The Morning Briefing: Elon Musk's New Stake in Twitter Makes Things Fun Again

Top O’ the Briefing

Happy Tuesday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends. Reject most of what you hear about the aphrodisiac properties of Brussels sprouts.

Just when I think the news cycle is about to go on an extended mundane streak, the universe surprises me. A good surprise, no less. Let’s face it, there’s been a dearth of them these last couple of years.

Billionaire Elon Musk did a most billionaire-y thing yesterday when he bought a chunk of Twitter after having hinted at starting his own alternative upon growing frustrated with the social media giant. Stacey wrote about it for us:

Following Twitter’s suspension of the Babylon Bee, Elon Musk appeared to get a little irritated. In late March, Musk asked his more than 80 million followers what to do about Twitter’s failure to adhere to free speech principles:

Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.

What should be done? https://t.co/aPS9ycji37

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022

With the plethora of new platforms emerging, many followers and commentators suggested that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO just buy Twitter. Musk once again proved that his timeline is one to watch because he’s willing to spend a gobsmacking amount of money in response to a Twitter poll. Musk just bought a 9.2% passive stake in the company. Talk about sending a message.

That 9.2% makes Musk Twitter’s largest shareholder now, which is kind of delicious. Yes, it’s a passive stake, which, in theory, means he won’t be influencing the company, but this is still a bold move. Musk really doesn’t do anything passively. In fact, he wasted no time stirring things up, tweeting a poll that addressed and poked fun at what is one of the most frequent complaints of all Twitter users:

Do you want an edit button?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022

And even though the stake is passive, one of the fragile Twitter fascists was broken by Musk’s purchase:

My name is Jackson Mulholland & I'm one of many ppl here working at @Twitter in charge of developing terms & conditions for users. We're not stripping away "free speech", we're protecting users from bullies, bigots, & spam. I refuse to work with or for @elonmusk. I'm resigning🏳️‍🌈

— J. Mulholland (@MulhollandL0ver) April 4, 2022

The poor dear. Bless his heart. Let’s hope many of his woke coworkers follow him out the door.

A good many of us in conservative media originally met through Twitter. We used to have a lot of fun there. We have been lamenting the lack of that in recent years. We may not know what the long-term consequences of Musk’s big money play will be, but he certainly made things interesting again yesterday. The company is full of fragile people who grew up in the participation trophy era. They may say that they’re “protecting users from bullies, bigots, & spam,” but the criteria only apply to people who disagree with Twitter’s radical leftist bent.

Musk’s move is no doubt causing some consternation among Twitter employees, who really are vehemently anti-free speech.

Let’s hope he makes them sweat some more. This is fun to watch.

Everything Isn’t Awful

In England, a school cafeteria manager called in to a radio interview with Gordon Ramsay. She was understaffed and looking for any help she could get.

What did Gordon do?

He sent one of his chefs to the school to give them a hand. pic.twitter.com/MJcHmRjaLm

— Goodable (@Goodable) April 4, 2022

Reduct This

I Don't Eat Nuts and Berries to Be Healthy, I Eat Them to Taunt Squirrels: https://t.co/L9Rye4SBfs pic.twitter.com/nLFuEAOpaw

— Reductress (@Reductress) April 3, 2022

The Kruiser Kabana

Kabana Gallery

The Grands Boulevards Porte and Port Denis Martin #postimpressionism #edouardcortes pic.twitter.com/KzLDwvhFN2

— THE MONTMARTE (@themontmarte) April 4, 2022