Twitter is reportedly on the cusp of accepting Elon Musk’s purchase offer – and it’s safe to say most of the users on the platform have some thoughts.
Musk, the richest man in the world, already owns Tesla, an electric car company, and rocket manufacturer SpaceX, which plans to go to Mars. He’s also an enthusiast for cryptocurrency, known for championing bitcoin and dogecoin.
The entrepreneur identifies himself a “free speech absolutist”, so his offer to buy the social media platform for $43 billion (£33.8 billion) has sent alarm bells ringing as people fear the volatile website might get even more divisive with his takeover.
As of January this year, the platform has an audience reach of 76.9 million users all around the world.
Musk bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter earlier this month and then briefly entertained the idea of joining its board, but he changed his mind days later for unspecified reasons.
The billionaire has been especially critical of Twitter over recent months even though he owes part of his celebrity status to the platform as he has more than 80 million followers.
Musk has previously said that he does not believe the platform is living up to the principles of free speech, a message also pushed by former US president Donald Trump who was banned from Twitter last year.
Trump is just one of several names, often on the far-right, who has been suspended for breaching Twitter’s content rules around violence, hate or harmful misinformation.
Controversially, Musk has already indicated that he might prefer time-out bans rather than permanent suspensions for people who break Twitter’s rules.
In his offer letter, the billionaire explained: “I think free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.”
However, he added: “Since making my investment I now realise the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form.”
Musk also said if his “best and final offer” was not accepted he would “reconsider my position as a shareholder”.
Reports from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal suggest Twitter is close to accepting Musk’s offer – which works out to $54.20 (£42.56) per share in cash – and the entrepreneur could even take the reins as soon as Monday afternoon.
Here’s how a few of Twitter’s users reacted.