Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Culture

Elon Musk exposed his plans for Twitter in text messages

What will Elon Musk do with Twitter? The answer is in his texts

Shannon Cooper
By

The saga of whether or not Elon Musk will buy Twitter is finally over: The $44 billion deal closed yesterday, ending months of financial and legal back and forth between the Tesla CEO and the social media platform.

Musk announced his acquisition on Twitter with a tweet claiming “the bird is freed,” referring, of course, to Twitter’s bird logo. According to Reuters, one of Musk’s first actions was to fire top Twitter executives, including Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde.

Recommended Videos

Dear Twitter Advertisers pic.twitter.com/GMwHmInPAS

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022

Related

In an open letter to Twitter’s advertisers, Musk wrote, “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!”

Still, Reuters reports that many Twitter employees are fearful about what this move means for their jobs, and most everyone is wondering what the future holds for Twitter. Well, that back and forth over the last few months included the Musk v. Twitter lawsuit; as part of the legal discovery process, Musk’s private texts with family members, CEOs, and celebs were made public. If you found yourself asking, “What will Elon Musk do with Twitter?” now’s your chance to find out. Among (many) other things, Musk’s texts revealed some of his big plans for the platform. You can view the court document containing the full text exchanges here. Check out some of the highlights of these conversations below.

Person looking at Twitter on phone
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Musk wanted users to prove they weren’t bots with crypto payments

Elon Musk claimed his reason for backing out of the Twitter deal was because of the prevalence of fake accounts and bots. His private texts with his brother, Kimbal Musk, revealed how he planned to handle the issue: by requiring users to verify their messages using blockchain payments.
In his own words, “I have an idea for a blockchain social media system that does both payments and short text messages/links like Twitter. You have to pay a tiny amount to register your message on the chain, which will cut out the vast majority of spam and bots. There is no throat to choke, so free speech is guaranteed.”

He agreed with Jack Dorsey on an open-source protocol

Musk also exchanged texts with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as CEO in late 2021 and left the board of directors in May 2022. But while he was still on the board, Dorsey reached out to Musk responding to one of his tweets that asked if a new platform was needed. Dorsey (who’s saved as “jack jack” in Musk’s contacts) texted, “yes, a new platform is needed. It can’t be a company. This is why I left.”

He continued by saying, “I believe it must be an open source protocol, funded by a foundation of sorts that doesn’t own the protocol, only advances it. A bit like what Signal has done. It can’t have an advertising model. Otherwise you have surface area that governments and advertisers will try to influence and control… it just has to be done right so it’s resilient to what has happened to Twitter.”

Musk responded by calling it a “super interesting idea,” and saying he’d like to help if he could. Later in the conversation, Musk texts, “I think it’s worth both trying to move Twitter in a better direction and doing something new that’s decentralized.”

Other interesting revelations from Musk’s texts

Outside of his plans for the platform, there were plenty of gems in Musk’s texts. Here are some of the most fascinating tidbits.

  • Texts from Dorsey also revealed that he previously tried to get Musk on the board and made his decision to leave the company when they said no.
  • With his emphasis on making Twitter a “free speech platform,” some right-wingers saw Musk’s purchase as an opportunity to reinstate the accounts of some banned conservative personalities. One redacted contact texted, “It will be a delicate game of letting right wingers back on Twitter and how to navigate that (especially the boss himself, if you’re up for that),” seemingly referencing Twitter’s decision to ban the former president, Donald Trump.
  • CBS host Gayle King asked Musk multiple times for a sit-down interview. After news broke that Musk was planning to buy the platform, King texted, “Now Don’t you think we should sit down together face to face this is as the kids of today say a ‘gangsta move’ I don’t know know how shareholders turn this down …like I said you are not like the other kids in the class.”
  • Podcaster Joe Rogan reached out to ask, “are you going to liberate Twitter from the censorship happy mob?” and proposed planning a party if he did.

Now, that the deal has gone through and Musk is calling himself “Chief Twit” on his Twitter profile, it seems certain that Twitter is in for some changes.

Editors' Recommendations

Shannon Cooper
Shannon Cooper
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Shannon Cooper has written about everything from pet care and travel to finance and plumbing in her seven years as a writer…
Why This Olympic Gold Medalist Shot Putter Is Still Approaching His Peak
USA's Ryan Crouser competes in the men's shot put final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Tokyo on August 5, 2021.

USA's Ryan Crouser competes in the men's shot put final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Tokyo on August 5, 2021. Photo by ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP via Getty Images

On January 24, Larry Eder, a 38-year veteran journalist for track and field, was on his couch at his home in Wisconsin when he watched the indoor shot put world record broken — or was it? The ESPN announcers, only a few minutes into the broadcast, were frantically flipping through notes, unsure, and the rubber-covered 16-pound ball lay there on the turf like a mushroom, cameras zoomed in on as if it could offer a hint. “If you break the record and no one can measure it, did you really break it?” Eder asks philosophically.

Read more
America’s Youngest Bonsai Master Is Flourishing in His Native Soil
bjorn bjorholm bonsai master feature 1 b one seed juniper at eisei en

Bjorn Bjorholm, 34, Zooms in from his home near Nashville, Tenn. It’s February, deep winter, and his skin seems pale surrounded by the bare white walls. Outside, an unusual cold snap has shut down the city, and his Eisei-en bonsai nursery lies under a thick blanket of snow. “Dreary’ would be the best word,” he says to describe the space. “Which is always the case in the winter.”

Bjorholm, originally from Knoxville, Tenn., explains the name of his dormant business: “Evergreen garden,” roughly translated from the Japanese; one that is always in bloom. “But it has a couple of deeper meanings as well,” he continues. “Forever young,” or having an open mind, ready to learn. “And it can also translate to ‘always green,’ as in always making money,” he says, laughing. “My wife came up with it.”
Related Guides

Read more
The 12 best Connecticut cigars I’ve tried and tested in 2024
Best Connecticut cigars up close and personal

Connecticut cigars are the clear winner for smoking on a hot summer day, in the morning with some coffee, or when you just don't want a swift kick in the teeth (of pepper). There's no shortage of options, either. Connecticut shade wrappers are one of the most prevalent in the world of cigars, and it's certainly the most common natural shade. Maduro is also popular, but the two wrapper types couldn't be any more different. Connecticut wrappers, and by proxy Connecticut cigars, are typically mild to medium in strength and brimming with creamy, smooth flavors. They're composed of tobacco leaves grown in the Connecticut River Valley in the United States -- which is where the name Connecticut comes from. Consistent and flavorful, some of the best beginner-friendly cigars are Connecticut-wrapped, but you should never sell them short. A Connecticut shade cigar can be just as refined, elegant, and premium as any other. If you know where to look, you may even find some of your favorite blends in the category across a wide range of brands and cigar makers.

I'm about to take you on a magical, doughy, and delicious trek through the broad range of Connecticut cigars. In short, here are the best Connecticut cigars tried and tested by a genuine enthusiast of the craft: yours truly.
The best Connecticut cigars I've tried and tested
While the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper is considered a Connecticut shade, I did my best to steer clear of recommending them for this list. They're better classified as a Maduro shade or darker cigar. That doesn't mean you should avoid them, quite the contrary. But for this list, I wanted to stick to smooth, relaxing smokes that are strong on flavor but not quite so strong on pepper and spice. I also tried not to choose a lot of repeats. If you see your favorite cigar missing, that might be because it was recommended on another list or it just didn't make the cut. If you have any recommendations of your own, I'm always available through social media or email. Without further ado, let's get this thing started.
Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut

Read more