Elon Musk buys Twitter, Jeff Bezos launches China conspiracy theory

Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk signs a $44 billion contract with the social media business, while Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos ponders on Monday whether China has acquired control over what happens on Twitter.

Bezos tweeted, “Interesting question. Did the Chinese government just gain a bit of leverage of the town square?”

China was the second-biggest market after the US in 2021.

The reporter noted that after the banning of Twitter from China in 2009, the government “had almost no leverage over the platform.”

They may have just changed due to Musk’s acquisition, he said.

Beijing did not likely gain leverage over Twitter.

“The more likely outcome in this regard is complexity in China for Tesla, rather than censorship at Twitter.”

He added, “But we’ll see. Musk is extremely good at navigating this kind of complexity,” Bezos added.

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” said Musk.

Amazon had given in to Chinese pressure to keep doing business and grow the company there.

Over the years, Bezos and Musk have traded jibes, slamming one other’s businesses.

In response to an op-ed titled “Elon Musk’s Twitter Investment Could Be Bad News for Free Speech,” Musk joked on Twitter earlier this month that the Washington Post was “always good for a chuckle.”