Influencer-in-Chief? With Twitter, Elon Musk's power enters uncharted territory
First, Elon Musk revolutionized the automobile industry, then he tackled space travel. By taking control of Twitter, the eccentric billionaire now wields a nearly untold level of influence.
In using his fortune to grab hold of such an important platform, experts say, he has even inserted himself squarely in today's global political conversation.
"He is not just expressing views on an instrument of communication, he now owns it and sets the policy of how that instrument will be used," Jeffrey Winters, a specialist in elites and oligarchs at Northwestern University, told AFP.
The question now is what he will do with that power, starting with the topic on everyone's mind: Whether or not Musk will allow former US president Donald Trump to return to the site.
Without anyone to answer to, Musk "is going to change the constellation of political voices that are going to be expressed through Twitter," Winters said.
According to the professor, Musk represents a typical oligarch -- a person whose fortune lends them social and political power not available to an average citizen -- though Musk does not have any governments or militaries under his control.
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In the business world, Musk's bona fides as an innovator are well-established.
"He goes into directions that people just never go in, and he creates brand new products that proved to be highly effective and successful," said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research.
Musk did not invent the electric car, but with Tesla, "he showed it was possible in a big scalable way," Colas explained.
With SpaceX, Musk introduced internet satellites and reusable rockets, technologies that were "something that's been promised but never really delivered until he came
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