The Wall Street Journal revealed an article on Saturday that has alleged a “shadow crew” of billionaires, right-wing figures, politicians, and web trolls inspired Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk to purchase Twitter, a idea Musk scoffed at in a tweet on Monday.
Among these named within the article, titled “The Shadow Crew Who Encouraged Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover,” are Twitter’s founder Jack Dorsey, investor Peter Thiel, entrepreneur David Sacks, enterprise capitalist Steve Jurvetson, and the CEO Seth Dillon of the Babylon Bee — a right-wing The Onion-style satirical publication banned from Twitter.
The article claims these people both inspired him to buy the platform, which Musk has finished for $44 billion, or use his affect to assist change Twitter’s tradition from what they noticed as a limitation of free speech, right-wing or libertarian views.
The Journal relied on messages between Musk and his inside circle and key people, in addition to nameless sources acquainted with Musk’s relationships with mentioned people, that they are saying might have influenced his choice to purchase Twitter.
However, the article additionally famous that Musk has flirted with the concept for fairly a while as divisions arose about what the forward-looking imaginative and prescient for Twitter must be: revenue or free speech and controlled or unregulated.
Musk made enjoyable of the Journal’s article with two tweets, proposing the concept of promoting “Shadow Crew” merch to assist finance his Twitter buy.
My Shadrow Crew is sickkk!
Also, who’re they once more?Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2022
Sell Shadow Crew merch to purchase Twitter?
Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2022
The Journal isn’t the one publication with theories on why or how Musk got here to the choice to buy Twitter. A newer article by Fortune journal titled “The inside story of how Elon Musk gained Twitter — and will nonetheless lose it” additionally depends on nameless sources.
Still, the query as to why did Musk bought Twitter nonetheless stays. At current, the inquiry comes up with round 485,000,000 outcomes on Google.
Brands are anticipated to be leery of getting their advertisements be related to controversial posts if content material moderation is decreased to a minimal at Twitter Photo: AFP / Olivier DOULIERY