Musk Speaks Out on Trump Controversy... "Will Revoke Twitter Permanent Ban" (Comprehensive)

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, who is set to acquire social networking service (SNS) Twitter, has expressed his intention to reverse Twitter's permanent suspension decision on former U.S. President Donald Trump's account. Trump's return to Twitter ahead of the November midterm elections is expected to become a variable in U.S. politics.

According to Bloomberg News on the 10th (local time), Musk made these remarks during a virtual speech at the Financial Times (FT)-hosted 'Future of the Car' conference. He said the permanent suspension of Trump's account was "morally wrong and completely foolish," adding, "The answer is for me to overturn the permanent suspension decision."

Jack Dorsey: "Permanent suspension is a failure"

Musk pointed out that Trump's account suspension made his supporters feel alienated and did not silence Trump's voice; rather, this measure amplified his voice even more. Musk emphasized that "Trump's account suspension does not create a forum where everyone can participate in discussions but, frankly, could lead to a worse situation," and that permanent suspensions should be limited to disciplinary actions against spam accounts and the like.

Musk also said he shares this view with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. After Musk's remarks, Dorsey agreed with this perspective, tweeting, "There are exceptions, but permanent suspension is our failure."

Regarding criticisms that Twitter is left-leaning, Musk argued that it seems more due to Twitter's headquarters being in San Francisco rather than intentional bias, and claimed that Twitter has failed to build trust in the U.S. and other parts of the world. San Francisco, the cradle of Silicon Valley, is known as a stronghold of the U.S. Democratic Party and one of the cities with a strong progressive character.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump [Photo by Reuters]

Musk's remarks came after he repeatedly emphasized transforming Twitter into a platform where freedom of expression is guaranteed. In the U.S. SNS industry and political circles, there have been speculations that Musk's emphasis on freedom of expression would lead to the restoration of Trump's Twitter account. Trump's Twitter account was permanently suspended in January last year following the Capitol riot by his supporters on January 6, on the grounds that it could incite violence. Since then, Trump has filed a lawsuit demanding the restoration of his account and has been using his own SNS called 'Truth Social.' Despite speculation about the restoration of his Twitter account, Trump said in a Fox News interview last month, "I'm not going to Twitter; I'll stay on Truth Social."

Trump's side did not immediately respond to Musk's remarks, and Twitter declined to comment. However, the White House expressed a concerned stance. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing that deciding who to allow on a private company's online platform is the company's decision. Nevertheless, she emphasized that the Biden administration wants online platforms not to become venues for misinformation.

"Dying on Mars would be a cool thing"

At the event, Musk also shared various views on the future of electric vehicles and space business. He said, "(Tesla's future) is incredibly bright. It will generate a significant amount of free cash flow." He added that Tesla's autonomous vehicles are ready to provide a higher level of safety than human drivers as early as this year.

He stated that the Chinese market will account for 25-30% of Tesla's business in the long term but said there are no plans to build additional factories in China in the short term. When asked by the audience about the possibility of acquiring competing companies, Musk responded negatively but left the door open regarding mining acquisitions, saying, "It's not impossible."

Regarding the success potential of flying cars, he expressed skepticism due to safety concerns and other reasons. Musk, who has shown passion for Mars exploration, said on this day, "Dying on Mars would be a cool thing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.