The World's Most Expensive Experiment // Variant Perception #7

Joker or genius?

“It’s just a game.”

I can imagine that’s what Elon Musk thought as he was forced into taking over Twitter at $54.20 a share (a large premium to what it had been trading at on the public markets). After clearly deciding that his original offer overpaid and failing to wriggle out of that deal through the courts, Musk threw up his hands.

“Fuck it, I guess I’m buying Twitter now,” is what he definitely said.

Elon could never work another day in his life, and his family would be taken care of for another 10 generations (maybe less because he has so many kids). Yet, he’s decided to stick his head into a hornet nest instead of lounging in the lap of luxury.

Most billionaires keep to themselves and try to avoid being in the media. Musk does the exact opposite.

It’s a real treat for us plebs.

Now, we get to watch him risk a massive fortune to run the world’s most expensive entrepreneurial experiment. A $44 billion dollar social experiment determining what free speech means in the 21st century. Which Elon believed to be heading in a catastrophic direction.

Musk’s move is an act of entrepreneurial activism. Which, as he shares often, is at the core of all of his business decisions. Elon’s goal is to change the trend of the internet by creating a platform with transparent governance and bias to free speech.

Elon understands clearly how to use wealth for creating systemic change through entrepreneurship. He’s the best in the world at it. And, it’s clear he plans on rolling his wealth into new projects that he believes to be imperative to the survival of the human race. A phrase Elon uses often.

Now, why is that so polarizing? People have been riled up about Elon’s acquisition. He’s not the first billionaire to purchase a media outlet, and he will not be the last.

There are valid criticisms of Elon’s takeover of Twitter. However, that doesn’t explain the degree to which people have gotten so emotionally charged up about his decision.

Will Elon use the platform for his personal gain? Could he have used those billions for a better cause? Will he use Twitter to boost his own fringe ideas and shut down journalists he disagrees with?

Probably, maybe, does it really matter?

As Elon said, he saw the future of democracy, truth and free speech all hanging in the balance. So he decided to act. That’s what makes Elon special, and it’s what makes America special.

America encourages entrepreneurial activism and experimentation. So, I think we must applaud the risk Elon is taking or risk losing the soul of American exceptionalism. If he screws up Twitter a replacement will be created. That’s the circle of life.

Will Elon become the de facto ruler of the net and ultimate arbiter of truth? Certainly not.

Two observations are clear. Elon does half the things he does because he enjoys getting a rise out of the collective hornet nest consciousness and the other half because he believes them to be the right decision based on his own moral framework.

He doesn’t fit into a classic “hero or villain” narrative. He’s a complex character with (almost) infinite resources, depending on the stock price of Tesla. Everything he does becomes global news that’s scrutinized a million times before breakfast (much of that to his chagrin, it seems).

However, his purchasing of Twitter marks a shift in the story of the web and media. I believe this move will ultimately bring more transparency to the public. Something we desperately need from media. This has already happened with a lot of the ‘Twitter Files’ being released.

Donald Trump and Covid really screwed up the media and our trust in it. Trump breathed life back into flailing mainstream news networks, and in return they covered him 24/7 leading to his eventual campaign win. Then Covid came and the news spread uncertainties as certainties, amped up the collective fear, and made sure no crisis went to waste, death counts and all.

This chart paints the picture.

Twitter has the potential to be a corrective force to a lot of what we’ve seen in the past few years. And Elon is taking it upon himself to make sure that happens. Whether he succeeds or not remains to be seen, but I think he deserves to be applauded for taking action. Something infinitely more difficult than having an opinion.