Elon Musk took the world by surprise with his proposal to buy Twitter. The Tesla boss has offered to acquire the social media platform for a whopping sum of $43 billion (roughly Rs. 3,28,080 crore) in an all-cash deal. Musk is one of Twitter’s largest shareholder, with a stake of 9.2 percent. People have flooded the microblogging platform with reactions that range from grave concern to funny memes about the social media platform’s fate. Musk’s offer of $54.20 (roughly Rs. 4,150) per share is a premium of 18 percent because Twitter’s shares closed at $45.85 (roughly Rs. 3,510) on April 13. And reactions are now pouring from all sides. Here’s what users on Twitter had to say about Musk’s offer to purchase Twitter.
Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said, “Want to see the whole world lose their s***? Get Peter Thiel to partner with Elon and raise the bid for Twitter.”
New York Times best-selling author Ben Shapiro wrote, “The best thing about Elon Musk’s takeover would be the automatic employment sorting mechanism. Takes care of virtually all HR problems immediately.”
The best thing about Elon Musk’s takeover would be the automatic employment sorting mechanism. Takes care of virtually all HR problems immediately. https://t.co/iWZbmG2mgf
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) April 14, 2022
Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist, said, “Twitter is too important to be owned and controlled by a single person”
Twitter is too important to be owned and controlled by a single person. The opposite should be happening. Twitter should be decentralized as a protocol that powers an ecosystem of communication products and services.
— Fred Wilson (@fredwilson) April 14, 2022
Actress and writer Angela Belcamino asked whether users would leave the platform if the takeover happens.
Would you consider leaving Twitter if Elon Musk takes it over?
— Angela Belcamino (@AngelaBelcamino) April 14, 2022
A user said that Musk’s “game” with Twitter might be “dangerous” as the platform has a lot of potential to steer mass opinion.
Memes about Musk’s attempt to buy Twitter in an all-cash deal are doing the rounds on social media.
Elon Musk out here trying to buy Twitter when it’s on the Play Store for free ????????????
— Patrick???? (@pkdonuts_5) April 15, 2022
How funny would it be if Twitter decided to suspend Elon right now
— tim barber (@Tbarb3710022) April 15, 2022
In the meantime, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal reportedly sought to reassure employees during an all-hands meeting on Thursday that the company was not being “held hostage” by news of Musk’s offer to buy the company.