Technoking Memelord: Was Elon Musk’s Twitter bid all just a big joke?

Elon Musk is known for many things, and not the least among them is his unique sense of humor. The self-dubbed Technoking gained internet popularity through meme culture, and with his Twitter deal seemingly over, it begs the question: was Musk’s bid to buy Twitter all just a big joke?

Musk’s move to finance the $44 billion Twitter deal came at lightning speed, and it took nearly twice as long for the deal to come to a halt, according to Bloomberg. While Musk has questioned Twitter on its lack of willingness to provide detailed bot data, even citing this as a reason for backing out of the deal, the move leaves much of his money in a gray area.

The market dropped not long after the deal was initiated, with Musk purchasing the company at $54.20 per share. At the time of writing, Twitter’s shares are trading for just $39.80. Despite the market dropoff, Musk is still legally bound by the merger agreement’s termination clause, and the market’s conditions aren’t a valid defense.

With the Twitter deal officially heading to trial in October, according to Teslarati, it’s tough to say if Musk would go through all the effort for a big joke. Then again, we’re talking about the same person who is an ardent supporter of meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin, for one reason or another, making it equally tough to draw the line between Musk’s subversive comedy bits and his reality.

Twitter’s attorneys said Musk was trying to “run Twitter down,” though Musk’s attorneys responded that using a move to purchase the company to damage the platform is “preposterous.”

In March, Musk posted a poll on Twitter asking whether users thought “Twitter rigorously adheres to [the] principle” of free speech.

Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.

Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022

Respondents to the poll overwhelmingly answered ‘no,’ with 70.4 percent of the vote, leaving 29.6 percent to vote yes. In the thread, before the vote was completed, Musk added, “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.”

Just a week later, Musk became Twitter’s largest stakeholder with a 9.2 percent stake in the company — before launching plans to take the social media company over completely at a price of $44 billion.

Musk’s own lawyers seem to posit that the move wasn’t all a big joke. Even with a $1 billion termination fee on the line, in addition to the potential for billions more in damages, Musk’s wealth as the world’s richest person isn’t threatened — and Tesla shareholders may even be relieved to see the billionaire’s time freed up to focus on cars.

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