The high-profile tech entrepreneur’s acquisition of a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, valued at $2.9 billion, was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 4, potentially giving it unprecedented influence and power in decision making in the company.

What this means for ordinary Twitter users is currently unclear, but it is the social media giant’s biggest corporate shakeup since Parag Agrawal replaced founder Jack Dorsey as CEO in November 2021.

However, investors seem certain to win, with Twitter’s stock price jumping more than 20 percent immediately after the announcement.

An outspoken critic of Twitter and its internal operations in terms of how it moderates political content, the expansion of Mr. Musk’s Twitter portfolio follows his very recent public discussion about the future of social media.

He ironically proposed the idea of ​​creating a brand new social media platform to rival Twitter in March 2022. And suggested it by tweeting about it.

Mr Musk’s public thought bubbles hinting at the creation of a new platform have fueled online speculation that he could join the ranks of alternative social media platforms such as Parler, Gettr and former US President Donald Trump’s own Truth app.

These alternative platforms are considered safe havens for conservative Twitter users who oppose what they see as Twitter’s political bias in its moderation.

Another controversial voice from the past recently resurfaced – former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey offered a sobering look at social media’s impact on the state of the Internet.

In an April 3 tweet on the eve of Mr. Musk’s surprise stake purchase, Mr. Dorsey wrote that the days of Usenet, IRC, the Web and email were “amazing.”

Given Mr. Dorsey’s role in transforming the general public’s engagement with online interfaces, his public nostalgia for an earlier period before social media is unexpected.

He said that “the centralization of discovery and identity in corporations has really hurt the Internet.”

Almost as a solemn expression of remorse for the toxicity that permeates the modern online experience compared to the good old days of dedicated message boards, he said: “I realize I’m partly to blame and I’m sorry for that.”