After the news of Elon Musk buying Twitter spread, Musk tweeted, “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”
Elon Musk – the CEO of Tesla and tech billionaire, has finally acquired Twitter, after striking a $44 billion deal, and tweeted: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and twitter is the digital town square where matter vital to the future of humanity are debated”.
Let us take you through Musk’s most controversial and funny tweets during his more than 12 year of relationship with Twitter.
- Flat Earthers Beware:
In April last 2021, Musk wrote that the Earth was not flat but hollow and a “Donkey King lives there.”
- The Marijuana Joke, August 7, 2018:
“Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured. Shareholders could either sell at 420 or hold shares & go private.”
On April 20, the day when the ‘Cheech and Chongs’ of the world celebrate marijuana and its byproducts, he chose $420 as the buyout price.
On this tweet controversy, the US securities regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission, filed a lawsuit against him, resulting in him paying a $20 million fine for settlement. He was also forced to step down as chairman of Tesla’s board of directors for 3 years.
- A porcelain throne:
Musk tweeted saying that at least half of his tweets were posted while he was on “a porcelain throne”, adding that it gave him solace.
- Challenge to Putin:
During the Russia-Ukraine war, Musk tweeted, “I hereby challenge Владимир Путин (Vladimir Putin) to single combat. Stakes are Україна (Ukraine)”.
He tagged the Kremlin asking if it accepted.
- The Covid is a dumb panic:
Before the COVID-19 spread heavily, Musk who was ignoring the danger, took the virus lightly and tweeted: “The coronavirus panic is dumb.”
- Pronouns suck:
In July 2020, Musk tweeted: “pronouns suck” in an apparent attack on the use of pronouns by members of the LGBTQ+ community and others. He did the same again in December 2020.
- Fake news of buying Fortnite and deleting it:
In October 2018, Musk tweeted a fake image of a news article which said that he had bought the game and even deleted it, in order to rescue players from being “eternal virgins.”
He tweeted, “Had to be done ur welcome,” along with the fake news article and headline: “Elon Musk buys Fortnite and deletes it.” As expected, players and creators of the game were not happy with the tweet.
- Tweet against US president Joe Biden:
In January this year, Musk had even attacked United States President Joe Biden, stating that “Biden is a damp socket puppet in human form.
- Becoming an all-time influencer:
In December 2021, Musk had said in a tweet, “thinking of quitting my jobs & becoming an influencer full-time wdyt (what do you think).”
Now, after finally taking over the social media platform Twitter, Musk has been promoting “free-speech” in most of his new tweets.
