To some Elon Musk taking over Twitter is a horrifying idea and to most conservatives who believe that institutions – universities to Big Tech – are controlled by left-leaning ideologies this comes as a relief.
It would be wrong to attribute the enthusiasm solely to conservatives because liberal and well-meaning left-leaning commentators and personalities like Bill Maher, Russell Brand and Jon Stewart have also spoken out against censoring free speech – an act which they have highlighted remains in opposition to what Twitter offers to its users – the freedom to speak one’s own mind.
Columnist Brian Lilley made an interesting point in his op-ed in the Toronto Sun. Titled ‘Musk’s Twitter offer shows American progressives prefer a Saudi prince to an immigrant success story’ Lilley takes a jibe at left-leaning politicians who are supposedly opposed to Elon’s Twitter takeover. He argues that Democrats are happy to have Saudi Arabian investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal as a shareholder in Twitter but not Elon.
https://youtu.be/f0n7YI7jK1c
Lilley points out that Talal ‘represents a regime that kills journalists, oppresses its own people and funds a bloody war in Yemen’. Lilley is right but one must also go down the memory lane and remember that Talal was detained with dozens of other wealthy Saudis in a move by the crown prince to consolidate power in 2017 by Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. We do not know what those reasons were and we cannot assume that Talal was not a threat to MBS – notorious for his involvement in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Talal later told Fox News in 2018 that MBS would be exonerated of the charges. We can assume that despite Talal’s denial he was pressured and to hold Talal’s rejection of Elon’s takeover bid as a weapon against Dems seems like an attempt to make the topic of the takeover a political fight between conservatives and liberals and steers the debate away from what is worth debating – that is Elon Musk a good thing for Twitter?
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1514683079968931841?s=20&t=ywEA7OU-9rR7kKqhPLKu8g
Elon, known for his Twitter spats and being a memelord, took on Talal and questioned how much support his kingdom has for free speech. Elon, however, forgets that these questions are a slippery slope and the ideas around free speech differ in the eastern and western hemispheres.
Elon Musk, is reportedly, himself a critic of free speech especially when employees have raised their voices against him. The Wall Street Journal’s Tim Higgins details several incidents in his book Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century where employees have been fired for speaking their mind.
Higgins lists several incidents but few stand out. A manager was fired after he told Musk his production goals were not possible and Kate Pearson, an executive in charge of delivery operations, was fired when she said that reaching the target of Tesla’s delivery goal of 100,000 during the quarter was not feasible. Elon has dismissed these claims and called some of them false and said it was not ire but ‘frank and clear’ feedback.
Twitter employees are concerned. Twitter is known to be a workplace which accommodates its employees and when Parag Agrawal revealed that employees can work from anywhere showed that Twitter is keen to move towards that direction. Parag Agrawal rushed to assure employees that Elon’s offer will not hold Twitter ‘hostage’.
Practising what you preach is an old adage. Elon runs a business and he will not be held back by the whims of what columnists think. Businessmen very rarely have time for niceties – managers and HRs are relegated to handle that department – and rightly so, but one should take into account that if Elon cannot handle his own criticism and calls divers trying to save children stuck in a cave paedophile – one has fears that how good he may be as the head of a social media giant.
https://twitter.com/ladbible/status/1492151444660801539?s=20&t=JhuwD-y7X6Zn5fa_KmcXMA
An unrelated example but boxer Tyson Fury offered an example of how free speech should be taken like a sport. Fury commented on Jimmy Carr’s standup routine where he made a Holocaust joke involving the Gypsy community.
People were quick to cancel him – like a delete button waiting to be pressed – but what Fury, a Gypsy himself, said, stands out. “I don’t really have any comments. I am not a sheep. I don’t get involved with jumping on board a ship that is sinking. I’m not that type of man. I believe in free speech in this country. Say what you want, but pay the consequences,” Tyson Fury said. He added that Carr does not need him as he has a lot going on and said he should not be kicked out of TV.
Free speech is a double-edged sword. One can say what one wishes but then one should also be ready to face the consequences of what was said – of course no one should meet the fate of comedian Chris Rock and the cartoonists at Charlie Hebdo. No one is perfect, not even Elon Musk – but his tweets and hot-takes on several topics raises the question that if he is unaware of his own imperfections.
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