Elon Musk and the dark side of breaking the rules
“The birth rate could be the greatest threat to the future of our civilization”
He is considered one of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the world: Tesla boss Elon Musk. Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner caught up with him for an exclusive interview. This turned into a very open exchange on nuclear energy and the development of the world’s population.
Elon Musk is a beloved media figure. Visionary, often funny, always entertaining – and smart at the same time. But it would be a mistake to fall for each of his announcements. This is now reflected in the back and forth around Twitter.
ELon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. That’s what he said a few weeks ago in a lot of media. What Musk plans to do with Twitter, what it all means, where he’s getting all the money from – has been written a hundred times. In the new “Stern”, it is written as an example: “With the purchase of Twitter, this striking character (musk sense) now also political power.
One man one word? Elon Musk
Source: dpa
But did Elon Musk really buy Twitter? no Musk has declared his buying intentions, raised funds, signed a deal, and has already acted a bit like he already owns Twitter.
But now Musk himself has halted the sale process ahead of shareholder approval, which is needed anyway. He announced it, of course, via Twitter. To then explain that it is necessary to check how many fake accounts, that is to say user accounts of non-existent people, there are on Twitter. In other words, Musk is suspicious of management’s long-established claim that it’s less than 5% of accounts.
He should have asked himself this question before committing to the purchase (and he probably did). At a conference this weekend, Musk said a good fifth could be fake accounts. As a result, the company’s share price fell significantly. Moreover, technology papers are already under heavy pressure on exchanges. Which Musk now apparently takes as an opportunity to push his tender offer to $54.20 a share. The price is currently just under $35, but that may change with each tweet from Musk.
It doesn’t matter whether you applaud the good deal (because Musk is a champion of free speech) or reprimand (because Musk wants Donald Trump back on Twitter, for example) – with his tactic, Musk harms first to Twitter and then to Tesla, his truly grand company creation. Due to the financing of the deal, Tesla is also involved. It is therefore quite possible that Musk will try to free himself from the commitment already made to buy Twitter at the mentioned price. A full exit would cost him a billion dollars — and even then Twitter could likely sue him.
Regardless of how things play out, media watchers would be wise not to take promises made by Musk at face value. A title that begins with “Elon Musk wants…” can already mean that the man has been trapped. Because sometimes ads are cashed in by him again. For example, Musk once announced that he would take Tesla private – but he didn’t.
Musk is an awesome rule breaker, you can’t beat him by normal standards. We can describe his career as extraordinary without idolizing him. Unfortunately, the media tends to stylize polarizing characters, so a sober view is often no longer possible or is perceived as boring.
But breaking the rules can only be successful and celebrated in the end if it creates something new that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. So far, however, the Twitter mission has been a gigantic waste of time and value for everyone involved.