Should Elon Musk Buy MSNBC?

Since the dawn of time, man has gazed to the heavens and wondered, “What would be, like, the most epic troll of all time? Cuz that’d be wicked cool!”

History is rife with trolling examples, both good and bad. In the bad category is a triumphant Hitler posing in front of the Eiffel Tower shortly after France folded like an accordion. Those black-and-white photos were powerful pieces of wartime propaganda.

Politically, the most famous one is probably a wide-smiling Harry Truman holding the newspaper that erroneously proclaimed, “Dewey Defeats Truman.” That headline ran in the Chicago Daily Tribune, which must’ve been a mixed blessing for the publisher: On one hand, the mistake was so horrendously bad that nobody will ever forget it… but on the other hand, nobody will ever forget it.

Every time that photo ran — and Lord knows it’s been printed and reprinted a million-gazillion times — the Chicago Daily Tribune’s name and brand is printed and reprinted, too. As crazy as it sounds, it's gotten a ton of free publicity over the last 75 years! It has probably sold a lot of subscriptions, which is directly tied to ad revenue.

Ultimately, blowing that election and botching that headline might’ve been a smart business decision!

Speaking of smart business decisions, let’s tip our hats to the world’s wealthiest man, Elon Musk. He’s got rockets in the sky, cars on the ground, tunnels below the ground, and X in our pockets. He’s also got a brand-new best buddy in the White House.

They’re even making phone calls together.

Question: Would Elon Musk be interested in adding a certain left-of-center cable news network to his burgeoning portfolio and perhaps turn it into a winner?

Just as the Chicago Tribune “blundered” with its legendary headline, all the financial experts mocked and derided Musk when he bought Twitter for $44 billion: “What a dunce! He changed Twitter’s name to X, and ad revenue plummeted! It was overpriced when he bought it, and now it’s practically worthless!”

But Elon Musk was playing the long game.

It turned out to be the shortest long game in political history: Just two years!

With X as a bedrock defender of free speech, suddenly, the blowhards at Facebook and Google/YouTube weren’t so quick to censor conservative content. Alternative voices — and alternative media — jumped to the forefront. It was a totally new ballgame.

When Musk bought Twitter on April 14, 2022, we didn’t realize it at the time, but it was one of the most consequential decisions of our lifetime.

Think I’m exaggerating? Consider this: Donald Trump’s greatest PR homerun during the presidential campaign was appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast. It had nearly 50 million views on YouTube alone — plus millions more on Spotify, viral moments on X, and more.

Appearing on those podcasts helped Trump win the White House.

But in the episode, Trump disputed the results of the 2020 election. Just four years ago, YouTube would’ve banned the episode for “disinformation!” It would’ve been stricken from existence — just like news stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop!

Yet in 2024, deplatforming Joe Rogan wasn’t even an option. Why? Because his buddy Elon Musk had his back. Sometimes, all it takes is one leader to buck the tide and stand strong. When it comes to free speech, Musk is that leader.

This quote says it all:

Elon is such a dumbass. He spent $44 billion on Twitter and all he got was control of all 3 branches of the federal government.
— Whole Mars Catalog (@WholeMarsBlog) November 6, 2024

And now he has an opportunity to do something even more outrageous: MSNBC, the loony left’s favorite news network, is for sale. Comcast, its parent company, is looking to unload the channel, which (not so coincidentally) also has the oldest median age in cable news: 71.

In the aftermath of a Donald Trump landslide victory, MSNBC’s early returns are dreadful: Its viewership has plunged by 54%.

But how much is MSNBC actually worth?

I asked my all-knowing AI assistant (shout-out to ChatGPT) for a valuation. Here’s what it said (after a whole bunch of boring stuff): “With these factors in mind, a reasonable estimate for MSNBC alone could range from $2 billion to $5 billion.”

Which is pocket change for Elon Musk!

Could you imagine the trolling potential of a Musk-controlled MSNBC? Can you even imagine the liberal shrieks of terror when he swaps Rachel Maddow for Alex Jones?

For $2 to $5 billion, I think he’d do it.

And besides, Musk’s Super News Broadcasting Company has a nice ring to it.

Do it, Elon! Buy MSNBC!