How Twitter Will Change After Acquisition By Elon Musk?

American entrepreneur Elon Musk needs no introduction and his recent acquisition of Twitter has made headlines across the globe. One reason that Musk has always pointed out for his decision is that he wants to give more freedom to people to express their views on Twitter. Earlier, Twitter had faced criticism from various fronts regarding its biased approach towards specific set of users. Tweets being deleted and accounts being blocked or permanently suspended had become quite commonplace. Even US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was permanently suspended.

With Musk taking over Twitter, many people are left wondering how the platform will evolve in the future. Here are some points to consider to understand how Twitter will change after acquisition by Elon Musk.

Open-source Twitter algorithm – To reduce the amount of censorship on the platform, Musk is expected to open-source Twitter algorithm. This way, users will have clarity on what is acceptable and things to avoid on Twitter. This is expected to take care of earlier reported issues such as shadow ban. With open-source Twitter algorithm, personal biases seen with censoring tweets and accounts can also be curtailed. Top Twitter executives have already been removed, which shows that Musk intends to do what he had talked about prior to the acquisition.

More traffic – Due to alleged biased approach of Twitter censor team, many users had quit Twitter and switched to other social platforms. There are several countries where Twitter is not even allowed. With more freedom to users to express their views, it is expected that number of Twitter users will increase in Musk era. It will naturally impact the platform’s overall net worth.

Better control over bots – As per Musk’s allegations, Twitter has thousands of fake accounts that can collectively change the narrative on any given topic. Musk is likely to update the software systems to reduce the number of bots operating on Twitter. This will make the platform more reliable and trustworthy. It will also help keep a check on fake news getting viral on the platform.

Advanced automated systems – Musk is working to reduce the human element on Twitter as far as possible. A lot of employees are expected to be fired and the systems could be managed by automated AI and machine learning based software modules. It will take a few years to achieve high level of automation on Twitter platform.

Less public scrutiny – As Twitter will be converted into a private company, it will have less of regulatory scrutiny to deal with. This will allow Twitter more freedom to make changes to its policies. Things will also become a lot easier in terms of managing the company’s finances and priorities.

No stock options for employees – After going private, Twitter’s stock will be delisted from stock markets. It will not be available for trading thereupon. After Twitter goes private, employees will not be getting stock option in the company. Probably, some other rewards such as cash bonuses can be introduced in place of stock options.

New revenue streams – Why Musk is richest man on the planet, he has not paid the entire $44 billion from his pocket to acquire Twitter. There are various other equity investors and even banks have contributed around $12.5 billion. Cost of these loans is expected to be around $1 billion per year. To ensure Twitter remains afloat and investors get their returns, it has to find new ways to earn income. Twitter will become more business-oriented in Musk era and will not be attached to specific political ideologies.