The deal, which was unanimously approved by Twitter’s board, is expected to close this year.Twitter stock was up nearly 6% following the announcement of the deal, hovering around $51.84, just shy of the offer price. The deal is pending approval from shareholders and regulators.Under the terms of the deal, shareholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter stock they own, matching Musk’s original offer and marking a 38% premium over the stock price the day before Musk revealed his stake in the company.”The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing,” Twitter independent board chair Bret Taylor said in a statement, calling the deal ” the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”

Musk is both a high-profile Twitter user and a controversial one. He has more than 83 million followers on the platform, which he has used over the years for everything from sharing memes and discussing his companies to insulting politicians, and spreading misleading claims about Covid-19 .Musk has repeatedly stressed in recent days that his goal is to bolster free speech on the platform and work to “unlock” Twitter’s “extraordinary potential.”

Musk has criticized Twitter’s moderation, calling himself a free speech absolutist, and said that Twitter’s algorithm for prioritizing tweets should be public, and has criticized giving too much power on the service to corporations that advertise.

In his statement Monday, Musk said he wants to “make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans.”
Still, some industry experts worry that Musk’s desire for free speech on Twitter could mean rolling back some of the platform’s work to curb hate speech, misinformation, harassment and other harmful content.Others questioned whether Musk might restore former President Donald Trump’s account, which was removed early last year for violating Twitter policies against inciting violence following the Capitol Riot. Such a move could have significant ramifications for the upcoming 2024 US presidential election.

“I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth,” Trump told Fox News. “I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it, and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth.”

来源：CNN, CNBC, 中国日报双语新闻微信