‘I didn’t do it for money’ — Elon Musk explains why he acquired Twitter

Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla Inc, has cited reasons for buying Twitter.

The Tesla CEO disclosed this in a post on his official Twitter handle on Thursday.

Earlier this month, the billionaire agreed to purchase the micro-blogging platform for the initial offer price of $44 billion.

The development came months after filing a notice with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to terminate the Twitter acquisition over bots and fake accounts.

In his Twitter post, Musk said there is a need to clarify his agenda as there has been much speculation on why he bought the company.

“The reason I acquired Twitter is that it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence. There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left-wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society,” he tweeted.

“In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost.

“I also very much believe that advertising, when done right, can delight, entertain and inform you; it can show you a service or product or medical treatment that you never knew existed, but is right for you. For this to be true, it is essential to show Twitter users advertising that is as relevant as possible to their needs. Low relevancy ads are spam, but highly relevant ads are actually content.

“Fundamentally, Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows your enterprise. To everyone who has partnered with us, I thank you.

“Let us build something extraordinary together. That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.”

According to Musk, “Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!”

“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.