Musk giving ‘serious thought’ to building Twitter rival

Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk in a response to another user on Twitter said he is giving “serious thought” to starting a rival social media to Twitter. 

Asked whether he’d consider building a platform with an “open source algorithm” where “free speech and adhering to free speech is given top priority” and “where propaganda is very minimal,” Musk tweeted that he is giving it “serious thought.”

A day earlier, Must posted a Twitter poll that asked users if they believe that Twitter addresses freedom of speech issues. Seventy percent said it did not. 

“Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” Musk wrote in a tweet. “What should be done?”

“Is a new platform needed?” Musk added.

Musk’s remarks come as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) urged a federal judge last week to not let Musk and his company leave an agreement that requires his Twitter account to remain monitored. 

Tesla and the SEC recently settled a lawsuit in October 2018 after the commission accused Musk of misleading investors with a tweet in which he said was considering taking his company private at $420 per share and had the funding to do so. Both parties agreed to pay $20 million each in civil fines from the settlement.