Elon Musk released a statement Thursday morning outlining his motivations for acquiring Twitter, a deal that has gone back and forth in recent months.
In a tweet, Musk said the reason he “acquired Twitter” is to preserve the “digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner.” Musk said there is “great danger that social media will splinter into far right and far left echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”
Musk’s Twitter deal is reportedly almost done after months of announcements, accusations, and lawsuits threatened to rip it apart. Musk has said in the past he wants to fundamentally change how Twitter operates and threatened to fire over half of Twitter’s workforce before immediately backtracking.
Yesterday, Musk visited Twitter headquarters in advance of the acquisition finalizing.
In his statement, Musk said “traditional media” has pushed people to “polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost.” Musk said he bought Twitter not to make money, but to “try to help humanity.”
However, Musk also made his statement in a post directed specifically at Twitter advertisers. Twitter has recently struggled with ads. In advance of the 2020 election, Twitter banned all political advertising, becoming the first major social media network to do so. Over the summer, as Musk’s drama about purchasing the site escalated, ad sales flatlined.
Musk is already attempting to woo them back. Musk said his version of Twitter would get rid of “low relevancy ads” in favor of “highly relevant ads” which are “actually content.”
Twitter’s CCO also pledged the company would stay committed to “brand safety.”
“Fundamentally, Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise,” Musk said. “To everyone who has partnered with us, I thank you. Let us build something extraordinary together.”
Musk also addressed concerns that his version of Twitter would allow the worst people online to run amok.
He said he wanted Twitter to be “warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience.”
“Twitter cannot become a free for all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences!” Musk said.
