Although the Twitter board accepting Musk’s acquisition offer seems to settle the issue about the Tesla founder’s true motives, there’s a lot more to this story under the surface.
Thanks for the call out and attribution. Although I haven't been following the day-to-day saga closely (outside of seeing Musk's non-sensical and divisive tweets), I still believe Musk doesn't care whether he owns Twitter or not--and, candidly, I think he knows owning Twitter would be a massive life headache he wouldn't need or want--although he may end up owning it. If we were to be cynical and his goal is really to curry favor with the MAGA crowd who hated him and sell vehicles to them, I'd say he's accomplished his goal. In theory, his choice could have been: attempt to reposition the Tesla brand and market to them which will take forever, cost a lot of money, and high probability it wouldn't be successful as he's been considered a green energy liberal. Or he could put an offer out to buy Twitter, criticize liberals, endear himself to his former haters, and overnight become their most favored son and vehicle brand. It's most likely a) less expensive; b) much faster (weeks, not years); and c) significantly less risk to accomplish his goals. Heck, given what he's done...we can put him in the genius category, and I wouldn't underestimate his intelligence, cunning, and ability to maneuver markets for his benefit. The only way this whole thing backfires is if Tesla's brand is hurt and shareholder lawsuits ensue. But, if his calculation is right, and the MAGA crowd starts buying Tesla's and it helps Tesla shareholders, it will be a stroke of genius. And, something not being talked about enough: at this second, he WANTS the deal to fall through as it will make him a martyr for the MAGA cause and it will cement him even further on top of their brand of choice. Heck, look at how much money Trump grifted off of his followers. They are driven by fear and will spend anything for leaders they see as being on "their" political side and working on their behalf. Will be interesting for sure....
As always, an excellent read about a keen angle on a salient topic. It would be kind of exciting to see a 21st century Kane buy a media platform even if it loses money just for the sake of conviction (agreeing or not with it, as you say). But I am starting to suspect the more cynical take. $1B is less than half what L’Oreal spends in a year to sell makeup. Small price for selling cars (and eventually space tourism?).
A bidder will show up. This is a career making deal for M&A people. Their fee could be a cool billion. They will find someone to bid more. Elon will get his billion.
Thanks for the call out and attribution. Although I haven't been following the day-to-day saga closely (outside of seeing Musk's non-sensical and divisive tweets), I still believe Musk doesn't care whether he owns Twitter or not--and, candidly, I think he knows owning Twitter would be a massive life headache he wouldn't need or want--although he may end up owning it. If we were to be cynical and his goal is really to curry favor with the MAGA crowd who hated him and sell vehicles to them, I'd say he's accomplished his goal. In theory, his choice could have been: attempt to reposition the Tesla brand and market to them which will take forever, cost a lot of money, and high probability it wouldn't be successful as he's been considered a green energy liberal. Or he could put an offer out to buy Twitter, criticize liberals, endear himself to his former haters, and overnight become their most favored son and vehicle brand. It's most likely a) less expensive; b) much faster (weeks, not years); and c) significantly less risk to accomplish his goals. Heck, given what he's done...we can put him in the genius category, and I wouldn't underestimate his intelligence, cunning, and ability to maneuver markets for his benefit. The only way this whole thing backfires is if Tesla's brand is hurt and shareholder lawsuits ensue. But, if his calculation is right, and the MAGA crowd starts buying Tesla's and it helps Tesla shareholders, it will be a stroke of genius. And, something not being talked about enough: at this second, he WANTS the deal to fall through as it will make him a martyr for the MAGA cause and it will cement him even further on top of their brand of choice. Heck, look at how much money Trump grifted off of his followers. They are driven by fear and will spend anything for leaders they see as being on "their" political side and working on their behalf. Will be interesting for sure....
As always, an excellent read about a keen angle on a salient topic. It would be kind of exciting to see a 21st century Kane buy a media platform even if it loses money just for the sake of conviction (agreeing or not with it, as you say). But I am starting to suspect the more cynical take. $1B is less than half what L’Oreal spends in a year to sell makeup. Small price for selling cars (and eventually space tourism?).
A bidder will show up. This is a career making deal for M&A people. Their fee could be a cool billion. They will find someone to bid more. Elon will get his billion.