In Musk v. Twitter, an aspect of the business life of the richest man in the world is revealed.
Private messages exchanged within his inner circle immerse us into his process when he conceives an idea.
The messages were released by the Delaware Chancery Court as part of the proceedings between the two parties.
The revelation of these private messages is undoubtedly one of the reasons which led the billionaire to put back on the table his offer to acquire the platform for $44 billion. And to demand that Twitter (TWTR) drop its legal action in exchange.
You can read them here.
Here are messages Musk exchanged with his brother, ex-wife, other CEOs and celebrities like Gayle King and Joe Rogan about Twitter.
Family/Relatives
Talulah Riley, the ex-Wife
The English actress, writer whose middle name is Jane, appears on Musk's phone as TJ.
On March 24, she wrote to Musk asking him to acquire Twitter.
Riley: Can you buy Twitter and then delete it, please!? xx
Riley: America is going INSANE.
Riley: The Babylon Bee got suspension is crazy. Raiyah and I were talking about it today. It was a fucking joke. Why has everyone become so puritanical?
Riley: Or can you buy Twitter and make it radically free-speech?
Riley: So much stupidity comes from Twitter xx
Musk: Maybe buy it and change it to properly support free speech xx
Riley: I honestly think social media is the scourge of modern life, and the worst of all is Twitter, because it's also a news stream as well as a social platform, and so has more real-world standing than Tik Tok etc. But it's very easy to exploit and is being used by radicals for social engineering on a massive scale. And this shit is infecting the world. Please do do something to fight woke-ism. I will do anything to help! xx
Raiyah refers to Raiyah Bint Al-Hussein, the Princess of Jordan. She is the daughter of Queen Noor and the late King Hussein of Jordan.
Kimbal Musk, the Brother
On April 9, Elon Musk contacted his younger brother Kimbal.
Elon: I have an idea for a blockchain social media system that does both payments and short text messages/links like twitter. You have to pay a tiny amount to register your message on the chain, which will cut out the vast majority of spam and bots. There is no throat to choke, so free speech is guaranteed.
Elon: The second piece of the puzzle is a massive real-time database that keeps a copy of all blockchain messages in memory, as well as all message sent to or received by you, your followers and those you follow.
Elon: Third piece is a twitter-like app on your phone that accessed the database in the cloud.
Elon: This could be massive
Kimbal: I’d love to learn more. I’ve dug deep on Web3 (not crypto as much) and the voting powers are amazing and verified. Lots you could do here for this as well
Elon: I think a new social media company is needed that is based on a blockchain and includes payments
Kimbal: Would have to pay w a token associated with the service? You’d have to hold the token in your wallet to post. Doesn’t have to be expensive, it will grow over time in value
Kimbal: Blockchain prevents people from deleting tweets. Pros and cons but let the games begin!
Kimbal: If you did use your own token, you would not needs advertising it’s a pay for use service but at a very low price
Kimbal: With scale it will be a huge business purely for the benefit of the users. I hate advertisements
Kimbal: There are some good ads out there. The voting component of interested users (only vote if you want to) could vote on ads that add value. The advertisers would have to stake a much larger amount of tokens, but other than that there is no charge for the ads. It will bring out the creatives and the ads can be politically incorrect/art/activision/philanthropy
Kimbal: Voting rights could also crowdsource kicking scammers out. It drives me crazy when I see people promoting the scam that you’re giving away Bitcoin. Lots of bad people out there.
CEOs and Business People
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
On April 27, Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn acquired by Microsoft, offers Musk to put him in contact with Satya Nadella. He will do it the same day.
Nadella: Thx Reid. Elon - will text and coordinate a time to chat. Thx
Nadella: Hi Elon... Let me know when you have time to chat. Can do tomorrow evening or weekend. Look forward to it. Thx Satya
Musk: I can talk now if you want
Nadella: Calling
Much later Nadella sends another message.
Nadella: Thx for the chat. Will stay in touch. And will for sure follow-up on Teams feedback!
Musk: Sounds good:)
James and Kathryn Murdoch
On April 26, the day after Musk's takeover bid for Twitter, James Murdoch, who is Tesla board member, sends a message that suggests they've discussed something before.
Murdoch: Thank you. I will link you up. Also will call when sone of the dust settles. Hope all's ok.
The same day Kathryn Murdoch, James's wife, also contacted Musk.
Kathryn: Will you bring back Jack?
Musk: Jack doesn't want to come back. He is focused on Bitcoin.
Celebrities
Musk's interest in Twitter has also been the occasion for private exchanges with celebrities.
Joe Rogan, Podcaster
Rogan contacts Musk on April 4, the day the billionaire announces that he now owns 9.2% of Twitter.
Rogan: Are you going to liberate Twitter from the censorship happy mob?
Musk: I will provide advice, which they may or may not choose to follow.
On April 23, the podcaster recontacts Musk, whose offer to acquire Twitter will be accepted two days later by the company.
Rogan: I REALLY hope you get Twitter. If you do, we should throw a hell of a party.
Musk: 100
Gayle King, CBS Anchor
The TV star, who is also Oprah Winfrey's friend, contacted the billionaire to ask him for an interview.
King: Gayle here! Have you missed me (smile) Are you ready for to do a proper sit down with me so much to discuss! especially with your twitter play ... what do I need to do???? Ps I like a twitter edit feature with a 24 hour time limit ... we all say shit we regret want to take back in the heat of the moment ...
Musk: Twitter edit button is coming
Musk: The whole Twitter thing getting blown out of proportion
Musk: Owning ~9% is not quite control
King: I never thought that it did ... and I'm not good in math
Musk: Twitter should move more to the center, but Parag already thought that should be the case before I came along.
On April 14, the day Musk's offer was announced on Twitter, King recontacted the tycoon.
King: ELON! You buying twitter or offering to buy twitter Wow! Now Don't you think we should sit down together face to face this is as the kids today say a "gangsta move" I don't know how shareholders turn this down... like I said you are not like the other kids in the class ...
Musk: Maybe Oprah would be interested in joining the Twitter board if my bid succeeds. Wisdom about humanity and knowing what is right are more important than so-called "board governance" skills, which mean pretty much nothing in my experience.
