I really hate Axios’ format, but they’re not wrong.

Elon Musk overpaid for Twitter when he bought it for $44 billion in late 2022, after unsuccessfully trying to renegotiate or renege.

Now a new conventional wisdom is emerging: Twitter is a loss leader for the rest of Elon Inc.

The argument is that Musk bought Twitter for power, not profit. And that the gamble paid off.

  • Musk used the platform to help shape public opinion during the election, artificially amplifying his political messages and giving him- influence with Donald Trump that money alone wouldn’t have bought.
  • Trump’s victory means that Musk has become the most powerful unelected American ever — and that could be a boon for SpaceX and Tesla, whose fortunes are heavily dependent on federal government contracts and policies.-
  • Those two companies also are much larger than Twitter/X, even at $44 billion, and more core to Musk’s lifelong goals.
    • cicebazna
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      14 days ago

      Aww deleted comment because of a veiled threat of violence. Good thing our conservative mods are here to protect their way of life.

        • glimse@lemmy.world
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          14 days ago

          You’re right, the proper place to talk about committing crimes is up on stage.

          I’m just saying that I wouldn’t mind if someone had to shoot through Elon Musk. Let’s put him with a rifle standing there will 9 barrels shooting at him, ok? Let’s see how he feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on his face.

          Trump taught us we are allowed to say that stuff now.

        • cicebazna
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          14 days ago

          Agree. But suggesting the only solution is not a plan.