Elon Musk has stated he doesn’t need Twitter to grow to be a “free-for-all hellscape”, in a sudden bid to appease advertisers after the billionaire beforehand instructed that he wished the social media platform to rely much less on cash from entrepreneurs.
“Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences!” he wrote in a letter posted on Thursday titled “Dear Twitter Advertisers”.
Musk, a self-declared “free speech absolutist”, has repeatedly stated his acquisition of the corporate stemmed from a want to revive free speech to Twitter, triggering issues amongst advertisers that the social media platform would possibly not stay a secure place for manufacturers if it turned dwelling to toxicity and abuse.
But within the letter he sought to reassure advertisers, which account for almost all of Twitter’s $5bn annual revenues, writing: “In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm, and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.”
He added that Twitter “aspired to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise”.
The publish comes only a day earlier than his $44bn deal to purchase Twitter is about to shut, in line with a deadline imposed by a Delaware courtroom.
It marks an about-turn from Musk’s earlier feedback on the advertising enterprise. In 2019, Musk said on Twitter that he “hated advertising” and in April he wrote in a since-deleted tweet: “The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive.”
In an early presentation to potential traders within the deal, Musk stated he wished to shift Twitter away from relying so closely on promoting — all the way down to 45 per cent of income from greater than 80 per cent in 2021, in accordance with somebody aware of the doc. He additionally indicated that different revenue would come from subscriptions in addition to new enterprise strains in funds and information licensing.
But within the near-term, Musk now has to persuade advertisers to work with an organization he publicly accused of mendacity about faux accounts and its cyber safety practices, as he tried to wriggle out of his settlement to accumulate the enterprise.
The world’s richest man wrote on Thursday that he had purchased Twitter to “help humanity”, not to make more cash. But he additionally stated that he believed that promoting “when done right, can delight, entertain and inform you”, including that it was “essential to show Twitter users advertising that is as relevant as possible to their needs”.
Additional reporting by James Fontanella-Khan
