Elon Musk Backs Out of Twitter Deal and his “Free Speech” Absolutism
The self-proclaimed Twitter "meme lord" may not be making the platform a free speech haven after all. According to Elon's track record, he may not know the definition of free speech.
After an almost three-month-long saga of Elon Musk flirting with buying Twitter, it was announced on July 8th that he is backing out of the deal. I always believed that the Twitter purchase would never go through. Elon’s reasoning for backing out is vague – claiming that Twitter was withholding information regarding spam accounts. Furthermore, I don’t think this was the quest for free speech that Musk claimed. Instead, it was a publicity stunt to overshadow sexual misconduct allegations and claims from former employees of poor working conditions (coupled with OSHA violations) while appeasing his army of Elon bros by reinforcing the idea that he is some sort of “genius.”
Who is Elon Musk?
Elon Musk is most known currently as the CEO of Tesla Inc., as well as the founder and CEO of SpaceX. While Musk primarily focuses on projects that will advance the future, much of his past continues to be rewritten. Here is why the common belief that Musk is a “self-made genius billionaire” is incorrect.
“Elon is self-made.”
It’s no secret that many of us love a typical “American Dream” success story – a man who comes from nothing works hard, and makes a name for himself in America. Except, it is not true for Elon. Elon was born in South Africa to two wealthy parents, Errol and Maye Musk. Errol Musk wore many hats, being an electromechanical engineer, pilot, and property developer by day–– while also a part-owner in an emerald mine in Zambia for much of Elon’s youth. It isn’t a secret that he was wealthy. Errol Musk was once quoted in Business Insider, “We had so much money at times we couldn’t even close our safe.” Unfortunately, Elon was also raised on tough streets, one where he could sell diamonds he stole from his dad to make a quick profit.
Why Would Elon even want to buy Twitter?
Probably for the same reason that Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post, Rupert Murdoch ran Fox and the tabloid circuit forever, and Mark Zuckerberg is (somehow) still at Meta: Power.
Besides tweeting memes that only his loyal fanbase would enjoy, Elon posts a lot about free speech. Although it has been a consistent Republican talking point forever, free speech and “censorship” have been on the minds of Conservatives in recent years –– ex. Twitter banned Donald Trump after violating the Twitter policy of “Glorification of Violence” (using his platform to express his role in inciting violence on January 6th) and various social media platforms flagging COVID-19 misinformation on the respective platforms.
This isn’t the first time Musk has publicly voiced he will buy a public company. In 2018, Elon stated that he was going to take Tesla private in a letter to employees and a Twitter post. When it didn’t go private, Musk was fined $20 million for his tweets being “false and misleading,” according to a federal judge.
Elon Musk’s Track Record Suggests That Free Speech Is His Enemy
Around the time Musk stated he was going to buy Twitter, he was quoted saying, “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”
Musk tweeted that he believes that Twitter should allow all free speech that falls under the legal definition of the word. Musk has described himself as a “free speech absolutist,” which, in essence, means that Congress or the government should not interfere with individual rights that fall under The First Amendment.
The problem is that Musk’s track record does not reflect the title he has given himself. Instead, it seems more like he believes that he (along with his fans and those in his tax bracket) should be able to say whatever they want with little to no consequences–– while actively ignoring/punishing those who disagree with him.
Remember earlier on when I brought up the poor working conditions claims?
Free Speech for Musk’s Employees:
When Tesla lays off employees, former employees are required to sign an agreement that discourages them from saying anything negative about their former employer. Statements include (according to a copy obtained from a former Tesla employee who did not sign):
“You agree not to disparage Tesla, the Company’s products, or the Company’s officers, directors, employees, shareholders and agents, affiliates and subsidiaries in any manner likely to be harmful to them or their business, business reputation or personal reputation.”
“The provisions of this Agreement will be held in strictest confidence by you and will not be publicized or disclosed in any manner whatsoever…In particular, and without limitation, you agree not to disclose the terms of this Agreement to any current or former Company employee or contractor.”
Tesla workers in the past have also alleged the company was ignoring reports of racism, sexism, and homophobia at various facilities. A current investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which predates another civil lawsuit in California that accuses the company of ignoring “rampant racism,” on the factory assembly line.
There have also been former Tesla employees who reported alleged drug trafficking at Tesla factories and safety concerns reported internally but with seemingly no solution.
Last month, SpaceX employees wrote an open letter stating how Elon’s actions and recent sexual misconduct allegations have hurt the company and its employees. The next day, SpaceX hirer-ups responded by firing the employees involved with the statement.
Free Speech for Musk’s Critics:
John Bernal, a former Tesla employee who was fired after posting a review on Tesla’s autopilot functions, tweeted to Musk on March 25th, “Seems @elonmusk is a free speech absolutist... unless it involves safety concerns IMO.” Another example is a journalist having their Tesla Model X order canceled by Musk after being critical online. A high schooler who created a bot to track Elon’s private jet (public information) was approached by Musk for $5,000. How come Musk is allowed to be critical, but his critics can’t be?
Content Moderation in the Age of Musk
Elon joined Twitter in 2010, back when the website (and the internet) was like the wild west when it came to what you could say and do. A Twitter executive once called the platform “the free speech wing of the free speech party.” Changes began taking place around 2014, and other social media companies have seemed to follow suit.
In 2018, Jack Dorsey was quoted about the company’s view changes on Free Speech.
“...We believe our purpose is to serve the public conversation. And that does take a stance around freedom of expression and defending freedom of expression as a fundamental human right. Not just one within this country.
But it also comes with a realization that freedom of expression may adversely impact other fundamental human rights, such as privacy and physical security. So we believe that we can only serve the public conversation, we can only stand for freedom of expression if people feel safe to express themselves in the first place. We can only do that if they feel that they are not being silenced. So the question we’re starting to ask is: What are the tools we’re building? What is our effect on making it easier to weaponize freedom of expression against someone so that they don’t even feel free to express themselves in the first place or ultimately they’re silenced, which would go against that goal of serving the public conversation?”
In recent years, many social media platforms have adopted new community guidelines regarding content moderation on their respective platforms in response to the rise of COVID-19 misinformation. For example, in Twitter’s COVID-19 policies, there is a strike system to combat misinformation where five or more strikes may result in a permanent ban from the site, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s personal account.
While it may seem like a good idea to relax content moderation policies, it would be unwise. With the role social media plays today, reverting to old ways of content moderation would make these websites challenging to navigate and use…and dangerous.
I’ve discussed multiple times (ex. DeuxMoi, Nicki Minaj’s tweets) about misinformation on social media and the responsibility of having a large following. In 2021, Twitter saw 2.4 billion sessions all over the world. In some countries, Twitter is a vital information resource; changing free speech policies would kill that instantly. It may be hard for Musk to remember, but America is unique in its protection of free speech– whereas, in other countries, you are punished for speaking out against your government. If Musk loosened free speech policies to be determined on a country-to-country basis, hate speech would flourish more than it already does.
It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds.