Billionaire Elon Musk gave up on buying Twitter, but not on having his social network. And now, the creator of Tesla will be able to use blockchain technology for that. This possibility circulated after the release of a 40-page letter allegedly written by Musk. In the letter, the CEO reports his view on the characteristics that a social network needs to have, and as in the case of Twitter, Musk defended user privacy and decentralization. In addition, the CEO stated that the social network must have a payment system, such as a cryptocurrency. “I think we need a new blockchain-based social media company that includes payments. “I have an idea for a blockchain social media system that makes payments and messages via short links, like [T]witter. You have to pay a small amount to register your message in the chain, which will eliminate the vast majority of spam. There is no throat to choke, so freedom of speech is guaranteed,” said Elon Musk. That is, Musk’s plans are basically the same as the billionaire had for Twitter, had the negotiation progressed. Elon released the text message to his brother, businessman Kimbal Musk on April 9. However, the message spread and went on to attract a lot of visibility. From angel investor Jason Calacanis and American television personality Gayle King to controversial podcast host Joe Rogan. Everyone supported Musk’s idea and even expressed interest as investors.
Twitter on a blockchain
In March, prior to Musk’s musings on blockchain, the Tesla founder received a text message from philosopher and author William MacAskill. At the time, MacAskill said that entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was also “potentially interested in buying” Twitter. According to MacAskill, Bankman-Fried’s intention was the same as Musk’s: to make Twitter a “better for the world” tool. MacAskill then shares the SBF number in case Musk is interested in discussing a “joint effort in that direction.” Then the billionaire responded with a question: “does he have large amounts of money?” The text messages that followed indicate that Bankman-Fried may have spoken with Musk in early April, before Musk expressed interest in incorporating blockchain into a social media platform for his brother Kimbal Musk. On April 9, Kimbal responded by saying that he has “gone deep into Web3” and his “voting powers are incredible and verified.” Voting rights can serve to drive out the scammers, Kimbal said, referring to another reason Musk wanted to buy Twitter. “Blockchain prevents people from deleting tweets. Pros and cons, but let the games begin!” Kimbal told his brother. Coincidentally, Elon wanted Twitter to allow editing of messages after publication. Kimbal also suggests exploring a native digital token for Twitter that users will have to keep in a wallet in order to post messages. The token “does not have to be expensive,” Kimbal said, adding that it “will grow in value over time.”
purchase failed
Coincidence or not, Musk’s ideas may be taking shape now that the entrepreneur backs out of his Twitter purchase. Musk made his first bid in April, offering $44 billion to buy all shares in the social network. While Twitter founder Jack Dorsey supported the takeover bid, things quickly turned sour between Musk and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. The billionaire accused the social network of not having transparency about the number of fake accounts. Twitter’s board, meanwhile, said Musk was making excuses for not honoring the deal. Ultimately, the billionaire took the offer off the table and dropped the allegation, but was sued by Twitter’s board of directors.
