How Elon Musk’s ‘Soft Power’ Might Shape Twitter’s Future
Produced by ‘Sway’
Elon Musk promoted himself from avid Twitter user to major stakeholder on Monday. Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX co-founder, who has over 80 million followers on the platform, now also owns a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, making him the company’s largest shareholder. And by the time the company announced his appointment to the board on Tuesday, the internet was already speculating about the kinds of changes that Musk could influence. “He can make recommendations at the board meetings, but what he really has is soft power,” the tech reporter Casey Newton tells Kara Swisher.
[You can listen to this episode of “Sway” on Apple, Spotify, Google or wherever you get your podcasts.]
In this conversation, Kara and Newton debrief how Musk’s infamy will contribute to his presence at Twitter. They discuss the possibility of an edit button on the site, as well as how Musk’s relationship with the C.E.O., Parag Agrawal, and the co-founder Jack Dorsey might affect the direction of the company. And they talk about whether Musk will push for Twitter to replatform Donald Trump.
(A full transcript of the episode will be available midday on the Times website.)
Credit…James Bareham/Vox Media
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“Sway” is produced by Nayeema Raza, Blakeney Schick, Daphne Chen, Caitlin O’Keefe and Wyatt Orme, and edited by Nayeema Raza; fact-checking by Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker; music and sound design by Isaac Jones; mixing by Carole Sabouraud and Sonia Herrero; audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Special thanks to Kristin Lin and Kristina Samulewski.
