1 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,400 Speaker 1: From the heart of where innovation, money and power Colli 2 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:11,800 Speaker 1: in Silicon Vallet and beyond. This is Bloomberg Technology with 3 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: Emily Jay i'memerly check in San Francisco, and this is 4 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Technology. Coming up in the next hour. The plot thickens. 5 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: Twitter adds Elon Musk to its board just a day 6 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: after must disclose he is now Twitter's largest shareholder. Turns 7 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,120 Speaker 1: out former CEO Jack Dorsey and new CEO Paragua Wall 8 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: are in on it. What does it all mean for Twitter, 9 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,400 Speaker 1: free speech, and the world's most public town square. We 10 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:52,880 Speaker 1: will uncover this story from all angles through the hour, 11 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: plus what's it like to work on a board with 12 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: Elon Musk? Anyway. We'll be joined by former Tesla board 13 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:00,080 Speaker 1: member Steve Wesley, who will share the good, the that, 14 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: and the unexpected that comes with having one of the 15 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: world's most controversial innovators in the room. And he has 16 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:10,640 Speaker 1: fashioned himself as a free speech defender. But will must 17 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: be good or bad for free speech? Could this open 18 00:01:13,680 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: the door to former President Trump being unbanned from the platform? 19 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:22,000 Speaker 1: Will debate, But first, Twitter share still soaring on all 20 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:26,640 Speaker 1: of this, up another two percent after spike Monday bloom 21 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: works at Ludlow here to break it all down, and 22 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: we can debate the long term impacts of this, but 23 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: no question, it's been good for investors the last forty 24 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:35,840 Speaker 1: eight hours. Yeah, exactly so, especially considering was a day 25 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,479 Speaker 1: where equities broadly will lower, especially tex stalks as yields 26 00:01:39,480 --> 00:01:42,080 Speaker 1: to rising. That a lot of hawkish comments out of 27 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: the Fed, which weighed on technology shares, and yet Twitter 28 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 1: buck the trend right bam up another two percent, its 29 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: biggest two day gain in record above on record above, 30 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: And here's the reality of the situation. If you come 31 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,520 Speaker 1: and me into my Bloomberg terminal, there's just a staggering 32 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: volume of Twitter shares that have exchange hand over the 33 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: last two days. I mean that chart, Emily says it all. 34 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: Look at the right hand side of the screen. Two 35 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: hundred sixteen million shares changing hands on Tuesday. That's after 36 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,880 Speaker 1: more than two hundred fifty million chairs change hands on Monday. 37 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,240 Speaker 1: Investors also taking a real interest on the retail side. 38 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:18,520 Speaker 1: You look at many of the trading platforms like Fidelity 39 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: for example. We'll touch on this later in the show, 40 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,520 Speaker 1: but a lot of demand for Twitter shares. His investors 41 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: try and work out, well, is this a good thing? 42 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: Elon Musk being on the board of the company. The 43 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:32,400 Speaker 1: direction travel on the stock certainly suggests so final chart 44 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: is a little bit of irony and all of this. 45 00:02:34,080 --> 00:02:37,239 Speaker 1: This is year to day Twitter and Tesla, and before 46 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: the big surge, we've got a Monday around and other 47 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,440 Speaker 1: two percent. On Tuesday, Twitter was down year Today it's 48 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:46,519 Speaker 1: now very firmly in positive territory year to day and 49 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: as you can see, we're now outperforming Tesla on a 50 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: year to date basis, which is higher. It's up around 51 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: three percent. And it's interesting the direction of travel, the 52 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: Elon Musk effects that you have about these stocks and 53 00:02:57,919 --> 00:03:00,519 Speaker 1: how he uses Twitter is a met is and to 54 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: communicate with investors, well, I'm sure we're gonna be paying 55 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: a lot close attentions Twitter now and all right, blood law, 56 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 1: thank you now. And yet another plot twist, Twitter CEO 57 00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: Parague Aggerawall announcing Elon Musk has joined Twitter's board and 58 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,239 Speaker 1: Jack Dorsey, who set to leave the board in May, 59 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: says he's happy about it. Musk's Twitter ownership will be 60 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: capped at fourteen point nine percent as a board member 61 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,240 Speaker 1: to avoid him having undue influence, though he's currently at 62 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:31,160 Speaker 1: nine point two percent, which will give him plenty of influence. Enough, 63 00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: let's discuss the moving more with Teconomy founder David Kirkpatrick, 64 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: along with Bloomberg's Max Chafkin. Max. Elon Musk has often 65 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,600 Speaker 1: talked about his Tesla master plan. What do you think 66 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: his master plan is for Twitter and how does it 67 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:47,640 Speaker 1: fit into Twitter's master plan for Twitter? Well, I think 68 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: that Elon Musk really likes Twitter. He's obviously an enthusiastic user, 69 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: and you can totally see why Twitter would want him 70 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,440 Speaker 1: on the board. I think for Musk, um the master 71 00:03:57,520 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: plan is as you said about Tesla, and I think 72 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:03,400 Speaker 1: what's what's happening here? Although I'm sure Ellen has some 73 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,480 Speaker 1: really big ideas for for Twitter, you know, around free speech, 74 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,280 Speaker 1: the I think the really the game behind this is 75 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:13,200 Speaker 1: protecting Tesla's most important, you know, marketing channel, and you 76 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,720 Speaker 1: know Ed mentioned it's Elon Musk's you know, sort of 77 00:04:15,720 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: way of communicating with investors, of of just sort of 78 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: raising enormous amounts of almost unlimited capital for Tesla. It's 79 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: also this great way that he's been able to market 80 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:26,920 Speaker 1: you know, both himself and the cars. And I think, 81 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,640 Speaker 1: you know, having a stake in that literally a seat 82 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:31,919 Speaker 1: on Twitter's board um is going to help him in 83 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:34,919 Speaker 1: the long term. You know, yesterday, Twitter's value, you know, 84 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: went up a bunch of eight hundred million dollars or 85 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: so would have been Musks gained. Tesla went up a 86 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 1: whole lot more, you know, a whole lot less as 87 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: a percentage. But but Musk made a lot more money 88 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: on Tesla. His money is still in Tesla, and I 89 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:46,640 Speaker 1: think we should still be thinking about it in those 90 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,280 Speaker 1: terms now. Looking at these tweets from Parague, Agawalla and 91 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,360 Speaker 1: Jack Dorrisey today, Parague tweeting, I'm excited to share where 92 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: are pointing el on to our board? It became clear 93 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:58,919 Speaker 1: to us through conversations in recent weeks that he would 94 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: bring great value to our board. Jack Dorsey then retweeting this, 95 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: and what you can imagine is a coordinated effort saying 96 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:09,880 Speaker 1: I'm really happy Ellen is joining the board. He cares 97 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: deeply about our rule and Twitter's role in it. Parague 98 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 1: and Ellen both lead with their hearts and they will 99 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: be an incredible team. David, what do you make of 100 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:23,479 Speaker 1: their wholehearted embrace of this. Well, first of all, we 101 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: know that Jack Dorsey and Elon Musk are good friends 102 00:05:26,279 --> 00:05:28,719 Speaker 1: and they've sort of think alike in a lot of ways, 103 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:32,800 Speaker 1: although certainly Elon Musk is a much more impetuous person 104 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,359 Speaker 1: than Jack Dorsey. But um, you know, you have to say, 105 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: having the richest man in the world, one who's every 106 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: move is attended to with such incredible attention, has got 107 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,200 Speaker 1: to be good for any company. Uh, it's certainly been 108 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,560 Speaker 1: good for Tesla. And I think that if he really 109 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: cares about Twitter, which he must, although this is something 110 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:57,720 Speaker 1: we're really just learning that he cares about organizationally as 111 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:01,800 Speaker 1: opposed to just being one of its greatest power users. Um, 112 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 1: he's gonna certainly bring tremendous value to their deliberations about strategy, 113 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: product design, etcetera. Now what kind of freedom do you 114 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:14,479 Speaker 1: think Elon Musk feels he is lacking on Twitter, given 115 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: that he seems to have roamed there quite freely. Um, yeah, well, 116 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,800 Speaker 1: I think there's some risk though to to Elon's a 117 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 1: Twitter presents. First of all, he's somebody who's continually pushing 118 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 1: the boundaries right and Twitter has been you know, aggressive 119 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:30,760 Speaker 1: or not aggressive, but but has made some moves in 120 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:33,359 Speaker 1: terms of trying to rein in um you know what 121 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:35,600 Speaker 1: it terms misinformation or hate speech and and that sort 122 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:37,640 Speaker 1: of thing. He's also in the middle middle of this 123 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: very messy fight with the SEC over tweets that he sent, 124 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 1: you know, years ago. Tesla has this Twitter sitter, and 125 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,400 Speaker 1: right around the same time that Um Musk was acquiring 126 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 1: these Twitter skate stakes, there's a court filing that drops 127 00:06:51,040 --> 00:06:53,760 Speaker 1: where Musk is complaining about about his you know, being 128 00:06:53,839 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: muzzled as he saw it by the SEC. So I 129 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: could see it both, you know, as as partly as 130 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,080 Speaker 1: a protective action. You know, this is a way for 131 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:04,440 Speaker 1: him to ensure that this um stays put. Now, it'll 132 00:07:04,480 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: be interesting, David, how this impacts the rest of the 133 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:11,760 Speaker 1: social media landscape. There was quite a moment um. Elon Musk, 134 00:07:11,800 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 1: in response to his question about an edit button, got 135 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,400 Speaker 1: a lot of feedback, including from Andrew Bosworth, who's now 136 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:22,960 Speaker 1: the CTO of Facebook, saying that they solved the question 137 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: of editing on Facebook long ago. You just leave a 138 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: log of the edit, Elon Musk responds, Facebook gives me 139 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: the Willie's What do you think? Having Elon in Twitter's corner, 140 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,440 Speaker 1: or at least on Twitter's board means for Facebook, well, 141 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: I would reiterate that having him on your corner is 142 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: going to be bad for your rivals. Um period Um. 143 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: I would say, many of us find things that have 144 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:50,680 Speaker 1: happened on Facebook give us the willies in recent years. 145 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: So I can understand why he would say that, and 146 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: I do think Twitter, on balance has been a more 147 00:07:55,720 --> 00:08:01,640 Speaker 1: responsible platform than Facebook. Um. The confusing thing is his 148 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: repeated statements are several times saying, you know, he wants 149 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 1: free speech to be more allowed on Twitter, that he 150 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: thinks it's it's gonna be more that it's maybe too restrictive, 151 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: and it doesn't really make sense to me since he 152 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: has never been restricted by Twitter itself. He's been restricted 153 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 1: by the SEC, and I think he's had second thoughts 154 00:08:23,600 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: about some of his own tweets. But um, you know, 155 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:29,960 Speaker 1: I don't I think it's bad for Facebook. I do 156 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: think maybe an edit function is a good idea for Twitter. 157 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:36,520 Speaker 1: I personally have trouble using Twitter. I'm a I just 158 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: find it awkward and off putting in many ways. I'm 159 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,679 Speaker 1: an outlier in the tech journalism community in that way. 160 00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,920 Speaker 1: But I can understand Twitter needs product improvements. Even Jack 161 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,319 Speaker 1: Dorsey says that all the time and doesn't make any 162 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:53,360 Speaker 1: bones about it. And yet Katie Stanton, longtime former Twitter veteran, 163 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,080 Speaker 1: was on the show yesterday. She said, this is a 164 00:08:55,080 --> 00:08:58,560 Speaker 1: pretty expensive way to add an edit button if that's 165 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:02,440 Speaker 1: what you want. Max. You know, as you point out, 166 00:09:02,480 --> 00:09:06,199 Speaker 1: Elon Musk like likes making jokes, but he's rarely doing 167 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,800 Speaker 1: it just to joke. I mean, a steak is now 168 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,080 Speaker 1: worth for billion dollars. You have to be more than 169 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:14,560 Speaker 1: an edit button desire here, right right, And I think 170 00:09:14,559 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: that's why, you know, David's pointing out withstanding um, Twitter's 171 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:20,480 Speaker 1: playing with fire here. I mean, Elon Musk is really 172 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,440 Speaker 1: good at attracting attention. There's obviously we saw on that 173 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 1: chart there is a large community of investors who will 174 00:09:26,679 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 1: basically buy anything that he tells them to. And that's 175 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:31,840 Speaker 1: really good. But if but if Twitter has a bad 176 00:09:31,920 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: quarter or you know, if Twitter loses its market value, 177 00:09:36,240 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: you know, that's disastrous for Twitter's management team. And that's 178 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 1: just like a blip on Elon Musk's radar. It doesn't 179 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 1: affect his long term visions or anything like that. So 180 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: the fear, I think would be, this is somebody who 181 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,959 Speaker 1: has in the past had trouble raining himself in is 182 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: very impetuous, and now all of a sudden, Twitter, this 183 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:56,560 Speaker 1: relatively small company, is attached to the Elon Musk train. 184 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: So so it's gonna it's gonna ride that way for 185 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: better and probably for So here's an open question, what 186 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:06,640 Speaker 1: does this mean for former President Trump? David who has 187 00:10:06,679 --> 00:10:11,199 Speaker 1: been banned from Twitter. I've asked Twitter executives CFO net 188 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 1: Segal many times if there's a path for him to 189 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:16,720 Speaker 1: come back, and he has said no. Could this Could 190 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:22,880 Speaker 1: this open the door? David? Well, it's a very legitimate question, given, um, 191 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:27,439 Speaker 1: given the point that Musk has made about free speech, 192 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: because the first thing you think of, if Twitter were 193 00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 1: more lax in enforcing its speech rules, the implication, number 194 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:37,840 Speaker 1: one implication would be that Trump might be allowed back on. 195 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,439 Speaker 1: I don't think of Musk as a particular defender of Trump. 196 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: I think he's in a libertarian by inclination, although he 197 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,719 Speaker 1: has a very complex mix of views. So I would say, 198 00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:53,000 Speaker 1: if anything is positive for the president x president. But um, 199 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: we can't know. There's so many things about this we 200 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,800 Speaker 1: can't know. The speed with which it all happened is dizzy. 201 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,080 Speaker 1: You know, it's it's I've just been thinking, what a 202 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:04,120 Speaker 1: weird thing. The richest man in the world is so 203 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: incredibly impetuous. You never know what he's gonna do next. 204 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,720 Speaker 1: It's like he's a professional global entertainer or something. So 205 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:13,679 Speaker 1: all the implications are going to be found out only 206 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:18,559 Speaker 1: through time. I'm afraid the plot has thickened indeed. David Kirkpatrick, 207 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:23,199 Speaker 1: founder of Teconomy, and Bloomberg's own Max Chafkin, thank you both. 208 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:26,840 Speaker 1: Coming up, we're gonna hear from a Republican Representative darryl 209 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:30,880 Speaker 1: Isa his thoughts on what musk means. First, free speech 210 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:32,959 Speaker 1: and what is it like working on a board with 211 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: Elon Must school ask a former TESLA board member that 212 00:11:36,840 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: is next. This is Bloomberg. Well, lawmakers on both sides 213 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: of the aisle. I've had plenty to say about Twitter's 214 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,320 Speaker 1: handling a free speech on its platform, and for different reasons. 215 00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:12,440 Speaker 1: Here's Republican Representative Darla Isa of California earlier with my 216 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:16,800 Speaker 1: colleague David Weston. I've known Elon must for a long time, 217 00:12:16,840 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 1: and I watched him break a glass ceiling that kept 218 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,880 Speaker 1: him from competing in rockets and missiles. Uh, and he 219 00:12:24,960 --> 00:12:28,319 Speaker 1: did so over a long period of time with his dedication. 220 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:32,960 Speaker 1: He believes in sort of that free enterprise system, and 221 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,120 Speaker 1: so I think he's going to be a positive for 222 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: a Twitter that has been airing on the side of 223 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: less free speech. Uh. You might remember taking down things 224 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 1: uh as misinformation that later proved to be true. I 225 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 1: think he's going to look at it as no, we're 226 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,079 Speaker 1: We're going to be for free speech in a bigger way. 227 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:53,840 Speaker 1: And I think that's positive for Twitter. It is positive 228 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:56,880 Speaker 1: for all of us who would like to see um 229 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 1: social media be less about censoring and more about simply 230 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 1: being a conduit for people's ideas, whether we disagree with 231 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: them or not. So as I have been listening to 232 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:09,920 Speaker 1: Congress over the last couple of years, I hear two concerns. 233 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,240 Speaker 1: One is the one you just identified, and that is 234 00:13:12,280 --> 00:13:15,280 Speaker 1: Twitter's role in saying who can talk and who can't talk. 235 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:18,560 Speaker 1: And I understand you're saying Elon Musk will make it freer, 236 00:13:18,640 --> 00:13:21,720 Speaker 1: he won't just prejuice in favor of his own point 237 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:23,880 Speaker 1: of view, but also in terms of concentration, there's a 238 00:13:23,920 --> 00:13:26,960 Speaker 1: lot of concern about you have a trust responsibility as well. 239 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:29,360 Speaker 1: Are you concerned at all about this the wealthiest man 240 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:34,120 Speaker 1: in the world now having significant influence over Twitter. You know, 241 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: uh ten doesn't run a company, um and you know 242 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 1: there are two extreme anti oil people on Exog's board, 243 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: so uh you know. I think that it's the power 244 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 1: of his argument that's going to be more important than 245 00:13:49,120 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: in his actual vote, because he is going to be 246 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: outnumbered essentially nine to one. But there is something else 247 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:58,920 Speaker 1: here at work, and that is that, yes, Twitter has 248 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:02,320 Speaker 1: a monopoly on one section, Facebook has a monopoly on 249 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:06,720 Speaker 1: another section. These giants we are concerned about, but remember 250 00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:10,439 Speaker 1: if they operate like your public utility, charging everyone the 251 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 1: same amount to buy electricity and not shutting anyone off 252 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:17,360 Speaker 1: as long as the bill is paid, then the monopoly 253 00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:19,960 Speaker 1: is pretty benign. And I think that's one of the 254 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: concerns we have in Congress is not whether an entity 255 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: has monopolistic power, but how they use that power, whether 256 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,880 Speaker 1: they have used it or simply have the luxury of 257 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:33,760 Speaker 1: being the dominant force. That's been true in tech for 258 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: a long time. I remember when Microsoft basically owned your 259 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,120 Speaker 1: ability to get on the Internet. That's not true today, 260 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 1: but it did take looking at and making sure they 261 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: were an honest broker in their tie ins uh some 262 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:52,280 Speaker 1: years ago. Republican Darryl is Sa They're of California, who 263 00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:56,000 Speaker 1: himself has worked in tech and business. Well, how will 264 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,320 Speaker 1: having Elon Musk in the board influence Twitter's handling a 265 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,640 Speaker 1: free speech, misinformation and so much more. Let's get to 266 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: that question now with someone who worked on a board 267 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: with Elon Musk for many years. Steve Wesley is the 268 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 1: founder of the Wesley Group and was an early investor 269 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: in Tesla and a former Tesla board member. Steve, great 270 00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 1: to have you back with us. So what is it 271 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:20,200 Speaker 1: like serving on a board with Elon Musk? Well, it's 272 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,080 Speaker 1: never boring. Look, I think this is a big win 273 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:26,800 Speaker 1: for Twitter. He's brilliant, he sees the future. He's a driver. 274 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: Look for sure, he's a bit temperamental and irascible, but 275 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,120 Speaker 1: he pushes people to be their best. He's also, of course, 276 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: twitter It's greatest power user. So I think it's a 277 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:40,400 Speaker 1: good thing that he likes pushing boundaries. And my advice 278 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: to Twitter executives is put on your track shoes now, 279 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: because Elon is going to push you to pick up 280 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:47,800 Speaker 1: the pace all at all. I think that's a good 281 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:51,119 Speaker 1: thing for Twitter users and a good thing for Twitter investors. 282 00:15:51,800 --> 00:15:54,600 Speaker 1: Ellen is his own biggest marketer. I wonder how that 283 00:15:54,640 --> 00:16:00,880 Speaker 1: could work to Twitter's advantage. Well, look, I think a 284 00:16:00,880 --> 00:16:05,120 Speaker 1: case can be made. Did Ellen's reinventing twenty one century marketing? 285 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: Just look what he did at Tesla. He had a 286 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,920 Speaker 1: marketing budget close to zero. He took every penny he could, 287 00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: even though we were a much smaller auto company, invested 288 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: in innovation, making greater products. In contrast, the world's major 289 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 1: auto companies GM for Toyota, spent billions it could have 290 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:27,920 Speaker 1: been spending on R and D in tired commercial campaign, 291 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 1: super Bowl ads and so on. And you just have 292 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: to wonder how much further ahead would the major auto 293 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: companies be if they'd done what are elon dated Tesla. 294 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:39,640 Speaker 1: So I think in a lot of ways he is 295 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:42,600 Speaker 1: the perfect poster boy for what some might call twenty 296 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,840 Speaker 1: century marketing, forming that direct relationship with your customer customer, 297 00:16:46,920 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: and he's doing it all on Twitter. What's a better 298 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:53,400 Speaker 1: advertisement than Twitter for Twitter than that? Well, he's gonna 299 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 1: have a very direct relationship with Twitter's leadership and other 300 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: board members. What do you imagine his relationship with Parague aggrawall, 301 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:06,639 Speaker 1: the new CEO will be well, it's not gonna be quiet. 302 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: I think he's gonna push all of them. I mean, 303 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: here we are, day one into this and he's already saying, hey, 304 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:14,040 Speaker 1: maybe it's time to to get that edit function in there. 305 00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:16,360 Speaker 1: I think he's gonna shake things. Uh. I think that's 306 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:18,080 Speaker 1: part of the future. In the old days used to 307 00:17:18,119 --> 00:17:20,960 Speaker 1: say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The new 308 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 1: mantra of the twenty one century is from Steve Jobs. 309 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,639 Speaker 1: If you're not busy obvious leading your own products, someone 310 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:29,440 Speaker 1: else he is. And I think Ela is gonna come 311 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:31,320 Speaker 1: in like he's gonna shake things up, and he's gonna 312 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,680 Speaker 1: simultaneously make a statement two CEOs of the other five 313 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:38,679 Speaker 1: fortune companies you need to form a direct relationship with 314 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:41,440 Speaker 1: your customers. Twitter is probably the most cost effective way 315 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,240 Speaker 1: to do it. Look, Elan is not a chrismatic guy, 316 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: slightly awkward. That he's genuine, he's real, he's authentic. I 317 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: think a lot of other CEOs how to be taking note. Now, 318 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,160 Speaker 1: Elon Musk has used Twitter too, basically, as you say, 319 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:57,640 Speaker 1: replace his own marketing department. And I wonder how an 320 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:01,199 Speaker 1: investment in Twitter fits into the broader Musk portfolio. Do 321 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 1: you think there's some broader end game in terms of 322 00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:07,439 Speaker 1: how Twitter relates to Tesla and SpaceX and the boring 323 00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 1: company hyper Loop for example. Well, look, Elon has a 324 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,119 Speaker 1: big picture guy, and I think what he's simply saying 325 00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:19,960 Speaker 1: is I'm an innovator. I have transformed the American auto industry, 326 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:23,840 Speaker 1: the global auto industry, have transformed prediction in space. This 327 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,439 Speaker 1: old world marketing has got to go. CEOs of the 328 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 1: future needed direct relationship where they can tell the truth 329 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:34,080 Speaker 1: in real time to their customers, not waged six months 330 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:36,919 Speaker 1: for a lot of crazy ads. I think that's a 331 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: step forward, and I think he's going to become a 332 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:42,160 Speaker 1: role model for a lot of other not just CEOs, 333 00:18:42,359 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: but politicians. And I think having that direct relationship with 334 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:48,040 Speaker 1: the customer and the voter instead of the can adds 335 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:50,000 Speaker 1: that so many of us are used to is probably 336 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: a net positive. But you're still going to have to 337 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:55,159 Speaker 1: manage it. Well, we'll see how they do. What do 338 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,600 Speaker 1: you think you a musk falls on Twitter's banning of 339 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:05,119 Speaker 1: President Trump. So look, only Elon knows that, but a 340 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:07,000 Speaker 1: lot of people said, oh my gosh, he's a free 341 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,880 Speaker 1: market heater. Uh, he's gonna let Trump back on doing 342 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,560 Speaker 1: he wants. I don't think that's the case. Elon has 343 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: higher standards. He holds people to a high standard. And look, 344 00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 1: the reality is that I say this for all of 345 00:19:17,840 --> 00:19:19,480 Speaker 1: tech because someone who spent part of my life as 346 00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: an elected official and part of my life as a 347 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 1: tech executive, Tech overall needs to hold a higher standard 348 00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:29,119 Speaker 1: for people telling the truth. They need to remove people 349 00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 1: who are telling flat outlies, They need to remove people 350 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 1: who are inciting violence. So I believe and hope Kill 351 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,520 Speaker 1: set a higher standard that firms like Facebook can follow. 352 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 1: On that note, though, I mean some would argue that 353 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,000 Speaker 1: Elon Musk has peddled his own version of the truth, 354 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:47,760 Speaker 1: for example the funding secured tweet, which got him in 355 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:54,119 Speaker 1: trouble with the SEC when funding wasn't secured. Look, Elon 356 00:19:54,200 --> 00:19:55,880 Speaker 1: is always pushing the boundaries. So he will be one 357 00:19:55,920 --> 00:20:00,639 Speaker 1: of nine board members, uh On bar or on on 358 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:02,760 Speaker 1: the whole. I think he's going to push them to 359 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:06,680 Speaker 1: innovate in terms of setting government policy, what the standards are. 360 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 1: I don't know if he'll be taking the lead on that. 361 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:10,680 Speaker 1: It's more of an innovator, more of a tech guy, 362 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:13,800 Speaker 1: but we'll see one thing. I can promise you it 363 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: won't be boring. It won't be boring indeed, Steve Wesley, 364 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 1: founder of the Wesley Group, former Tesla board member Steve 365 00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:32,600 Speaker 1: good to have you back with us. A few other 366 00:20:32,640 --> 00:20:35,480 Speaker 1: stories we continue to watch. Amazon is buying dozens of 367 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,040 Speaker 1: rocket launches to deploy slate lights for its high speed 368 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:40,679 Speaker 1: internet service. The company will buy as many as eighty 369 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: three launches from Aaron Space, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance. 370 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: Amazon's license with the FCC requires it to launch at 371 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:54,119 Speaker 1: least half its thirty two hundred satellites by July. And 372 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:58,160 Speaker 1: Mackenzie Scott has transformed American philanthropy in the last three 373 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:01,440 Speaker 1: years by giving away twelve point four billion dollars, often 374 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:05,119 Speaker 1: to overlooked causes. She's now stepping up her donations outside 375 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:08,200 Speaker 1: of the United States. Scott's latest giving spree three point 376 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,600 Speaker 1: nine billion dollars, including about sixty nonprofits based outside the US. 377 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:17,960 Speaker 1: These serving causes across five continents, from Micronesia to Brazil. 378 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 1: And I be am Banking on the lingering relevance of 379 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: mainframe computers at a time when many businesses are moving 380 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,879 Speaker 1: to the cloud, the company has unveiled a new model 381 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: designed for corporate data centers. IBM has been marketing itself 382 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:34,399 Speaker 1: as a key player to support data storage both on 383 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: premise and in the cloud. Coming up, we'll have more 384 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,560 Speaker 1: on what Ela musk plans could be for Twitter and 385 00:21:41,720 --> 00:22:07,639 Speaker 1: especially free speech. That's next, Mrs Bloomberg, Welcome back to 386 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 1: bloomber Technology and Emily Chang in San Francisco. Well, you've 387 00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 1: heard it from investors, to analysts, to Twitter's onn CEO 388 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,920 Speaker 1: and former CEO. There are a lot of opinions out 389 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:19,440 Speaker 1: there about what Elon Musk means for Twitter. Bloom Brooks 390 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,159 Speaker 1: and Ludlow has been taking a look at the markets 391 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: view on it and d so far so good. Here 392 00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:27,240 Speaker 1: is there any indication that this could be bad for investors? Yeah, 393 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,040 Speaker 1: it's interesting. I mean the stock is held up for 394 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: two days, right, only a two percent gain on Tuesday, 395 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:33,800 Speaker 1: but over the two days that's the biggest two day 396 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,840 Speaker 1: jump in Twitter's history as a public company. And what's more, 397 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:40,360 Speaker 1: you know, the broad range of analyst notes that came 398 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: out in reaction to the news that Elon Musk had 399 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,680 Speaker 1: been first taking a stake in Twitter, but then second 400 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:49,160 Speaker 1: of all, been appointed as a board member were largely positive. 401 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,720 Speaker 1: You know, they basically range from the opinion that they'll 402 00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:55,439 Speaker 1: help he'll help Twitter by association. Right, he has some 403 00:22:55,520 --> 00:22:58,520 Speaker 1: star power, the Elon Musk effect, but also he has 404 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:00,800 Speaker 1: good ideas. He has a track record of innovation which 405 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:03,679 Speaker 1: could help. But there's an interesting thing, M. There's a 406 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:06,840 Speaker 1: gap between what people see as him doing for the 407 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,120 Speaker 1: platform and what they see him doing for the stock. 408 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:10,960 Speaker 1: So coming into my Boomberg terminal and take a look 409 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,520 Speaker 1: at this chart, there's been a big pop in the stock. Right. 410 00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:15,199 Speaker 1: You see that on the right hand side, which is 411 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,400 Speaker 1: the white line. The blue line is the average analyst 412 00:23:18,400 --> 00:23:21,320 Speaker 1: twelve month price target for Twitter, which you can see 413 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:24,160 Speaker 1: is around forty four dollars a share when we're currently 414 00:23:24,200 --> 00:23:28,760 Speaker 1: trading at a share. What's interesting, some analysts even cut 415 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 1: their price targets after the recent run up in the 416 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: stock because they don't think there's that much upside to run. 417 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,200 Speaker 1: So this is gap in where people think that Elon 418 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,960 Speaker 1: Musk could take Twitter and where they see the stock 419 00:23:39,960 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 1: and going. And there's a further breakdown of that real 420 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,919 Speaker 1: quick MD, which is the influence of retail investors. I 421 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:48,000 Speaker 1: told you earlier in the show that around four sixty 422 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,640 Speaker 1: million shares of Twitter had changed hands over the last 423 00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:55,240 Speaker 1: two days, but there's real insatiable retail investor appetite. These 424 00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 1: are the top names on Fidelities trading platform over the 425 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:03,080 Speaker 1: last set Tuesday's training session Twitter number one. More than 426 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 1: ten thousand by orders for Twitter and around eight thousand, 427 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:10,640 Speaker 1: six hundred for Tesla. The third company is Sunshine Bio, 428 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:16,239 Speaker 1: a bio company in pharmaceuticals. But clearly it's not just 429 00:24:16,359 --> 00:24:19,120 Speaker 1: Wall Street looking at this and going what's Elon Musk 430 00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:21,400 Speaker 1: going to do? But the retail investor, just as they've 431 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,440 Speaker 1: done with the test, the story, hang on Ela Musks 432 00:24:24,440 --> 00:24:26,640 Speaker 1: every word had brought in over the last two sessions 433 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,120 Speaker 1: as well. All right, my Ludlow, thank you. I want 434 00:24:29,119 --> 00:24:31,119 Speaker 1: to stick with this and bring in our next two guests, 435 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:34,760 Speaker 1: Tim O'Brien, a senior columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, and Jennifer Greigl, 436 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: Associate professor of Communication at Syracuse University. Tim, I want 437 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,440 Speaker 1: to start with you. Not only has Twitter added Elon 438 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:46,159 Speaker 1: Musk to their board, but brock Agawall said that they 439 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:51,280 Speaker 1: have been talking to him for weeks. Why is that significant, Well, 440 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:54,240 Speaker 1: it's significant because Elon Musk took a stake in this 441 00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 1: company under the guys, essentially being a passive investor, which meant, 442 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: if or if you're following that classic definition, uh, that 443 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:06,720 Speaker 1: he was merely stopping by and parking his money and 444 00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:09,560 Speaker 1: was going to watch from the sidelines and not seek 445 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:12,800 Speaker 1: great changes or significant changes at the company, not do 446 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,680 Speaker 1: things like sk a board seat, for example. Um, all 447 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,840 Speaker 1: of which was up in the air yesterday when this 448 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 1: investment was disclosed. And then lo and behold, we find 449 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: today that he has a board seat, and that Twitter 450 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:29,280 Speaker 1: CEO has said that they've been talking together for weeks, 451 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:32,640 Speaker 1: which certainly doesn't bear any hallmarks of a passive investor. 452 00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:35,720 Speaker 1: I don't think anyone thought he would be a passive investor, 453 00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:38,840 Speaker 1: uh in this. I think he's he is an activist 454 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:41,840 Speaker 1: by nature. Um. But I also think it represents a 455 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,639 Speaker 1: little bit just another tiny chapter in an Elon Musk 456 00:25:46,119 --> 00:25:50,120 Speaker 1: flouting his you know, thumbing his nose at convention and 457 00:25:50,200 --> 00:25:53,399 Speaker 1: at SEC guidelines as he sees fit. He has had 458 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:57,720 Speaker 1: a long run in with the SEC about tweeting inside 459 00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:01,879 Speaker 1: information or misleading information, and and and I said, I 460 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:03,960 Speaker 1: suspect this will be a little bit more fodder for 461 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,560 Speaker 1: the SEC to chew on now Musk has been positioning 462 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,000 Speaker 1: himself as a free speech defender. Professor Greigle, what do 463 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:16,320 Speaker 1: you think that means for President Trump? In particular? Where 464 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:21,480 Speaker 1: does Musk or will Musk fall on this? This really 465 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:24,879 Speaker 1: isn't about free speech. If anything, Twitter has just become 466 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:28,680 Speaker 1: a little bit more about Elon's speech. You just saw 467 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,880 Speaker 1: a large portion of this company and gets to kind 468 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:36,159 Speaker 1: of steer what happens there now. If anything, he's figured 469 00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:38,960 Speaker 1: out that this is a powerful platform. Maybe he took 470 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,200 Speaker 1: some notes from Mark Zuckerberg and others that you need 471 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,720 Speaker 1: to have some influence over a platform. So I I think, 472 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:51,280 Speaker 1: if anything, the future for former President Trump is still TBD. 473 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:53,760 Speaker 1: But you know, I've never seen it as a band. 474 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,000 Speaker 1: It's a band for as long as those who are 475 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 1: in control of the company wanted to be a band, 476 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,040 Speaker 1: and we just need to be You're realistic about that, Tim, 477 00:27:02,119 --> 00:27:04,480 Speaker 1: what's your response to that? In your column today, you 478 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:08,159 Speaker 1: refer to Ellen as a quote unquote world class troll 479 00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:12,719 Speaker 1: because that's how he's used Twitter historically and for as 480 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,400 Speaker 1: much you know, he defines himself as a self described 481 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:20,320 Speaker 1: free speech absolutist, and yet he's routinely over the years 482 00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:24,440 Speaker 1: tried to shut down his critics, uh, silence them. He's 483 00:27:24,520 --> 00:27:27,359 Speaker 1: used Twitter to savage them, to make fun of them. 484 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:31,119 Speaker 1: He's used Twitter as a troll to to go after people. 485 00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:34,399 Speaker 1: He's used Twitter to talk up his own investments and 486 00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:38,439 Speaker 1: things like cryptocurrencies. Um and so this whole time that 487 00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:41,720 Speaker 1: he's in the recent weeks where he said that Twitter 488 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:44,720 Speaker 1: is throwing blockades in the way of free speech and 489 00:27:44,760 --> 00:27:48,920 Speaker 1: that maybe he needs to um launch a new platforms 490 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:51,679 Speaker 1: and the enticing things he put out there prior to 491 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 1: this investment being is closed really want run counter to 492 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:58,480 Speaker 1: his entire personal experience on Twitter. He has been unfettered 493 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:01,840 Speaker 1: on Twitter. Um. But Elon Musk is a libertarian, and 494 00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:04,920 Speaker 1: I think he has a posture uh that is part 495 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:07,439 Speaker 1: of the far right site guys right now that the 496 00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:12,320 Speaker 1: social media platforms have turned against conservatives, when in fact, 497 00:28:12,359 --> 00:28:15,680 Speaker 1: I think the social media platforms have finally woken up 498 00:28:15,720 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 1: to some of the virtues of policing divisive propaganda, which 499 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:22,159 Speaker 1: is I think a different thing than free speech in 500 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:24,480 Speaker 1: certain cases. So hang on, Tim, We've actually got some 501 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,280 Speaker 1: breaking news now. Twitter has just announced via a tweet 502 00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:31,439 Speaker 1: from its Twitter Communications account that they are the company 503 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 1: is working on an edit button. Internally, this is a 504 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:38,320 Speaker 1: feature that they have been testing um and testing and 505 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:44,400 Speaker 1: working on since last year. Tim Well, you know, Elon 506 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:47,200 Speaker 1: Musk tweeted last night after his investment was disclosed that 507 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:49,120 Speaker 1: he'd really like to see an edit button a Twitter. 508 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,240 Speaker 1: So I suppose this is Twitter making a big bowl 509 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 1: public statement that they're responsive to what Elon Musk wants 510 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:57,360 Speaker 1: to see. But of course they've been working on this 511 00:28:57,440 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 1: for a long time. If they step up their pace 512 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:05,160 Speaker 1: on things like better user experiences, better communication tools on Twitter, 513 00:29:05,200 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: because Elon Musk is there, that's great, and that's good 514 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:11,000 Speaker 1: for investors, and it's good for its users. That's again, 515 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: that's apart from what he might do to either curtail 516 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:19,720 Speaker 1: or or pervert actual free speech on the platform itself. 517 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:23,840 Speaker 1: Professor Griggle Eileen aside, how do you think an edit 518 00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 1: button would change the nature of Twitter? I mean, this 519 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,360 Speaker 1: is the company. This is something that users, some users 520 00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 1: have been asking for for a long time, but Twitter 521 00:29:32,320 --> 00:29:36,040 Speaker 1: has always resisted. I believe in the name of uh 522 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:41,800 Speaker 1: maintaining and protecting the authenticity of the platform. I don't 523 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:46,040 Speaker 1: think this is about typos, you know, like I I 524 00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,880 Speaker 1: think he's trying to use this as a way to 525 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,600 Speaker 1: look like he's appealing to the public, that he's some 526 00:29:51,680 --> 00:29:55,960 Speaker 1: type of like rebel leader, you know. But Elon Musk 527 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:58,280 Speaker 1: is about the only thing I'm sure of is that 528 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: he's really good acute relating wealth. Um, and when that 529 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:06,360 Speaker 1: comes power. So you know, again, there's been some conversation 530 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: about how Facebook lets you edit things too, and Facebook 531 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 1: and Twitter are not the same thing. Um. Last time 532 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,040 Speaker 1: I checked, journalists around the world have not been impetting 533 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:20,320 Speaker 1: Facebook posts in news stories. Um, and uh. I think 534 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 1: it just would fundamentally kind of change what the platform is. 535 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 1: But like, maybe that's what Ellen wants to do. I 536 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,240 Speaker 1: don't I don't know why he's taking a mistake in this, 537 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: other than he's figured out that this is somehow going 538 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:36,320 Speaker 1: to help him serve his agenda. So we'll have to 539 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,480 Speaker 1: wait and see. But it will, I think, culturally change 540 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: what Twitter is, and maybe that's for the best. Maybe 541 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: he wants to burn it down, and you know, maybe 542 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:46,280 Speaker 1: that's a good thing. At this point, it's it's just 543 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:49,719 Speaker 1: a bunch of CEOs, politicians, state actors and folks like 544 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 1: exploiting this are competing the press. Maybe it's a maybe 545 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:56,760 Speaker 1: it's not that great anymore. To that point, Tim, in 546 00:30:56,840 --> 00:31:00,200 Speaker 1: your article just this week where you suggest that Elon 547 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: Musk could be bad for free speech, the venture capitalist 548 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:07,600 Speaker 1: Mark Andreason reposted it. Uh didn't seem to agree with 549 00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:13,080 Speaker 1: your premise. Elon Musk then commented, saying, uh that such 550 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:16,080 Speaker 1: an article is always good for a laugh. He confused 551 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 1: the fact that your article written for Bloomberg was actually 552 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:22,160 Speaker 1: republished in the Washington Post. But what do you make 553 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:26,800 Speaker 1: of a quote unquote defender of free speech criticizing your 554 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 1: free speech. Well, they're entitled to do that because I 555 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:32,320 Speaker 1: believe in free speech too, so I'm okay with that. 556 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:35,400 Speaker 1: I think that you know, Mark Andreason and and Elon 557 00:31:35,480 --> 00:31:38,600 Speaker 1: Musk are are cut from the same cloth. They're Silicon 558 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:42,680 Speaker 1: Valley titans who have a view of the world. I 559 00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:46,719 Speaker 1: think that is pretty mechanistic and individualistic. There can be 560 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:48,840 Speaker 1: virtues to that, But I think when you're talking in 561 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 1: the context of why they have an interest about the 562 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:56,160 Speaker 1: kind of speech that appears on Twitter, it has nothing 563 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:59,880 Speaker 1: actually to do with free speech, and as everything to 564 00:32:00,040 --> 00:32:03,960 Speaker 1: do I think with their own biases being put to 565 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:11,120 Speaker 1: the test by the things that appear on Twitter. Tim O'Brien, 566 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:17,320 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Opinion, Jennifer Gracle, professor at Syracuse University. So much uh, 567 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:32,520 Speaker 1: so much to continue to debate. Thank you both. Let's 568 00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:34,760 Speaker 1: get to our crypto report now and come back to 569 00:32:34,760 --> 00:32:38,200 Speaker 1: today's main story. Elon Musk joining Twitter's board. How would 570 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,720 Speaker 1: this shape the social platform's future? Will it bring the 571 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:45,600 Speaker 1: elements of blockchain networks into Twitter? Let's talk about all 572 00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,400 Speaker 1: of this and more with Kristin Smith, executive director of 573 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:51,760 Speaker 1: the Blockchain Association, and Kristen It's no secret that Twitter 574 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,360 Speaker 1: has been um bulking out some of its crypto features. 575 00:32:55,400 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: They've got this a blue sky project that they've been exploring. 576 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 1: But what do you make of Elon Musk's influence on 577 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:10,480 Speaker 1: the crypto community and how that could influence Twitter? Yeah, 578 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 1: I mean these are all great questions, Emily. I think 579 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:16,680 Speaker 1: Elon Musk's um news about him taking such a large 580 00:33:16,680 --> 00:33:19,840 Speaker 1: steak and joining the board of Twitter is very important. 581 00:33:19,880 --> 00:33:21,719 Speaker 1: I think I think one of the reasons is he 582 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:26,920 Speaker 1: really truly understands the value of cryptocurrency, whether it be uh, 583 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:30,480 Speaker 1: you know, bitcoin or doge coin. He has and he 584 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 1: knows the value of open source networks, and he knows 585 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:36,680 Speaker 1: the value when you have many multiple minds thinking and 586 00:33:36,720 --> 00:33:40,800 Speaker 1: building on how to create a better network. That's very 587 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:44,479 Speaker 1: different than a centralized company like Twitter. UM. So what 588 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 1: I think is going to be interesting is is he 589 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:49,800 Speaker 1: going to bring these elements of the crypto world, these 590 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:54,520 Speaker 1: anti censorship elements, the open source elements, and allow for 591 00:33:54,600 --> 00:33:58,160 Speaker 1: a way for new people to come in and maybe 592 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:01,960 Speaker 1: import their own algorithm that could potentially go through and 593 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:03,720 Speaker 1: sort the news in the way that they want to 594 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,160 Speaker 1: be seen, not in the way that Twitter is dictating 595 00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:08,560 Speaker 1: that it be seen. So I do think there is 596 00:34:08,600 --> 00:34:12,040 Speaker 1: a potential for innovation here, and you know, given that 597 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:16,080 Speaker 1: you know, we represent the crypto industry at the Blockchain Association, 598 00:34:16,200 --> 00:34:19,200 Speaker 1: and we're hopeful that that by you know, bringing in 599 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:21,760 Speaker 1: this kind of mindset, that there will be new ways 600 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:26,040 Speaker 1: to to get this platform UM to a place that 601 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:29,440 Speaker 1: serves more more of its users, because it certainly is 602 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 1: an incredibly powerful platform, and I would argue probably the 603 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:38,200 Speaker 1: most powerful platform for sharing and receiving information and and 604 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:41,040 Speaker 1: just how important is Twitter do you believe to the 605 00:34:41,080 --> 00:34:45,160 Speaker 1: crypto community. Obviously there's a strong and very passionate uh 606 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:49,160 Speaker 1: community of cryptocurrency supporters on Twitter. I mean, we call 607 00:34:49,200 --> 00:34:54,160 Speaker 1: it crypto Twitter back in crypto topics are trending on 608 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:58,680 Speaker 1: Twitter because of the volume of these users there. Yeah, no, 609 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:01,439 Speaker 1: crypto Twitter is is a real thing. And it's really 610 00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:05,760 Speaker 1: interesting because what you have. Twitter enables developers all across 611 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,440 Speaker 1: the globe to debate whether or not they should make 612 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:13,520 Speaker 1: technological changes to open source networks. It's a forum for 613 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:16,640 Speaker 1: this kind of debate. It's it's really a public commons 614 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,880 Speaker 1: for exchanging ideas and a way for people that have 615 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:23,840 Speaker 1: very targeted and narrow interests to find one another and 616 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:27,560 Speaker 1: to build a community. And I think the crypto community 617 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:31,000 Speaker 1: uses Twitter perhaps more so than any other community or 618 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:35,320 Speaker 1: ecosystem out there. Um. It's also an incredibly powerful tool 619 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:38,160 Speaker 1: for the crypto community. The if you look back to 620 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:43,240 Speaker 1: last summer in August, we had over forty phone calls 621 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:47,000 Speaker 1: generated to the US Senate over the course of five 622 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:50,160 Speaker 1: days because they shared a link on Twitter and it 623 00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:54,680 Speaker 1: went viral. And you had um crypto Twitter influencers, you 624 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:57,800 Speaker 1: had members at the House and Senate tweeting these links. 625 00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:02,080 Speaker 1: You had celebrity influencers, you had business leaders. Um. You know, 626 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:05,440 Speaker 1: this is a tool for political activism, it's a tool 627 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:10,560 Speaker 1: for sharing and debating ideas. It's an incredibly important platform 628 00:36:10,680 --> 00:36:13,840 Speaker 1: and I think it's one where concepts that we find 629 00:36:13,840 --> 00:36:16,840 Speaker 1: every day in the crypto world will only improve the 630 00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,840 Speaker 1: way that the platform can work. So I'm excited to 631 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,319 Speaker 1: be part of it. The SEC has obviously been paying 632 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:26,080 Speaker 1: attention to Elon Musk, and he's had some run ins 633 00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:28,480 Speaker 1: with them before. How do you imagine the SEC is 634 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:34,720 Speaker 1: watching this steak in Twitter his influence on Twitter in particular. Well, 635 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:37,000 Speaker 1: I think the SEC pays very close attention to what 636 00:36:37,040 --> 00:36:39,680 Speaker 1: he does. They also pay very close attention to the 637 00:36:39,719 --> 00:36:43,880 Speaker 1: crypto community. So um, definitely a lot of eyes going 638 00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:46,719 Speaker 1: on out there. But listen, I think is you know, 639 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:49,759 Speaker 1: as long as he's transparent with what's going on and 640 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:54,520 Speaker 1: brings perhaps more transparency, I don't think that's necessarily a 641 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:58,160 Speaker 1: bad thing for for him to be a part of it, 642 00:36:58,239 --> 00:37:00,439 Speaker 1: and um, I don't think it should pos is any 643 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:04,000 Speaker 1: problems um for the SEC at this time. But but yeah, 644 00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:06,080 Speaker 1: I'm sure that they have to keep a close eye 645 00:37:06,080 --> 00:37:09,560 Speaker 1: on him, just just like they do with many other 646 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:13,680 Speaker 1: people in the crypto space. They are most definitely watching. 647 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:17,359 Speaker 1: Kristin Smith, Executive director of the Blockchain Association, Thank you 648 00:37:17,800 --> 00:37:28,719 Speaker 1: for joining us. I think he really believes he can 649 00:37:28,760 --> 00:37:32,719 Speaker 1: do something really good for society with this platform. He's 650 00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:36,880 Speaker 1: certainly making a statement, and it's a statement about censorship. 651 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:41,000 Speaker 1: He he doesn't agree with censorship. UH for a smooth 652 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:45,400 Speaker 1: functioning democracy. I interpret this as a sign of just 653 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,400 Speaker 1: how influential Elon Musk is. Uh. There's nothing changed in 654 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:53,040 Speaker 1: the fundamental outlook for Twitter. I think this really just 655 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:57,440 Speaker 1: starts what's gonna be. I think a broader strategic initiative 656 00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,640 Speaker 1: for Elon at Twitter. I think it's a very expensive 657 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:03,359 Speaker 1: way to get yourself an edit button. UM. I think 658 00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:06,200 Speaker 1: it's a very interesting move. UM. Elon is obviously a 659 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:08,640 Speaker 1: power user. He knows a product well. He knows that 660 00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:11,359 Speaker 1: Twitter is the place for the world's conversation. It will 661 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:15,360 Speaker 1: lead to be our grule, changing the policy of the 662 00:38:15,400 --> 00:38:20,279 Speaker 1: company to you know, really open source, uh the the 663 00:38:21,360 --> 00:38:27,080 Speaker 1: censorship or or call people out on censorship, or it 664 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:29,920 Speaker 1: will be a management change. I don't know what's going 665 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:35,560 Speaker 1: to happen. Twitter chairers meantime have skyrocketed since the news 666 00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:37,600 Speaker 1: of elon mistake in the company. But how long can 667 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:40,239 Speaker 1: the rally last? Brent, They'll have Jefferies joins us now 668 00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:43,160 Speaker 1: he currently has a hold on the company and Brent, 669 00:38:43,280 --> 00:38:46,480 Speaker 1: are you sticking with it? Stating with the whole you 670 00:38:46,520 --> 00:38:51,960 Speaker 1: had a big move, clearly a positive move for the company, 671 00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:54,920 Speaker 1: not taking any way on that side, but when you 672 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:59,000 Speaker 1: have a thirty plus percent move, it's inbanding a lot 673 00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:02,239 Speaker 1: of the fundamental improvement which we haven't seen yet. Uh 674 00:39:02,600 --> 00:39:04,640 Speaker 1: is my friend mark me and he pointed out in 675 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:06,799 Speaker 1: the earlier segment. You know we I think many of 676 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:10,120 Speaker 1: us have been asking advertisers, you know, has any changed 677 00:39:10,160 --> 00:39:13,320 Speaker 1: and the answer is no. Uh. So clearly this is 678 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:15,600 Speaker 1: a bet on the future that they can take the foundation. 679 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:20,000 Speaker 1: You know, I've called this a a foundation of a 680 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,680 Speaker 1: great car. But Ellen knows how to put the pet 681 00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:25,000 Speaker 1: u or the dog mode inside the car to let 682 00:39:25,000 --> 00:39:27,759 Speaker 1: your dog in the car, that the whole user interface. 683 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:32,080 Speaker 1: In terms of what he's done in in the autle world, Uh, 684 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:35,919 Speaker 1: I think he could bring a lot to to this world. Uh. 685 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:37,880 Speaker 1: And I think it's he's gonna have no doubt to 686 00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:41,200 Speaker 1: the positive impact. It's gonna take time, and so investor 687 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:43,440 Speaker 1: by now we're betting not for the next four or two, 688 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:45,759 Speaker 1: but they're betting a year out that that that's going 689 00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:48,600 Speaker 1: to have an improvement, which I think again is grateful 690 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:50,239 Speaker 1: long term, sure old their short term I think there's 691 00:39:50,239 --> 00:39:51,839 Speaker 1: gonna be a a lot of all affilia the stock still, 692 00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:55,840 Speaker 1: So here's a question. Will this materially change the game 693 00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:59,560 Speaker 1: for Twitter's business? I mean, there was an argument made 694 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:03,440 Speaker 1: earlier that Twitter could spend less on marketing because Elon 695 00:40:03,520 --> 00:40:06,480 Speaker 1: Musk will do that for them via Twitter. But but 696 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:09,080 Speaker 1: but really, though, when you look at the balance sheet, 697 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:12,840 Speaker 1: how will this change? I don't know if it's a 698 00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:15,520 Speaker 1: game changer. I mean, look, the board is stacked, and 699 00:40:15,560 --> 00:40:18,759 Speaker 1: they have a phenomenal ward Brett Taylor from salesforce dot com. 700 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:22,600 Speaker 1: He's a broduct guy. Great the thumbs up for Facebook. 701 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:24,960 Speaker 1: I mean, he knows how to how to effectively create 702 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:28,600 Speaker 1: amazing products. So they are surrounded by rooting at a 703 00:40:28,600 --> 00:40:31,240 Speaker 1: body of people. And I think right now Twitter doesn't 704 00:40:31,239 --> 00:40:34,520 Speaker 1: have an awareness issue. They have a usability each and 705 00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:37,879 Speaker 1: that is what I think many of the advertisers and 706 00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:43,960 Speaker 1: end users are still looking for better, better solutions from them. Advertisers. 707 00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:47,280 Speaker 1: You know, one advertiser last week said it perfectly. Snap 708 00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:49,759 Speaker 1: has had ten improvements of the platform in the last year. 709 00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:53,359 Speaker 1: Twitter hasn't had that many in the decade. Okay, that 710 00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:56,799 Speaker 1: to me is the opportunity. And I think this is 711 00:40:56,800 --> 00:40:59,560 Speaker 1: why he's betting a huge amount of his zone. Well 712 00:40:59,680 --> 00:41:01,520 Speaker 1: one less than one percent is net worth a huge 713 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:03,880 Speaker 1: amount for all the rest of us the planet. Uh, 714 00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:06,760 Speaker 1: he's put a big dollar amount in because he seeds 715 00:41:06,800 --> 00:41:09,560 Speaker 1: the future three or five years that if they can 716 00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:12,440 Speaker 1: make these changes and make it more usable and they 717 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:16,399 Speaker 1: can get you know today, right, there's over two three 718 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:19,319 Speaker 1: billion on Facebook's platform, you know, over two hund million 719 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:22,319 Speaker 1: en users today. It's a tiny number relative to those 720 00:41:22,360 --> 00:41:26,040 Speaker 1: are on other platforms. Right, what are the risks of 721 00:41:26,120 --> 00:41:32,560 Speaker 1: bringing Elon Musk into the room? Big ideas can go haywire. Right, 722 00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:35,719 Speaker 1: you can see some of these ideas. I've no doubt 723 00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:37,680 Speaker 1: he's gonna have huge influence on the board and the 724 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:40,680 Speaker 1: manager team to make big, big bets. And anytime you 725 00:41:40,719 --> 00:41:43,880 Speaker 1: make a big bet, it can flare off. But we 726 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,319 Speaker 1: we know that. Uh, we think he's gonna have a 727 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:50,120 Speaker 1: very positive impact. I don't I think one person's view 728 00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:54,160 Speaker 1: and opinion on this as a board member. Uh, you know, 729 00:41:54,239 --> 00:41:56,360 Speaker 1: there's gonna be a lot of other voices. And I 730 00:41:56,400 --> 00:41:59,239 Speaker 1: think it's it's run, it's it's gonna be running very 731 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,480 Speaker 1: well over time, I think, uh so, I don't think that. 732 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:04,799 Speaker 1: I think the risk right now is just stock a 733 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:08,120 Speaker 1: huge run in and beds near term fundamentals. Attorney. If 734 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:10,719 Speaker 1: fundentals don't turn the next quarter or two on, the 735 00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:13,400 Speaker 1: investors are gonna gonna be be put on hold in 736 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:15,160 Speaker 1: the short term. I don't think there's a lot of 737 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:17,040 Speaker 1: outside given that he's in. I think, you know, as 738 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:19,239 Speaker 1: we say, debab, don't be against must. You know you've 739 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:21,919 Speaker 1: got a nice floor probably put in in the short 740 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:25,759 Speaker 1: term given his arrival. But the risk is that the 741 00:42:25,840 --> 00:42:28,520 Speaker 1: recent running the stock combined with this is gonna take 742 00:42:28,560 --> 00:42:31,360 Speaker 1: selver course, this is not going to be an overnight 743 00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:34,759 Speaker 1: experiment that that turns uh that turns out of you know, 744 00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:37,560 Speaker 1: a perfect solution, but it is certainly going to be 745 00:42:37,760 --> 00:42:43,240 Speaker 1: an entertaining one. Brent Fill of Jeffreyes, we are along 746 00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:45,719 Speaker 1: for that ride. Thank you. That does it. For this 747 00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,840 Speaker 1: edition of Bloomberg Technology, make sure to tune in tomorrow 748 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:52,040 Speaker 1: will continue our coverage of Elon Musk's big steak in Twitter. 749 00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:55,560 Speaker 1: Daphne Keller of Stanford will be joining us along with 750 00:42:55,600 --> 00:42:59,279 Speaker 1: Bitcoin two that kicks off in Miami, will have a 751 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:02,880 Speaker 1: slew of special guests. I'm Emily Changing in San Francisco. 752 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:04,759 Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg