Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk added Twitter to his steady of corporations on Monday, buying the social media platform for $44 billion {dollars}. Whether he made this buy to lastly understand his aspirations as a “free speech absolutist” or simply did it to place an finish to his nemesis, @ElonJet, as soon as and for all stays to be seen, however adjustments are abound for the web’s third-favorite hellsite. Engadget’s reporters have some ideas on what these is likely to be.

There are solely two predictions I really feel assured making: Twitter will get an edit button, and staff are going to go for the door. Even beneath the most effective of circumstances, huge acquisitions are likely to end in a good quantity of worker turnover and govt shakeup. And for a lot of tweeps, Musk taking on may be very removed from the most effective of circumstances. Musk rankled the Twitter rank and file earlier than the deal was even official, with tweets about whether or not Twitter was “dying” and whether or not the corporate’s HQ ought to be transformed right into a homeless shelter.

But now they’ve way more to fret about than his common trolling. Musk’s bid has already negatively impacted recruiting efforts, according to The New York Times. And present staff nonetheless don’t have clear solutions on how Musk’s acquisition will have an effect on their inventory packages, a good portion of their whole compensation. There are additionally actual, existential questions on how Musk’s questionable views on content material moderation will have an effect on the corporate and the course of the service. As CEO Parag Agrawal reportedly informed staff following the information, “once the deal closes, we don’t know what direction the platform will go.”

– Karissa Bell, Senior Reporter

It cannot get a lot worse, proper?

While I’m positive Twitter’s moderation coverage will get watered down, it is exhausting to think about the doomsday situations the place it turns into some sort of 4Chan/Stormfront cesspool.

Twitter is a global firm, with worldwide advertisers and worldwide customers. It’s broadly certain to make sure its content material is consistent with the legal guidelines of the nations wherein it operates, which severely limits the power to create the “free speech” oasis of Musk’s desires, at the very least if he additionally would really like it to be a practical, broadly breakeven firm on the similar time. The firm’s moderation of its platform is already horrible, and folks both make do by going personal/blocking individuals, or (hello) hand over on the entire tweeting factor altogether. So I’m anticipating extra of the identical, which is to say, I’m anticipating it to be principally terrible.

– Aaron Souppouris, Executive Editor

I’ve coated Elon Musk in his roles as each head of Tesla and SpaceX for a number of years now, witnessing his sneering contempt for journalism, transparency, fundamental ethics and accountability up shut and in individual. I’ve sat by his easily-disproved boasts, his myriad empty guarantees and publicity stunts. This is a person who belittles society’s most vulnerable members to realize the panting adoration of 4Chan trolls, who demonizes the helpers to spice up his personal fragile ego, a person who would declare himself God-Emperor of Mars earlier than paying his revenue taxes. Is this your king?

I dread the results this sale can have, not only for Twitter itself, however the web writ massive. The destabilizing results social media amplification has on societal and democratic norms have been properly studied because the 2016 elections. What just isn’t but absolutely understood is what occurs once we hand management over that mechanism to the world’s wealthiest contrarian. As such, my recommendation to you’re the similar clever phrases Samuel L Jackson had for us in Jurassic Park: Hold onto your butts.

– Andrew Tarantola, Senior Reporter

I believe the largest problem about attempting to foretell an Elon Musk-led Twitter is separating the man’s on-line persona from his enterprise practices. Musk catches numerous flak (usually deservedly) for dumb or insensitive tweets, one thing most different CEOs know or have been educated to keep away from. But on the similar time, Elon is a fairly shrewd businessman, individually helming what has grow to be the world’s greatest EV carmaker alongside essentially the most profitable personal house aerospace firm.

With Tesla and SpaceX there is a clear sample of high-risk, high-reward conduct, which, attributable to a mix of luck and smarts, has labored out thus far. Musk gives the look of being a transfer quick and break stuff sort, and his newest disruption appears to be like to be bringing free speech (or his model of it) to Twitter, no matter how which may influence others. This probably greenlights each tweet that is not explicitly inciting violence or distributing delicate data (just like the plans for a nuclear bomb or no matter).

In the brief time period, Must will look to assist increase Twitter’s backside line, which the corporate desperately wants after shedding greater than $200 million in 2021. Engagement (each good and dangerous) sells, and turning Twitter into a fair larger battleground would nearly actually end in a fast spike in customers. Musk would possibly even do one thing foolish like elevate the restrict on tweets to 420 characters. Down the road, Musk’s plan to authenticate all humans sounds lots like a distinct taste of Sam Altman’s troubled Worldcoin endeavor, and I‘d bet there’s far more crypto integration coming to the platform normally.

The huge concern is that a few of Twitter’s points relating to harassment and abuse will proceed to go unaddressed. Though that really is likely to be a characteristic. Moderation prices cash, and by pushing Twitter down the free speech path, Elon conveniently would possibly have the ability to absolve the corporate of getting to guard its customers whereas concurrently decreasing working prices. Sure, there’s an opportunity that eliminating anonymity and linking each tweet to a particular individual might cease individuals from spouting nonsense they wouldn’t dare say in actual life. But I wouldn’t rely on it. So except higher safeguards are coming too, Twitter might devolve into essentially the most chaotic social media platform round.

– Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter

Yes, Musk is divisive, a puerile troll that at age 50 appears to have completed his emotional development a long time prior; a loudmouth who is nearly continuously spouting off simply disprovable nonsense. His concepts on a “free speech” haven are an echo of the wrong-headed pondering that was a north star for social media founders a decade or extra in the past, and which they’ve spent the time since regretfully paddling away from. Musk can also be, by accounts, a capricious and vindictive boss whose alleged love of free speech is perpetually subservient to his hatred of dissent.

And all of that is, greater than some outward-facing exodus of customers, more likely to lead Twitter staff to rethink if it is all definitely worth the agita. Who needs to develop for product classes (moderation particularly) which have successfully been marked for loss of life? Who needs to go to a job that feels extra just like the What Did My Boss Fuck Up Today sitcom?

But that this sale went by in any respect is indication sufficient that, whether or not led by Musk or actually anybody else, Twitter most likely is headed for the nice dustbin of historical past. The individuals whose job it’s to do nothing however flip cash into more cash ran the numbers and decided nobody was or would ever convey a greater supply, nor was the corporate — which nearly at all times posts a loss— was ever going to stabilize right into a recurring supply of revenue.

Musk, the PT Barnum of techno-magic bullshit options, would most likely gleefully categorize himself as an accelerationist: Accelerating the buildup of house junk; the eventual drowning of pedestrians in underground tunnels; the mass adoption of combusting non-combustion vehicles. And on this occasion my sense is he’ll speed up the demise of Twitter by a number of levels too, however do not give him an excessive amount of credit score, it was headed that means anyhow.

– Bryan Menegus, Senior News Editor

Reality usually sits in between our biggest hopes and worst fears, and I’d count on the identical for Twitter beneath Elon Musk. It’s straightforward to see his laissez-faire content material moderation resulting in the revival of some hate speech and harassment that Twitter beforehand eliminated. At the identical time, I do not assume a Musk-era Twitter will likely be a full-fledged calamity. Not everybody who was banned will likely be keen to come back again, and Musk could must rethink his stance if there are any really poisonous components that resurface.

I say there is a one-in-three likelihood that Twitter goes sideways inside two years of the deal closing — that’s, the content material moderation and the corporate’s total course result in critical bother. Those are very distinct prospects, however they don’t seem to be assured and should take years to unfold. They could hinge as a lot on customers’ needs as they do on Musk’s selections. I’d count on a lot of Twitter’s anti-toxicity instruments to outlive, similar to downvoting replies.

With that stated, I’m absolutely ready to be fallacious. Musk is known for heading in surprising instructions. This is the person who launched a tunnel firm after complaining about LA site visitors, in spite of everything. I simply do not see Twitter dealing with imminent catastrophe, and it will not be shocking if the corporate reins in a few of Musk’s impulses.

– Jon Fingas, Reporter