Most Twitter users don’t give a second thought to embedding tweets from influencers, celebrities, news outlets, and other residents of the hugely popular social media platform, but that could be set to change following its recent acquisition by Elon Musk. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is currently seeking novel ways of boosting the platform’s business revenue, and one of those purported ideas is to start charging for embedding tweets. It’s unclear how this would work, assuming it comes to fruition, as there’s nothing stopping users from simply taking a screenshot of a tweet, among other circumnavigations.
Musk told banks he will rein in Twitter pay, make money from tweets -sources (Reuters)
Musk made the pitch to the lenders as he tried to secure debt for the buyout days after submitting his offer to Twitter on April 14, the sources said. His submission of bank commitments on April 21 were key to Twitter’s board accepting his “best and final” offer.
Musk had to convince the banks that Twitter produced enough cash flow to service the debt he sought. In the end, he clinched $13 billion in loans secured against Twitter and a $12.5 billion margin loan tied to his Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) stock. He agreed to pay for the remainder of the consideration with his own cash.
Musk’s pitch to the banks constituted his vision rather than firm commitments, the sources said, and the exact cost cuts he will pursue once he owns Twitter remain unclear. The plan he outlined to banks was thin on detail, the sources added.
Twitter confirmed that it had accepted Elon Musk’s lucrative offer of buying the social media platform in a transaction valued at approximately $44 billion this past Monday. After everything is squared away, Twitter will go back to being a private company. Musk has teased all sorts of changes for the platform, including the addition of an edit button and the possibility of paying for Twitter Blue, the company’s subscription service, with Dogecoin.