Will Elon Musk buy Twitter on Friday? - EL PAÍS USA

Three weeks ago, Elon Musk announced that helium would bargain Twitter, for the agreed terms of $54.20 per share, connected information that a trial for breach of contract, astatine which Musk was called to attest connected October 18, beryllium called off. Against each likelihood and contempt the plaintiff’s skepticism (Twitter described the connection arsenic “an invitation to further delays and pettiness”), the justice agreed to a postponement. If the acquisition is not closed earlier 11pm this Friday, the proceedings volition instrumentality spot successful aboriginal November, successful beforehand of a magistrate who has had rather capable of Elon Musk.

Musk’s motives are inscrutable adjacent to his closest associates. His substance messages, leaked during the of tribunal papers find process, uncover a mercurial antheral surrounded by sycophants who vie to clasp his involvement portion tolerating his slights. On the time helium announced his bid, helium declared successful an interrogation that Twitter is the “de facto nationalist municipality square” and that his volition is to privatize it to escaped its algorithms due to the fact that helium suffers from a “pathological appreciation for the truth” and wants to guarantee state of speech. He past launched a smear run against the level backed by fabricated data, petty accusations and bribed witnesses. The paradoxes heap up: why unit the acquisition of a platform that does not privation to beryllium bought, and past publically denigrate it, lowering its value? Why motion an ironclad declaration lone to effort to interruption it a infinitesimal later? Why suggest to wage $46 cardinal – doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic Iceland’s GDP – lone to picture it arsenic nonsensical and request a discount? And now, supra all: is Musk truly consenting to bargain Twitter oregon is this a caller ruse to boycott the acquisition without having to wage the fine?

One happening is certain: Twitter is an adjacent worse concern present than it was six months ago. The level continues to endure from the aforesaid pathologies arsenic others specified arsenic Meta oregon YouTube (spam, fake accounts, disinformation and different ingredients that deteriorate nationalist debate) without having a concern exemplary that compensates for its reputational crisis. But now, with the tech marketplace successful an unprecedented recession, the level is worthy overmuch little than it was, and the Tesla shares that Musk planned to merchantability to rise his stock ($33 billion) are worthy little present than they were fractional a twelvemonth ago. The banks and backstage funds that were going to enactment up the remaining $13 cardinal could besides beryllium getting acold feet astir a analyzable investment.

Elon Musk astatine the 2022 Met Gala celebrating "In America: An Anthology of Fashion" astatine The Metropolitan Museum of Art. DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS (AFP)

Musk’s ventures could look US nationalist information reviews

Two hypothetical flight routes are being considered: the banks could retreat their enactment and the authorities tin artifact the acquisition. If the Bank of America, Barclays, oregon MUFG propulsion retired of financing the project, Musk could cancel his committedness by paying “just” $1 cardinal successful compensation. This enactment seems precise unlikely, though, and has not been corroborated by immoderate slope oregon investor. The 2nd way concerns an exclusive that Bloomberg published past Friday, according to which “Biden medication officials are discussing whether the US should taxable immoderate of Elon Musk’s ventures to nationalist information reviews, including the woody for Twitter Inc. and SpaceX’s Starlink outer network.” According to anonymous sources from the newspaper, the US authorities is suspicious of the non-US investors that Musk has sought successful China and of his caller sympathy toward Vladimir Putin. When asked astir the issue, White House spokeswoman Adrienne Watson replied: “We are not alert of that debate.” It seems much apt that the acquisition volition instrumentality place.

Musk himself has besides altered his sermon of redeeming the nationalist municipality quadrate for different somewhat much credible one. “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app,” helium said aft resuming his bid to get the platform. It makes consciousness that helium would privation to replicate the exemplary of WeChat, the level of Chinese elephantine Tencent Holdings, which centralizes the lives of Chinese citizens from messaging and societal networking to payments, wellness cards, enactment with nationalist inferior companies and streaming euphony and movies. It would beryllium powerfully compatible with Musk’s satellite-connected Starlink task and it makes consciousness for banks to privation to concern it, taking into relationship its potential. WeChat is besides the cardinal to China’s societal recognition system, a nationalist recognition standing by which citizens summation and suffer entree to services, opportunities, and the quality to enactment oregon question depending connected their activities and communications.

In short, it seems precise apt that Elon Musk volition bargain Twitter this Friday. If helium does, the billionaire volition person implicit power implicit 1 of the astir important spaces for modern governmental connection connected the eve of the US legislative elections, wherever it volition beryllium decided which enactment controls Congress. He volition marque the determination down closed doors, with partners specified arsenic task superior steadfast Andreessen Horowitz and Larry Ellison, the Oracle CEO to whom Donald Trump wanted to marque a acquisition of TikTok. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and cryptocurrency speech Binance volition besides beryllium involved. At the aforesaid clip Musk’s champion friend, the instrumentalist Kanye West, is successful the process of acquiring Parler, the societal web that became the refuge of the US utmost close erstwhile the large platforms banned Trump. “In a satellite wherever blimpish opinions are considered to beryllium arguable we person to marque definite we person the close to freely explicit ourselves,” West said.

Musk has already announced that helium volition laic disconnected 75% of Twitter’s workforce, including its CEO. There volition beryllium nary 1 near to mean messages astir the illegitimacy of the statesmanlike elections oregon Joe Biden’s satanic nine successful Romania. Musk precocious tweeted the celebrated country from The Godfather: Part III successful which Michael Corleone says: “Just erstwhile I thought I was out, they propulsion maine backmost in.”