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Twitter continues to go back-and-forth on platform, policy changes under Musk’s leadership

Yahoo Finance tech editor Dan Howley details the flip-flopping on policy taking place at Twitter since Elon Musk assumed leadership.

Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022

Musk's Time at Twitter has been a mess, but he could still turn it around

Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter spurred chaos from the get-go. From bungled mass layoffs, to the launch of a verification system that Twitter halted days after its release, Musk’s first weeks have, rightfully, raised doubts about his ability to run the micro-blogging site.

But Musk has overcome great odds in the past. He’s made bold bets like taking electric cars mainstream and launching a rocket company — and pulled them off. Tesla (TSLA) now has roughly 10 times the market capitalization of GM. One of Musk’s other endeavors, SpaceX, is in funding talks that would launch it to a $150 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

“I think there is a chance to turn it around,” Columbia Law School professor Eric Talley, an expert in corporate law and governance, told Yahoo Finance. “Part of it is the mystical power of Elon Musk…so he may be able to figure out ways to to turn things around.”

Musk has the opportunity to make Twitter a profitable company, something it’s struggled with for years. More significantly, he could transform Twitter into his long-fabled X everything app. The app, which Musk has floated for years, would ape the broad range of functionalities available via China’s WeChat including making payments, chatting with friends, and calling cabs. But to do that, Musk has to get out of his own way.

Advertisers don’t hate Twitter. They fear Musk

High-profile advertisers such as General Mills (GIS), GM (GM), Volkswagen, and Pfizer (PFE) have fled Twitter since Musk took over. Before buying Twitter, Musk pledged to loosen moderation — creating the risk that companies’ ads could run alongside some user’s racist screed and damage their brands. While Musk has since told advertisers the firm will establish a moderation council, that hasn’t been enough to convince those companies to start running ads again.