Elon Musk’s top priority: To eliminate scam bots, bot armies on Twitter
In his first public appearance since making an offer to buy Twitter, world’s richest person and Tesla CEO Elon Musk said his top priority on the social media platform is to eliminate “scam bots and bot armies”.
Also read: Musk says he has ‘Plan B’ if Twitter board rejects his offer
A day after making an offer to buy 100% of Twitter, Musk spoke at the TED 2022 conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. TED had also invited questions from the public to be asked to Musk.
I get to interview @elonmusk on Thursday here at TED. What questions would YOU ask him? 🙄 😮😵💫
— Chris Anderson (@TEDchris) April 12, 2022
In the interview with the head of TED, Chris Anderson, Musk called for Twitter’s algorithm to be made open-source.
“One of the things that I believe Twitter should do is open-source the algorithm. Any changes to people’s tweets – if they’re emphasised or de-emphasised – that action should be made apparent … so there’s no sort of behind-the-scenes manipulation, either algorithmically or manually,” Musk told Anderson on stage.
Musk reiterated his views of calling Twitter a “de facto town square” and his support for free speech.
How would Elon Musk change Twitter if he were to buy it? First, he’d make it open source. Watch @ElonMusk’s wide ranging live #TED2022 interview with @TEDChris on @YouTube here: https://t.co/dFFUxNqLZe pic.twitter.com/Okm3y5HpEy
— TED Talks (@TEDTalks) April 14, 2022
“I think it’s very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech. In my view, Twitter should match the laws of the country. And really, you know, there’s an obligation to do that,” he said.
Further, he said spoke about his top priority on Twitter which is about eliminating “bot armies”.
“A top priority I would have is eliminating the spam and scam bots and the bot armies that are on Twitter. They (scam bots) make the product much worse. If I had a Dogecoin for every crypto scam I saw, we’d have 100 billion Dogecoin,” Musk said.
On the proposal of an edit button on Twitter, Musk said he would make it available only for a short time.
Musk is the biggest shareholder in Twitter with over 9% of the stake. Recently, he had rejected a seat on the board of directors. Later, he offered to buy the company at $54.20 per share, estimated to be a total $41 billion deal.
“As a result, I am offering to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash, a 54% premium over the day before I began investing in Twitter and a 38% premium over the day before my investment was publicly announced. My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder. Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it,” Musk had said in his offer.
