Consider that maybe the literal dick measuring, the called-off MMA fight, etc, is just kayfabe - a show. It wouldn't be the first time.
We fall for controlled opposition a lot more than we realize, because it's effective, and basically impossible to prove.
Sometimes, the rivalry is 'real', but helps both parties maintain a profitable status quo. Pepsi vs Coke, Dems vs Republicans, etc.
Even if it isn't a wrestling show, *Zuck and Musk's interests align*. Their incentives are aligned far, far more than with any non-billionaires. Be certain of that, and know that they know this. Their bluster and meme-battles don't amount to much more that a show in any case.
For whatever reason - Musk could hardly be more effective in killing Twitter than he has been so far, while maintaining plausible deniability. This invites fun speculation.
What's not speculation is that we're absolutely daft for letting these ultra-billionaires run our social media. It's deeply unsettling that people tolerate this after the last couple decades, and even cheer for new, even more insidious offerings from the same exact people.
Musk may have not intended to purchase Twitter, but now he has it and it's costing him a massive amount of money. Losing more money by making it fail seems counterintuitive to the process of getting a return on an investment. The user mandmandam seems to be implying that Musk has been paid by Saudi oligarchs to make Twitter fail due to its history in causing disruption to their plans, but that seems to hinge on Musk's investment in the company, his personal reputation being deeply damaged, his stakes in existing companies becoming risky, and his future investments being tarnished, all being outweighed by whatever nefarious individuals are paying him. I think that because of how much he has personally lost in this Twitter fiasco that he would have to be receiving a huge payout for destroying Twitter. Therefore, I assume that no matter his intentions surrounding the purchase of Twitter, he is not malicious in his destruction of it but rather inept at running the company anywhere near the level of success it was experiencing before his purchase.
No. It just means that the Saudis think that Musk is a useful idiot.
Saudis can be trying to destroy Twitter and Musk can be trying to save it at the same time. Alas, this is how Musk thinks he's saving it. He's heavy handed, narcissistic and ignorant in the ways of online culture.
Saudis didn't "buy" shares during the whole event last year. They just kept the shares they already owned.
Who knows how much tax Musk saved the .01% over the next ten years by crushing Twitter? It could literally be trillions. Handy crowd to owe you a favour.
Billionaires have class consciousness, while most commenters here and elsewhere really don't. We all have more in common with the average homeless person than with Musk. The difference between a millionaire and a billionaire is about a billion dollars. And Musk is a billionaire hundreds of times over.
So, assuming that he cares too much about his reputation or a small fraction of his money (again, he didn't even buy it with only his own money) to ever intentionally harm Twitter would be a mistake.
Like I said, even if it helps prevent discussion of a wealth tax it could be worth the spend over the long run - though I'd bet there's more to it. It's a little too clumsy and obvious how he keeps trying to destroy the site while pretending to care about free speech.
Who paid for Twitter's acquisition? Musk, big banks, a Saudi prince, and Larry Ellison (read: biiig money).
What has Twitter been known for spurring and amplifying the last 15 years? OWS, Arab Spring, MeToo, and BLM.
Basically every move Musk has made can be read as a move to destroy Twitter while maintaining deniability - firing the workers, not paying bills, running afoul of employment legislation, high-profile idiotic moves, petty attacks on detractors, etc.
Killing even one new OWS movement could pay off in the billions for these people.