Soon after the news of Elon Musk buying Twitter broke out, he tweeted, “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.” On the same day, the tech mogul made an offer to acquire Twitter; he gave an interview at a TED conference and discussed topics such as open-source algorithms as well as free speech.
Responding to Musk’s tweet, Justin Amash, a member of Congress from 2011- to 2021, said that Musk should create a culture of free speech and enforce rules equally and consistently. Similarly, Zhang Heqing, China’s Cultural Counsellor at the Chinese embassy in Pakistan, asked Musk if all suspended accounts would be reinstated, including Trump’s.
The same question was posed by many different users, but Trump put an end to the debate when he announced that he won’t be rejoining Twitter but will join his own social media platform called Truth Social.
Another user suggested Musk should decentralise Twitter if he really wants to bat for free speech.
While it is welcoming to hear Musk talk about free speech, other parties, especially human rights groups, raised concerns regarding hate speech on the microblogging platform.
On the flip side, some Tesla employees do not agree with Musk. This is because there is a clause in their agreement which does not allow them to talk negatively about the company or its products and services.
As per reports, an employee refused to sign the non-disparagement clause and was ultimately laid off. To make things worse, the same clause bars the employee from even speaking about the clause.
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