Elon Musk is buying Twitter for $44 billion, says 'want to make it better than ever'

"I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means," Elon Musk tweeted, hailing free speech

Pic courtesy: Reuters

The much-anticipated tech deal of the year has been sealed with Elon Musk clinching a deal to buy Twitter Inc for $44 billion. This means that the world's richest man will soon be controlling the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders.

"I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter because that is what free speech means," Elon Musk tweeted on Tuesday early morning (India Time). The 16-year-old company, which emerged as one of the world's most influential public squares,  now faces a string of challenges.

Musk, who has called himself a free speech absolutist, also tweeted a statement of his where he says he wants to make Twitter "better than ever by enhancing the product with new features...Twitter has tremendous potential - I look forward to working with the company and community of users to unlock it."

Yesss!!!  pic.twitter.com/0T9HzUHuh6 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022

Musk has always criticised Twitter's 'moderation'

Musk has repeatedly complained that free speech is restricted on Twitter. He said in a statement after the deal was reached that Twitter is a "digital town square" where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. Musk also said Twitter has tremendous potential to unlock and he intends to enhance the platform with "new features, making algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating spambots, and authenticating all humans." 

Will Donald Trump get back on Twitter?

Meanwhile, according to reports, the Joe Biden administration officials are concerned SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk will allow former US President Donald Trump to return to Twitter after he reached a deal to acquire the social media company. The report said on Monday, citing sources, that Biden administration officials are concerned that misinformation on Twitter will increase under Musk`s control, which could be critical in the upcoming 2024 US presidential election. Trump had 88 million followers on Twitter before he was banned from the platform, which accused him of spreading false information that was blamed for fueling the riot at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The former US President, however, told Fox News that he will instead focus on his own platform, Truth Social, which has been mired in problems since its launch earlier this year. "I am not going on Twitter. I am going to stay on Truth," Trump was quoted telling the network. "I hope Elon buys Twitter because he'll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth."