Elon Musk says planning to build new social media platform, shares Twitter poll

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Inc, said he is “seriously considering” creating a new social media platform, a day after he asked Twitter users if they believe the platform adheres to the principle of free expression. Musk was responding to a Twitter user who asked whether the billionaire would consider creating a new social media platform where “free expression is prioritised” and propaganda is “extremely minimal.”

“I’m seriously considering it,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded.

Musk, a prominent opponent of Twitter and its standards, had earlier conducted a Twitter poll, asking people whether they believe Twitter conforms to the principle of free expression in a strict manner. He also advised readers to vote “carefully,” stating that the “consequences of this poll will be significant.”

More than 70% of those polled said “no.”

“Because Twitter has become the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech rules weakens democracy fundamentally.” “How should we proceed?” After the poll, he wrote on Twitter. “Does a new platform appear to be required?”

None of the new social media companies that have positioned themselves as free speech champions, such as Donald Trump’s Truth Social, Twitter competitors Gettr, Parler, and Koo, have come close to matching the reach and popularity of social media behemoths like Twitter, Meta Platform’s Facebook, and Alphabet-owned Google’s YouTube.

In 2020, then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey held a teleconference with Musk in front of tens of thousands of Twitter employees, asking for direct input and suggestions on how to improve the social media network. Musk said that there should be a technique to detect bots and determine whether a Twitter user is genuine or a member of the “troll army.”