If Musk buys Twitter, the platform could be unrecognizable in the long term
There are two ways of looking at the changes we could see made. In the short and intermediate term, Musk could institute some changes that some will like and that others will hate. In the long term, ABC News says that the experts believe that Twitter could be unrecognizable with subscription fees charged to users. New services will be available including one that would allow for the transfer of payments between subscribers, and another service that would allow Twitter members to make travel reservations via the platform.
WeChat is one of the most popular apps in the world
Musk has made comments that some believe reveal his intention to turn Twitter into another WeChat app. WeChat is extremely popular in China thanks to its ability to act as a messaging app, a platform where users can share media and make payments, and an app where users can purchase products and make reservations. During the fourth quarter of 2021, the app had 1.27 billion monthly active users.
Ives says, “That will take years and a lot of challenges ahead. Then again, there’s a reason he’s the richest person in the world. His back has been against the wall again and again, and he’s massively succeeded, as we see with Tesla and SpaceX.”
Musk might want freedom of speech for Twitter, but not at the expense of ad revenue
Musk’s closing of the transaction could bring more conservative voices to Twitter, says Sinan Aral, a venture capitalist, and professor of management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Aral says that former President Donald Trump would be “reinstated almost immediately.” After getting kicked off Twitter following the January 6th attack on the Capitol in 2021, Trump created his own Twitter-like platform called Truth Social which has not generated as much traffic as Trump had hoped.
Earlier this year Musk originally stated that if he purchased Twitter, Trump would be welcomed back. At that time, the former president said that he would not return to the platform if it were owned by Musk. But considering that Musk wants to start pumping up Twitter’s advertising revenue, the Tesla CEO might want to reconsider who he allows to return to the platform since ad revenue would be based on subscriber count and the return of some users known to generate hateful comments might result in a decline in the number of Twitter subscribers.
