Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of Twitter looks set to go ahead, prompting less than enthusiastic reactions from many users. As Daily Show host Trevor Noah pointed out, Twitter has been an instrumental factor in movements such as the Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, the #MeToo Movement, and Trump’s presidential campaign. Putting this powerful social media platform under the control of SpaceX’s billionaire CEO could therefore have significant repercussions.
“Before this, Jack Dorsey didn’t own Twitter,” explained Noah. “He had two percent of the shares, and even as CEO he still had to answer to the board, and the board still had to answer to shareholders, and Twitter itself still had to answer to the SEC.
“But now as a private company, it’s just Elon Musk. Yeah, everything that happens on Twitter from now on is up to him — and also whatever strain his weed guy gives him that day.”
