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Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

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Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#91
post #13

He filed forms that he was going to be a passive investor, and the same day joined the board after discussion that had been in the works for weeks. This is strike two on misleading investors. I haven't seen analysis on whether it was illegal, but I wouldn't want somebody like him on my board even if it succeeded in keeping him from buying up more stock. With him on the outside, maybe he causes more trouble than on th…

> He filed forms that he was going to be a passive investor

This was almost certainly done by a lawyer working on his behalf. This strikes me as a technicality of paperwork that is being seized upon by the media as a way to portray Musk in the worst possible light.

> I wouldn't want somebody like him on my board

In this hypothetical, what is your role (i.e. fellow shareholder, CEO, employee)? I ask because shareholders (aka the owners of the company) choose the board. Musk owns nearly 1/10th of the company, and is now the largest shareholder, institutional or individual, by a good margin. In other words, whatever your hypothetical role, you wouldn't have much of a choice.

Setting the mechanics of boards aside, there is strong case for him being the most successful business person alive. He is right up there with Bezos, Gates, and Zuckerberg. Shareholders should be cheering this on. And there is some evidence, in the form of the stock price, that they are.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> an Elon-run Twitter would be a lot more profitable. I'm not so sure about that. He doesn't have a lot of experience with running ad sales. His big breaks have been PayPal (kind of), Tesla and SpaceX. None of which were social, none of which were "free".

I’m not sure either (there is of course uncertainty). But in Tesla and SpaceX, he shows good management, while my (outsider) impression of Twitter’s is that it’s dropping the ball. Also, I think Twitter was undervalued compared to its potential, and Elon wouldn’t be buying part of it if he didn’t think he could turn a good profit.

> and Elon wouldn’t be buying part of it if he didn’t think he could turn a good profit.

Unless he was buying a seat on the board so that he could help effect change that he desired.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems like a silly post on first reading, but actually thinking about it, that would mean the first amendment actually applies to Twitter right? In which case it would actually mean government can't interfere with it? It's an interesting mind exercise. What happens with blatant spamming, or bots, is the government allowed to interfere with those? Or does the 1st amendment block that too?

The government already owns a support foundation for publicly-owned broadcasters ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation_for_Public_Broadca... ). Nothing about the 1st Amendment seems to prevent these broadcasters from restricting access to their airwaves. Anyone with a camera or mic can't just walk into a PBS studio and start transmitting whatever message they want. The Public Broadcasting Act of 1972 that creat…

PBS is a publisher, not a platform, and is legally liable for the content they publish in a way that Twitter is not.

> Rationing and rate-limiting are not censorship, though presumably at least some people subject to it will probably try to say they are.

When rationing and rate-limiting are applied on the basis of the content of the speech, then yes is is absolutely censorship and there are supreme court cases to back that up.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#94
post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> an Elon-run Twitter would be a lot more profitable. I'm not so sure about that. He doesn't have a lot of experience with running ad sales. His big breaks have been PayPal (kind of), Tesla and SpaceX. None of which were social, none of which were "free".

My paypal account is free. It is way more useful than my twitter account which I don't even know my handle.

It's free to someone who only buys product. It's not free to someone receiving money.

Re: Elon Musk to join Twitter’s board of directors

#100
post #31

I am beyond tired of billionaires, who get to treat companies, public sentiment, and politics, and thus a fair portion of government and policy, as their personal sandbox. Greed and oligarchy are ruining America.

Who do you think owned the Twitter shares before Elon bought them? The dispossessed working classes?
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