The Big Twitter Takeover

Elon Musk's latest high-profile move has shaken more than just the tech community

- By Maxine Peters

He's created two of the most revolutionary companies in the world, changing the way we travel on Earth and in the cosmos beyond. By many accounts he has a brilliant mind and it's no surprise he's the richest person on the planet.

He's also, as fans and foes will tell you, a maverick who can't be tamed - and this is cause for applause or concern, depending which side you're on.

Sides have certainly been taken after Elon Musk (50) bought Twitter, one of the most influential social networks of our time.

He'll destroy the protections the company introduced to prevent toxic online behaviour, critics argue. He'll bring back free speech and provide greater transparency, supporters say.

But little is known about the real reasons he's bought the 16-year-old company, which has more than 200 million users, for a jaw-dropping $44 billion (R682bn). Few believe it has to do with adding to his substantial $264bn (R4,09 trillion) net worth.

Musk isn't buying Twitter for financial reasons, although he thinks he can make some money on it, Angelo Carusone, head of the non-governmental organisation Media Matters for America, told news channel Al Jazeera. “He's buying it for ideological reasons. And that's ultimately what's scary.

In a podcast with The New York Times newspaper's Ezra Klein, financial journalist Felix Salmon says it's the modern version of billionaires buying newspapers to have influence. “It's a power tool for anyone to spread narratives that everyone has to pay attention to. And owning that makes you probably the most powerful billionaire in the world” he says.