Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, recently acquired Twitter in a $44 billion deal. Elon Musk has stated that one of his main motivations for buying Twitter was to save humanity from a “zombie apocalypse”.
In a bizarre almost three-hour interview with Joe Rogan, Elon Musk stated that he bought Twitter to save civilization from a “zombie apocalypse.” Elon Musk appeared on the most recent episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast on Tuesday, dressed up in Halloween costumes.
During the podcast, the duo discussed cancel culture, with Elon Musk claiming that X promotes “free speech.”
When Mr. Rogan asked Elon Musk why he decided to buy Twitter, the controversial tech billionaire responded with a lofty reason: to eventually save the world.
“This is going to sound somewhat melodramatic, but I was worried that it was having a corrosive effect on civilisation… that it was having a bad impact,” he was quoted as saying.
Also read: Twittergate: The Controversial Acquisition That Shook Twitter to its Core
Elon Musk believes that a “mind virus” is spreading through an “information technology weapon,” leading to the “end of civilization.”
He stated that social media has spread this “virus,” forcing individuals to behave like zombies.
“It’s a zombie apocalypse in downtown San Francisco, right near the X/Twitter headquarters.” “I mean, it’s rough,” he continued.
The two bemoaned being exposed to “cancel culture,” with Mr Rogan stating that the “mind virus” does not allow for competing viewpoints since they “do not stand up to scrutiny.”
Mr Rogan then lavished praise on his podcast guest, Mr Musk, for taking over the company.
“You did humanity an immense service, and if that didn’t happen, the narrative of this country would have gone further and further down to the point that people would have been scared to speak their mind,” he went on to say.
“It was important to have at least one social media outlet that wasn’t canceling people,” Mr. Musk said.
Also read: Elon Musk Fires Twitter Staff on Joe Rogan
Mr Musk describes himself as a “free speech absolutist” and has previously stated that this is why he wants to take over the company.
This flexibility, however, may have aided in the recent spread of misinformation on the site.
Mr Musk describes himself as a “free speech absolutist” and has previously stated that this is why he wants to take over the company.
This flexibility, however, may have aided in the recent spread of misinformation on the site.
Following the reinstatement of a number of banned accounts and changes to the way profile verification works, there has been heightened worry about how the firm moderates – or does not moderate.
The EU has launched a probe into X in response to misinformation about the Israel-Hamas conflict that began to circulate on the site. Mr Rogan proceeded on Tuesday’s podcast episode by asking how one person could manage so many high-stakes commercial ventures, to which Mr Musk agreed it is “a lot for a human brain to handle.”
After a months-long court battle with Twitter, the podcast host purchased the firm for $44 billion last year. “Ugh, man, that was expensive,” Mr Musk replied.
Also read: Elon Musk’s $44 Billion Twitter Takeover Case Study
Mr Musk declined to divulge how much X is currently worth, despite his claims of saving humanity and free expression with it.
When asked for a value, he replied, “Everything,” obviously convinced that he had effectively avoided the monetary value that Mr Rogan was wanting.
“Yeah… not for the market, right?” said Mr Rogan.
After the podcast aired, Mr Musk turned to his social media platform to reinforce his remarks on the company’s worth, declaring that “freedom of speech is priceless.”
However, it turns out that X’s freedom of speech and desire to destroy the “mind virus” has a price tag that has plunged since Mr Musk took over the corporation in October 2022.
Mr Musk has previously stated that he overpaid for Twitter and disclosed in July that X was “still negative cash flow with a 50% drop in advertising revenue plus a heavy debt load.” Mr. Musk’s acquisition spurred some high-profile advertisers to leave the site, causing the platform’s value to fall.
