{"id":1451986,"date":"2022-04-24T09:59:34","date_gmt":"2022-04-24T13:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1451986"},"modified":"2022-04-24T10:00:01","modified_gmt":"2022-04-24T14:00:01","slug":"charles-gasparino-with-intrepid-twitter-bid-elon-musk-is-in-battle-with-naysayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/charles-gasparino-with-intrepid-twitter-bid-elon-musk-is-in-battle-with-naysayers\/","title":{"rendered":"Charles Gasparino: With Intrepid Twitter Bid, Elon Musk Is in Battle With Naysayers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcharles-gasparino-with-intrepid-twitter-bid-elon-musk-is-in-battle-with-naysayers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1451986&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The list of suitors who have looked <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/21\/elon-musk-says-hes-secured-46-5-billion-to-buy-twitter\/\">at buying Twitter <\/a>\u2014 and then passed without a second thought \u2014 are too many to be counted on one hand, and possibly two or three.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s partly because for all of its relevance to breaking news, starting revolutions \u2014 and generally increasing one\u2019s cortisol levels during breakfast, lunch and dinner \u2014 Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/29\/checked-out-twitter-ceo-jack-dorseys-eccentric-life\/\">is a lousy business.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Yes, it gets eyeballs, but plenty of the wrong type. Let\u2019s face it: Twitter is a weird <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/09\/13\/fec-backs-twitter-over-hunter-biden-censorship\/\">social-media platform<\/a> that attracts some of the worst elements of the human race: Trolls, the people behind all those bots, and ayatollahs are difficult <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/01\/18\/twitter-posts-celebs-tweets-on-billboards\/\">to sell ads to.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Twitter\u2019s progressive leaders and their programmers, meanwhile, have canceled too <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/09\/06\/federal-government-using-social-media-giants-to-censor-americans\/\">many conservative voices<\/a>. Again, let\u2019s face it: People who voted for Trump represent a lot of ad dollars.<\/p>\n<p>The result, quarter after quarter, year after year, has been wonky revenue, sputtering user growth and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/02\/10\/twitter-misses-on-estimates-for-ad-revenue-user-growth\/\">virtually nonexistent profits.<\/a> Amid all this, Twitter knew it needed to be sold and began a \u00adfutile attempt to shop itself; Disney, Salesforce and more passed after looking at the books.<\/p>\n<p>Then along came Elon Musk, the mercurial, visionary billionaire with a novel idea: Let\u2019s take Twitter private and fix its business problems away from the constant public scrutiny.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Musk\u2019s agenda may seem revolutionary, but only inside the progressive bubble that dominates media and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/03\/25\/dorsey-says-blocking-posts-hunter-biden-story-was-total-mistake\/\">tech<\/a>: Let opposing viewpoints proliferate; verify \u00adusers to combat trolling; maybe start charging a nominal fee, even if it hurts Twitter\u2019s already-weak user growth (which continues to maintain an uncomfortable reliance on users who troll under weird pseudonyms).<\/p>\n<p>Most of all: Long-suffering shareholders will finally get paid. Ignore the $77 high in the stock last year; that was primed along with the rest of the market by <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/03\/21\/powell-admits-fed-has-inflation-problem-that-needs-aggressive-action\/\">Jerome Powell\u2019s money printing,<\/a> which is over.<\/p>\n<p>Twitter\u2019s IPO priced at $26, settled its first day of trading at $44.90, about where it was before Musk said he would pony up $54.20 a share for the company. When the Fed starts to tighten, who knows how low Twitter will fall.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/TwitterLogo.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/TwitterLogo.jpg\" alt=\"The Twitter logo is seen on a sign at the company&#039;s headquarters in San Francisco, California on November 4, 2016.\" class=\"wp-image-22015793\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/TwitterLogo.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/TwitterLogo.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/TwitterLogo.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>The mercurial Elon Musk said he has some plans to change Twitter if he does get to helm the company.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">JOSH EDELSON\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Sounds like a great deal<\/h2>\n<p>Last week, after days of speculation whether he was serious, Musk signaled he is officially offering shareholders a lifeline. He filed with regulators paperwork stating he would throw in $21 billion of <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/23\/why-its-so-much-fun-watching-elon-musk-embarrass-twitter\/\">his own net worth.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>($260 billion-plus) and finance the rest of the deal with debt that he has secured to reach his approximately $46 billion price tag.<\/p>\n<p>Sounds like a great deal, particularly for those smart techies who run Twitter and sit on its board, right? Who else is willing to pay that kind of money for something that has never consistently made money? No one, it seems, because no one has so far stepped up to the plate.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>But that logic only works outside the bubble that is Twitter and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/10\/25\/mark-zuckerberg-accuses-whistleblowers-and-media-of-plotting-against-facebook\/\">Silicon Valley\u2019s ideological<\/a> echo chamber. Yes, the tech geeks like to make money but only on their terms. As this column goes to press, Twitter is looking at spurning Musk\u2019s bid. And the business media, ideological blinders firmly attached, is cheering it on.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not sure how anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the way markets and finance are supposed to work can endorse one of the biggest insults <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/20\/tesla-investors-efforts-to-muzzle-elon-musk-could-undermine-twitter-bid-lawyer\/\">to shareholder rights<\/a> in recent memory, but that is exactly what\u2019s happening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For a change, it\u2019s going to be fun rooting for the litigation-happy plaintiffs bar, which would be on firm ground suing Twitter management for blowing this deal for the sake of making sure \u00ad<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/14\/trump-says-he-wont-return-to-twitter-if-elon-musk-buys-it\/\">Donald Trump\u2019s Twitter<\/a> account remains suspended.<\/p>\n<h2>Tough man to root for<\/h2>\n<p>Musk, of course, does make it tough to be on his side. Remember the crazy \u201cpedo guy\u201d tweet that got him sued, albeit unsuccessfully, for libel, or the infamous \u201cfunding secured\u201d tweet to allegedly <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2020\/12\/25\/elon-musk-says-taking-tesla-private-would-be-impossible\/\">take Tesla private?<\/a> On top of it all, he\u2019s facing lots of pressure from regulators on accounting \u00ad<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/18\/elon-musk-lied-about-taking-tesla-private-lawsuit\/\">issues involving Tesla,<\/a> as this column has noted.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/DonaldTrump-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/DonaldTrump-2.jpg\" alt=\"Former U.S. President Donald Trump\" class=\"wp-image-22015826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/DonaldTrump-2.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/DonaldTrump-2.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/DonaldTrump-2.jpg?quality=75&#038;strip=all&#038;w=512 512w\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Twitter suspended former President Trump on the platform in 2021. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS\/Gaelen Morse<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But Musk is a survivor, having turned around Tesla and avoided bankruptcy even as he was launching ambitious <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/18\/spacex-falcon-9-rocket-successfully-launches-second-us-spy-satellite-into-orbit\/\">space-travel plans<\/a> and more. More than that, he will pay investors while he fixes things on his own dime along with few sophisticated \u00adlenders who know the odds.<\/p>\n<p>In a world that\u2019s supposed to be dominated \u2014 legally, mind you \u2014 by what\u2019s good for shareholders, dissing Elon\u2019s offer borders on being illegal. Even with the Twitter board putting up roadblocks <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/18\/twitters-sec-filing-on-musk-poison-pill-includes-another-420-pot-reference\/\">(poison-pill takeover<\/a> hurdles, claims that his bid is undervalued), shareholders should ultimately get their say.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Musk is strongly hinting he will launch a \u00adtender offer <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/15\/twitter-pushes-back-on-elon-musks-takeover-with-poison-pill\/\">directly to investors.<\/a> They will then have a choice of whether to stay with the people who have created no shareholder value, or side with one who has a track record of \u00addoing the opposite.<\/p>\n<p>For all Elon\u2019s craziness, this one should be a no-brainer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The list of suitors who have looked at buying Twitter \u2014 and then passed without a second thought \u2014 are too many to be<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":498,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1451986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1451986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/498"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1451986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1451986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1451986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1451986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1451986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}