WARMINGTON: Musk spends $44 billion to fly Twitter to new heights

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Twitter is not only spreading its wings to fly higher than ever before, but the world’s richest man is now in the cockpit!

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“Yesss!!!” tweeted Elon Musk next to a rocket, stars, and heart emoji upon solidifying the purchase from the Twitter board.

Oh, to be a bird on the wall of those private Monday meetings that saw a $44-billion purchase of Twitter at $54 per share.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” the owner of Tesla and SpaceX said. “I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential. I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

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This is not just a business deal but a rare win for the politically incorrect in the war on freedom, censorship, and cancel culture. Certainly, the politically correct army was having a meltdown that hasn’t been seen since Donald Trump won the presidency.

“No matter who owns or runs Twitter, the president has long been concerned about the power large social media platforms have over our everyday lives,” President Joe Bidens’ press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

Psaki added Biden has long held the view “they are held accountable for the harms they cause” and has been a “supporter in fundamental reforms to achieve that goal.”

Some, however, were thrilled.

Calling it a “good deal for shareholders,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis tweeted it “raises the prospect that the platform will be a place where free speech can thrive, not a tool for narrative enforcement.”

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In the worlds of business and pop culture, this felt like a playoff game in which two teams had much to lose. The intrigue was akin to the excitement, anticipation and curiosity of waiting for the selection of a new pope!

It was all quiet at Twitter Canada’s headquarters on Toronto’s King St. W. where, symbolically or poignantly, there was not one Tesla parked out front, but two.

Musk securing this bid is a great day for both capitalism and fighting off censorship.

Cutting people off from any social media because you don’t like them or their views is not free speech. There’s nothing wrong with challenging facts or truth, but there’s lots wrong with canceling people because you don’t like those truths or facts.

“I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means,” Musk tweeted.

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Some, however, say they are gone.

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“We’re all quitting Twitter,” Lindsey Stone tweeted. “We’ve all called it a hellscape, this could be our chance.”

Others expressed skepticism, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s friend, Gerald Butts, who tweeted: “I’m leaving Twitter if Musk buys it feels like I’m moving to Canada if Bush/Obama/Trump wins the election. Follow-through will be weak.”

What happens next is the $44-billion question?

Will Twitter restore banned accounts of Trump or right-wing commentators like Alex Jones or Bill Mitchell, or canceled Canadian users like MPP Randy Hillier?

“Well, I think it’s very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech,” Musk told a TED talk this month. “Twitter has become kind of the de facto town square, so it’s just really important that people have both the reality and the perception that they are able to speak freely within the bounds of the law.”

Certainly, most are hopeful this all means Twitter is clear for take-off and the grounded birds are soon going to be released from the cages.