by Evan Steidtman, Staff Writer
In the United States, what would happen when two of the biggest, most controversial forces collided? That’s exactly what happened when Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and also the richest man in the world, bought Twitter.
Musk, who is notorious for constantly being in the news cycle, had been thinking about buying Twitter earlier this year but backed out when he thought the platform was overblown with bots and was subsequently sued by Twitter unless he followed through with the acquisition. On October 27, Musk finally closed the deal and he now has full ownership of the platform.
Nearly immediately, controversy arose around the new ownership when Musk set people off in a multitude of ways. He began a new program of selling blue “verified” checks that anyone could buy that led to an onslaught of trolling and impersonation which was almost immediately revised, which defeated the purpose of the program in general.
After that, Musk posted a poll on his personal Twitter account asking if former president Trump should be unbanned from the platform after previously stating that he would never un-ban him. Musk’s purchase of the platform has also caused 50 percent of Twitter employees to lose their jobs, with even more in line to lose theirs this week.
This kind of wishy-washy behavior has users concerned about the future of the platform, some are even wondering if it will be a thing anymore. Elon is notorious for feeding off any kind of publicity, good or bad, as well as being able to still seem like a relatively normal, relatable guy.
Regardless of any opinions on him as a person, it’s undeniable that he has a ton of power and influence that could swing from being a positive influence to the complete opposite. Considering he’s the richest man on Earth, this could only be the start of more acquisitions by Musk himself, or other multi-billionaires to follow in his footsteps.