Not up to a whole month, Elon Musk, the techno king and the self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, and undoubtedly one of the richest and most important men on earth today gained renewed interest on Twitter, he bought a huge part of the company, a stake he later increased, but surprisingly, he declined to join the Twitter board, and moments later, he made a move that forced the Twitter board to declare a poison pill stance, he proposed to buy the entire thing, while the Twitter board initially declined, lately, they have obliged to his request.

There are some concerns about this move, and this ultimate move will have some implications that may, directly and indirectly, impact me and you. So, let's discuss.

Desperate, yet strategic

Mr Elon put the Twitter board members in a very difficult spot. As a publicly held company, anyone is allowed to buy as much amount of the company stocks as they desire as long as they are not a member of the board.

Elon Musk's first move was to buy as much as he could making him the second-largest stockholder of the company, and after declining board membership, he even bought more. A move that saw Twitter stock prices going over the moon. The excitement was short-lived, however.

A few days later, Elon Musk provided an SEC notice indicating interest to buy the whole company, at profit, and actually threatening to reconsider his position as a stockholder if his proposal is declined.

He undoubtedly placed the board members in a tough position; still, his move was outright desperate all under the cover of free speech.

Free Speech Indeed: Free Speech for You or for Elon?

Whose freedom to speak is Elon trying to protect? Twitter had a fundamental issue, which I described here. The platform wielded too much power and control, which it even flexes on presidents. It has been described as the public square of the world. So, it basically decides who speaks and who gets heard.

If Twitter can ban Trump and even the Nigerian president, M.Buhari, Elon must know that he needs to trade with utmost caution as well. So, what could be the best move? With so much money and a subtle threat in the mix, he could easily protect his speech through acquisition, in essence, he can speak freely as he desires now, without restrictions.

Along with the fact that this acquisition is also good for his business as highlighted by @finguru, I feel it is also valid to conclude that his free speech is the top priority. By owning Twitter, he is basically making himself the caretaker of the world, if, of course, you believe strongly in the power of information.

How about you? Will you enjoy free speech as a result? We cannot tell, for now, only time will. But for a man who puts workplace policies that prevent employees from speaking negatively about his company, it's hard to swallow all his free speech pills.

There is more to speculate on! According to the popular Maslow's hierarchy of needs, when humans attain sufficient wealth, they crave power.

More Power: A Highly Decentralized System

With Musk's takeover, if Twitter was 50% centralized before, now it is 100% more centralized. You can remember what happened to Steemit Inc that spurred the creation of the Hive blockchain.

If he wanted more free speech as well, with his wealth and influence, he could have either opted for a decentralized system as opined by @readthisplease, or maybe, initiate the creation of one. But he went for an already made product that he will eventually have a tight grip on, a questionable move! And making this publicly held company now private will mean a lot.

The Implications of Privatization

With this acquisition, Elon Musk becomes the sole proprietor of Twitter. How well can we trust his rulership? Only time will tell.

But when this acquisition is effective, you can no longer buy Twitter's stocks/shares, and consequently, all the decision-making process about the future of that company hinges on just one person. Unlike a board, where it is possible that board members go through a brainstorming session before reaching a decision.

What is the Outlook

Only time has a lot to reveal. Why we are optimistic that this move may turn out good, we cannot help but share a healthy dose of scepticism, as resting a whole information platform on the shoulder of one ambitious man, can have a lot of ramifications.

Thanks for your time!