Elon Musk says Twitter takeover would help ‘civilisation’ and calls for end to ‘mysterious demotion’ of tweets

Musk gives a TED Talk interview after offering to buy Twitter for $40bn

Elon Musk (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Archive)

Elon Musk has called for more transparency in Twitter’s algorithm after presenting a $40bn offer to buy the company.

Mr Musk explained changes he’d like to see the platform in a TED Talk interview on Thursday afternoon, saying he believes improving public trust in the site is “extremely important to the future of civilisation”.

Asked by interviewer Chris Anderson about how censorship should be handled, he said: "Twitter should match the laws of the country, and in my view there’s an obligation to do that.

“Going beyond that.. tweets mysteriously promoted and demoted.. this can be quite dangerous. If it’s a grey area, I’d say let the speech exist.”

He went on to suggest that Twitter’s algorithm should be made public - perhaps on Github - to allow for users to understand how it works.

“It’s very important that the algorithms be open sourced and any manual adjustments be identified,” he said. “I wouldn’t personally be in there editing tweets.”

Mr Musk acknowledged that it can be difficult to draw a hard line on what constitutes “hate speech”, hence the need to follow local laws.

Mr Anderson noted that some forms of hate speech are not objectional, offering the example: “I hate spinach.” Mr Musk replied by joking that spinach is enjoyable in a cream sauce.

The Tesla CEO sent shockwaves through the tech industry on Thursday morning when he revealed he’d offered to purchase Twitter less than two weeks after it was revealed he’d purchased a nearly 10 per cent stake in the company - making himself its largest shareholder.

In an offer letter to Bret Taylor, chairman of the Twitter board, Mr Musk said he had invested in the social media platform “as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy”, but added “since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form”.

He said the move was his “best and final offer” and if not accepted the billionaire “would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder”.

Mr Musk explained the rationale behind the offer in further detail at the TED conference in Vancouver, saying: “I don’t care about the economics at all.”

“Twitter has become kind of a de facto town square, so it’s really important that people both have the reality and the perception that they are able to speak freely, within the bounds of the law,” he said.

“My strong intuitive sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilization.”

Asked whether he has “funding secured” should Twitter approve his offer, Mr Musk said: “I have sufficient assets.”

For its part, Twitter earlier released a statement saying the offer was under review.

“Twitter, Inc today confirmed it has received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from Elon Musk to acquire all of the Company’s outstanding common stock for $54.20 per share in cash,” the company said in a press release.

“The Twitter Board of Directors will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the Company and all Twitter stockholders.”

Meanwhile, a Saudi prince who is one of Twitter’s major shareholders said he would reject the offer.

“I don’t believe that the proposed offer by @elonmusk ($54.20) comes close to the intrinsic value of (Twitter) given its growth prospects. Being one of the largest & long-term shareholders of Twitter, @Kingdom_KHC & I reject this offer,” Al Waleed bin Talal said.

Speaking at the TED event, Mr Musk mysteriously said there is a “Plan B” if the offer is rejected but refused to give any details.