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Twitter bought by Elon Musk

PS the fact he's willing to risk $45B of other peoples money on this, likely via mix of lenders & to saddle the whole enterprise (on the existing shareholders who get suckered to staying in!) with commensurate leveraged debt - should tell you how high the stakes are. No, of course Musk himself isn't paying for it all ... don't be silly...

Bad form to quote oneself, but I've just looked this angle up:
Deal is Musk pays £21B; the rest is leveraged debt (i.e. piled on the existing company/ perceived market value)

Since Elon is about to receive the improbably-vast Performance Bonus of £23Bn for his mostly- vapourware company (seriously, there is no way Tesla is worth more than all the other top-6 car manufacturers combined) .. even if this deal bombs, Musk is still £2Bn up, himself.*

I mean - WTF!

*... providing he doesn't get his ass sued off for some gross indiscretion, non-declaration, misleading of shareholders or similar. Yet even then, he'd be ..up himself - IYSWIM.
 
Bad form to quote oneself, but I've just looked this angle up:
Deal is Musk pays £21B; the rest is leveraged debt (i.e. piled on the existing company/ perceived market value)

Since Elon is about to receive the improbably-vast Performance Bonus of £23Bn for his mostly- vapourware company (seriously, there is no way Tesla is worth more than all the other top-6 car manufacturers combined) .. even if this deal bombs, Musk is still £2Bn up, himself.*

I mean - WTF!

*... providing he doesn't get his ass sued off for some gross indiscretion, non-declaration, misleading of shareholders or similar. Yet even then, he'd be ..up himself - IYSWIM.

The debt part appears to be secured on his Tesla shares. Shouldn't in itself make any difference to Tesla though if the markets think Musk is spreading himself too thin that could push the shares down.

I agree about Tesla valuation. The idea that better, bigger, more experienced and more established car makers like Mercedes or VAG wouldn't trounce Tesla once they catch up on their batteries and electric drivetrains was always a bit daft.
 
Very curious to know what Musk means by “authenticating all humans” (Register)? An attempt to remove user anonymity (though I suspect that is impossible)? That could have real implications for speaking truth to power even if it would dramatically reduce the bullying culture (fascists, bigots etc tend not to like being doxxed).
 
I don't get why its worth so much money! I never see any advertising on there. I hope he succeeds and makes it a freer space to express opinions, to me censorship and cancel culture are just a waste of time, more hot air is vented on talking about who can and can't vocalise than what they are actually saying. Bigoted opinions are best recieved in the fullest light, so they can be challenged. I've always thought a good way of improving content on all social media is to have a minimum word count, that would surely revolutionise the whole thing, people actually needing to explain themselves rather than parroting whoever they're following in silly one liners, or even useless one word retorts/insults.
 
I am reminded of one of many wonderful passages in Alice through the Looking Glass when such questions arise


“When I use a word,’ Elon Musk said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’

’The question is,’ said [Humpty Dumpty] ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”
 
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Elon Musk Is Buying Twitter For $44 Billion, Here Are 30 Of The Best Reactions From Its Users
 
I picked up my name as an account on mastodon this morning just in case Twitter craters, becomes unfit for my purpose or I quit because of something Musk does. Apparently I wasn’t the only one. I’m guessing they were slammed going by the time it took to get an email confirmation.
 
As usual Marina Hyde has the best, or certainly the funniest, view. Last line:
'but in general I think that arguing on the internet is like playing real tennis: even if you win, you're still a twat.'
 


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