Elon Musk's Twitter Ambitions: A Dozen Of Tweaks, Largely Cosmetic

After months of debate, dithering and legal battle, Elon Musk finally took over Twitter last year in a USD 44 billion deal. Since then, the ‘chief Twit’ made a number of promises and a series of tweets, unfulfilled. Amid the long list of failed announcements, “buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app”, Musk’s tweet dated 5 October 2022 stands partly true now, as he dissolved Twitter's parent company, Twitter Inc., merging it with his newly-created X Corp. While keeping his word is not typically Musk's style, let us overview some of his promising tweaks on Twitter that largely stand cosmetic. 

Paid Verification

The first big announcement of Elon Musk after acquiring Twitter was the launch (and relaunch) of the paid verification plan, aimed at authenticating the original accounts on the platform. But Musk wanted all verified accounts to pay. He opened the floor for all accounts, handing the coveted 'blue tick' to anyone who paid a subscription fee, which eventually increased the number of fake accounts and the ‘blue tick paid saga’ got revamped with no further details of the relaunch.

Poll Decision

After a much-received backlash for the ban regarding the inclusion of other social media links on Twitter. Musk tweeted his apologies and vowed to seek a public poll for any future major policy change. Since then a majority of new policies have been floated without any user approvals.

Freedom Of Speech

The chief Twit has exclaimed ‘Twitter is a home for free speech’, and had emphasised the same even before owning the platform. But on multiple occasions, he has censored posts and dissolved many prominent accounts which expressed their opinion fearlessly. The removal of journalist accounts and the BBC video post against the Indian government clearly underline Musk’s false promises and assurances.

A Digital Town Square

Another unfulfilled promise. When Musk acquired Twitter, he assured that the platform will be a ‘digital town square’, maintaining civil discourse. Each individual in this ‘civil discourse’ was entitled to his/her opinion and would be treated with respect. But the same didn’t manifest when non-paying users were restricted from Twitter polls.

Moderation Council

The moment Musk sat on the CEO chair there were plenty of promising tweets, one among them was the appointment of a content moderation council for decision-making. The council was never appointed and Musk later indicated of not needing such a body at Twitter.

Stepping Down As CEO

In December last year, the Twitter CEO asked users to vote in a poll on whether he should step down as Twitter head, vowing to “abide by the poll results”. Users voted him out, but he then flatly declined to step down saying, “He is foolish enough to run the company and doesn’t believe the results”.

Shadow Ban Feature

December was the month of Musk’s unkept promises. In the month, he had floated the idea of introducing a “shadow-banned” status feature. Months have passed and the Twitterati is still waiting for the feature.

Twitter - An Inclusive App

Though Twitter is now under X Corp, it’s still not an all-inclusive app for payments, news and food orders - another failed announcement from the Billionaire Twitter CEO.