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On Friday, March 25, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk took an interesting poll via his Twitter profile, which sparked much buzz in the social media space. In the initial tweet, Musk asked his followers whether Twitter promotes ‘free speech’ and its essence in democracy. The billionaire also added that the result of this poll would have a significant consequence.
The poll ended up having over 2 million responses, of which over 70 percent sided with the belief that Twitter does not promote free speech in a democracy. Later on March 26, the entrepreneur tweeted whether a new platform is needed after Twitter’s alleged failure to uphold ‘free speech.’
Later, Musk also insinuated building his own social media platform in the future. The Neuralink and OpenAI co-founder also stated that Twitter “undermines democracy.”
Elon Musk hints at planning about his own social media platform after a poll on Twitter
On Saturday, Elon Musk asked his 79 million Twitter followers whether a new platform was needed. Prior to which, he tweeted:
“Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.”
The 50-year-old entrepreneur also asked his followers about what should be done regarding Twitter’s alleged disregard of ‘free speech’ on their platform. Numerous of his followers responded humorously and asked him to buy Twitter. Later, Musk responded positively to a Twitter user who asked him to buy Twitter and change their bird-based logo to that of a ‘doge’ meme.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s most interesting response came after being asked about his potential plans to build a social media platform. While replying to his long-time Twitter follower Pranay Pathole, Musk stated:
“Am giving serious thought to this.”
Musk’s answer to Pathole’s questions on whether the Tesla CEO will consider building a social media with “an open-source algorithm” and focus towards free speech as well as preventing propaganda, generated much hype amongst his followers.
Later, while replying to a fan, Musk also dished on TikTok and said:
“TikTok feels like such an obvious AI attack that it’s annoying.”
Elon Musk’s potential fallout with Twitter seems sudden as the CEO has had multiple interactions with the social media platform’s founder and former CEO, Jack Dorsey. As of now, Musk is also most active on Twitter since the entrepreneur deleted his Facebook and Instagram accounts in 2018.
At the time, Musk said:
“Just don’t like Facebook. Gives me the willies. Sorry.”
In January last year, Elon Musk also sparked a debate about social media privacy after Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced changes to their privacy policy. The South African native also suggested his followers to use an open-source WhatsApp alternative, Signal. He was also reported to have donated to Signal’s development fund.
With a history of promoting privacy and “free speech,” combined with his recent hints, it is plausible that Musk is set to develop his own social-media brand catering to his and his followers’ needs.
