Who Knows if Elon Musk’s Bid to Buy Twitter Will Actually Go Through, But In the Meantime He’s ‘Owning the Libs’ With Memes

Alex GriffingApr 28th, 2022, 4:47 pm
 

As the fate of Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid for Twitter remains uncertain, the eccentric billionaire seems to be delighting in the attention his proposed takeover has gained him.

Musk, who will have to pay a $1 billion dollar fee if he backs out, has taken to Twitter in recent days to joke about the takeover, putting out tweets like “Next I’m buying Coca-Cola to put the cocaine back in.”

Reuters published a column on Wednesday night, however, that argued “Musk probably won’t buy Twitter.” The authors of the column note there are various reasons Musk will likely have to back out and pay the nine-figure penalty fee but argue that Tesla is the main likely culprit.

“The electric-vehicle maker’s stock has fallen around a fifth since Musk first revealed his stake in Twitter, partly because Musk may sell shares to fund his new adventure,” the article explains.

“If Tesla’s stock bounces back – likely if the Twitter deal falls away – the $40 billion of recouped wealth would more than make up for the break fee,” it argues and notes that the market has already all but decided the deal will fall through.

“Twitter’s stock is currently trading 11% below his offer price – a fairly wide spread for a deal with little antitrust pushback,” the Reuters authors note, adding, “Musk’s tweets criticizing some company actions – potentially flouting the merger agreement — already suggest he might be starting to lose interest.”

Musk’s Twitter activity, however, shows something a bit different as he is clearly enjoying his new role as conservative savior and self-proclaimed guardian of free speech.

In cryptic tweets, the Tesla CEO has also offered hints as to how he might lead Twitter and what his own political orientation is, two points many critics and fans alike have been debating ad nauseam.

He has tweeted multiple vague statements regarding free speech and centrism, while also posting playful memes.

“Let’s make Twitter maximum fun!” he tweeted on Wednesday night.

Earlier in the day, he tweeted a meme showing the cycle of a left-right debate on the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast. The meme appears to explain why it’s so difficult for the right to call out left-wing bias on Twitter and features an image of right-wing pundit Tim Pool – who recently called for Musk to “bring back trump, Alex jones, milo, and loomer” to Twitter.

On Thursday, Musk sparked debate across Twitter by posting a meme illustrating how he viewed the changes in the political spectrum since 2008.

The meme shows a character labeled “me,” presumably Musk, going from center-left to center-right between 2008 and 2021. The meme also shows the conservative side of the spectrum remaining in place as the left side runs far-left and become a “woke ‘progressive’” denouncing the right as a “bigot!”
The tweet quickly went viral as the Twitterverse debated its meaning.

Below are some of Musk’s other recent tweets:

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Alex Griffing - Senior Editor

Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing