
But even though Elon Musk tried to back out and was then forced to buy it at an astronomical price, it is clear that he had always had his sights set on owning Twitter. So that leads me to question why?
How do I know that? Here’s the facts:
As an avid user and influencer on the site, he began buying shares in the company in January 2022. By the time the deal was announced, he was the company’s largest shareholder, with a 9.1% stake.
Elon Musk himself then used his 9.1% stronghold to force Twitter to allow him to buy the rest of the company.
Yep, that’s right, Elon Musk threatened to sell his shares which would cause Twitter’s share price to plummet, thus forcing their hand!
DAAMMMM!!!
Left with very little choice, the powers to be agreed to, wha has been described as a hostile takeover at $54.2 dollars per share, aka 44bllion.
So far, so good. But then mid-way through, Elon Musk tries to pull out.
Claiming that Twitter had failed to share the exact amount of fake accounts on the platform. Those fake accounts y’all
This led to a brawl between the two and resulted in a lawsuit against Elon Musk.
However, weeks before the trial began, Musk backed down, and the deal went through. Why?… Was he advised to? Did he not think he could win? Or was this just a way to see if he could get a better deal, either way, he was always going to buy Twitter?
The Drama!!!
However, things go downhill very quickly. Because of everything that went down before the sale and due to the recession, the value of Twitter took a massive hit; thus, the company was worth no way near what Elon had paid for it.
Oh, and did I mention that Twitter operates at a loss of 4 million a day?
To make matters worse, Elon starts moving as we say, maaaaaddddd!!!!
Firstly he sacks the CEO, Parag Agrawal.
He then gets rid of staff on a scale we have never seen before: culling the workforce from 2500 to about 700.
Not only that, he scraps their free lunches, puts an end to remote working and demands his staff work up to 80 hrs a week.
To top it off, he makes the company private; thus, investors can no longer buy shares in the company.
Now, apart from some very hilarious memes, this has led to many arguing that Elon Musk clearly does not have a plan. Twitter is DEAD!
But is that the case?
When it comes to growing a business or brand online, your Vision is critical and, arguably, the first thing that you identify for your brand, well maybe not the first thing, as your audience should be the first thing, but you get what I am saying.
Like a GPS, your Vision should indicate where your business is heading.
So what exactly is Elon’s Vision for the company.
When Elon first made the offer, he said that “I didn’t do it because it would be easy; I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to help humanity.”
Ummmmm, very noble, but extremely cryptic, so what does it all that mean?
Elon wants the platform to be seen as the digital town square of the future.
In a world where people will be meeting less and less physically, he feels it’s essential to have a space where people can come together, share opinions, and have healthy non-biased debates.
Musk is also a self-proclaimed: “free speech absolutist” and wants Twitter to be a place which advocates for that.
This has led to Elon offering back Twitter accounts to previously banned people, such as Kanye and Trump, who subsequently declined.
But it also has led to banning accounts that Elon claims have taken things too far.
For example, comedian Cathy Griffen created an account that looked like Elon Musk to show how Elon’s paid-to-get verified system would lead to misinformation – she was banned.
This leads people to question where this free speech view starts and ends and who would be moderating?
As a result, Elon has received much criticism over fears of a potential rise in misinformation, disinformation, harassment, and hate speech on the platform.
And as a result, 50% of Twitter’s advertisers have already pulled out for not wanting to be associated with the potential controversy (Ouch!)
He has also laid out plans to make Twitter into a “Super App” to rival WeChat in China: thus, he is proposing to incorporate multiple features such as messaging, financial payments, and food delivery to keep users engaged and returning throughout the day.
This all seems pretty good and above board, should he be able to pull it off.
However, some speculate that there is more to this Vision than meets the eye.
Does Elon have more sinister intentions? Check out this interview by @RizzaIslam
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Thinking about the long-term outcome for your Business/Brand is extremely important. It provides the foundational context to help inform the direction of your brand. It will also contribute to your legacy and act as a guiding light for all those who will eventually join you.
3 Top Tips For Writing Yours:
Remember, your vision does not need to be very long. It can be comprised of a few sentences, and of course, it can be elaborated on over time.
Here are some examples to help you construct yours.
NxSpot’s Mission: “is to empower humanity with easy-to-use, on-the-go communication tools needed to communicate in a fast-paced digital world.”
Richard Branson: “It’s time to turn capitalism upside down and switch from profit focus, to caring for people and the planet.”
Oprah’s vision for her Life in Focus Tour is “to inspire us to find the “highest and truest expression of ourselves.”
Then, click here to begin your branding journey with me and my team by downloading this fantastic free ebook and 90minute training & getting a 7-day FREE trial to the Brand You To Success Academy.
If you are anxious about starting or growing your business and brand, then the NxSpot Academy is here to help.
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