Elon Musk is a man in a hurry.
The whimsical and charismatic Tesla (TSLA) CEO has begun rolling out his vision and roadmap for Twitter (TWTR) if and when he completes its $44 billion acquisition of the microblogging site.
Indeed, while the business community continues to question how the serial entrepreneur managed to secure the funds necessary to finance the transaction, Musk is plowing ahead.
The billionaire began by addressing the central issue of content. It was more than clear: Musk's Twitter will be open to everyone as long as they respect the law. Users will be able to post anything they want as long as their posts don't break the law.
Free for Casual Users; 'Slight Cost' for Businesses
This policy aims, according to Musk, to respect the principles of free speech in the strongest possible way. The position frustrates many Democrats, who say that the policy will give free rein to hate speech and online bullying and bring back figures whom the site banned for their extremist messages.
Others -- prominently Microsoft (MSFT) Co-Founder Bill Gates -- fear the proliferation of misinformation.
"He actually could make it worse," Gates said referring to Musk. "That's not his track record. I mean, his track record with Tesla and SpaceX is pretty mind blowing at putting together a great team of engineers and ... taking the people who worked in those fields in a less bold way, and really showing them up.
"I kind of doubt that will happen this time, but we should have an open mind and never underestimate Elon."
Musk then put forward some clues about what Twitter's business model could be. He sees Twitter making money through subscriptions. Twitter would be free for casual users but there would be a "slight cost" for businesses and government users.
"Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users," Musk said on May 3.
Security and Data Protection
The world's richest man plans to temporarily serve as Twitter's CEO, according to CNBC. That will make him a leader with one of the world's busiest agendas. Musk is already involved with four companies: Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and Boring Co. All these companies aim to be leaders in their respective sectors.
Musk is going in deep with Twitter. His site will focus on attracting hardware and software engineers, who generally work closely to design, develop and maintain operating systems. The first focus on the physical components of computer systems while the second work with the virtual aspects --online games, applications, network control systems and operating systems.
Musk's Twitter will also focus on security and data protection.
"If Twitter acquisition completes, company will be super focused on hardcore software engineering, design, infosec & server hardware," Musk on May 6 posted to his more than 91.1 million followers on Twitter.
"I strongly believe that all managers in a technical area must be technically excellent. Managers in software must write great software or it’s like being a cavalry captain who can’t ride a horse!" the tech tycoon added.
Recruitment
Musk should have no trouble recruiting these engineers, whom he has made a priority, even if current Twitter employees have recently expressed concern about the company under his leadership.
Still, the platform itself warned, in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, that the uncertainty surrounding Musk's bid could be a problem for retaining talent and advertisers.
"Some trivia: With the announcement of Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition offer being accepted, interest in Twitter jobs on Glassdoor rose 263 percent last week (4/24-4/30), compared to the March 2022 baseline," Daniel Zhao, a senior economist and data scientist at Glassdoor wrote on Twitter.
"Say what you will about Elon, he does have a large fanbase of ppl excited to work for him. He's much more likely to capitalize on that attraction as CEO than owner," Zhao added.
Zhao told Fortune that interest is seen as average daily clicks on Twitter job postings on the platform, compared with average daily job clicks in a March 2022 baseline before Musk announced his takeover.
While clicks don't necessarily mean people will apply for job postings, they are an indication of interest in the company.
