Elon Musk, CEO of high-end electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA), recently revealed that he acquired just over 9% of Twitter (TWTR). This stake makes him the largest shareholder of the social network where he is very active.
It is indeed on Twitter that the billionaire communicates on the news of his various companies, whether Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company or Neuralink. It is also on the platform that he often settles accounts with his detractors and exchanges with his legion of fans.
Twitter is an essential communication tool for Musk since it allows him to communicate directly with the general public without the filter of the media. It is also free publicity for him and for its companies. Tesla, for example, does not spend a penny on marketing or advertising.
Musk Wants Big Changes
The tech tycoon, who has more than 81 million followers on Twitter, doesn't see the point of paying for advertising when he can reach tens of millions of people around the world with a tweet. Twitter thus helped to build the Musk brand, whose personality now goes beyond the circles of Silicon Valley and the automotive and space industries. The social network has allowed the entrepreneur to establish an image of disruptor and visionary.
But Musk, who wants to save the planet from pollution, sees further. By taking a stake in Twitter, he entered into an agreement with management that he will not increase this stake beyond 14.9% before 2024. In exchange, he obtained a seat on the board of directors. a a body that validates a company's strategy and has great power over the CEO.
He decided to use that seat to push through some big changes at Twitter.
"Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!" Musk posted on Twitter on April 5, referring to Parag Agrawal, Twitter CEO.
It now appears that these changes are likely to be radical since Musk has just asked a question that is likely to shake not only the leaders of Twitter but also its employees.
'Is Twitter Dying?'
"Most of these “top” accounts tweet rarely and post very little content," the wealthiest man in the world posted on Twitter on April 9. And then he asked the question that will cause a stir.
"Is Twitter dying?" Musk asked.
The post is accompanied by Twitter accounts with the most followers. On this list dominated by former President Barack Obama, we find Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Rihanna, soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, Taylor Swift, Lady gaga, Elon Musk, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, and The Ellen Show.
He continued:
"For example, @taylorswift13 hasn’t posted anything in 3 months."
"And @justinbieber only posted once this entire year," Musk added.
In other words, the entrepreneur seems to suggest that Twitter is not attractive enough to encourage its biggest and most important influencers to use it. Or that Twitter does not make enough effort for its influencers to want to create content on the platform.
However, user comments were divided. Some pointed out that celebrities prefer to create content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram in order to reach Gen Z, while Twitter is more geared towards another target.
"People in entertainment don’t use Twitter as much. They are TikTok and Instagram," Ross Gerber, a well-known Tesla investor commented. "Many of them tweeting would be potentially dangerous for their careers. Most are accounts run by others they pay."
"Many seem to just use it as status not for human engagement it seems," another user responded.
Other users advise Musk to push Twitter to put in place rules that would lead to inactive accounts being suspended or canceled after a certain period.
"Account deactivation after a certain inactive time period?" a user commented.
"accounts without a month of activity must be deleted," said another Twitter user.
Until Musk clarifies the intention behind his question, it goes without saying that the Q&A session scheduled in a few days with Twitter employees promises to be explosive. The billionaire, analysts, and the markets say, Musk can help Twitter to achieve the financial objectives that the platform has set under pressure from Elliott Management.
That's 123 million more users to be added by 2023 and Twitter's also looking to double its revenue, to at least $7.5 billion. To achieve this, the company has rolled out a series of products, including a subscription service called Blue and a Clubhouse knockoff called Spaces.
