OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Billionaire SpaceX and Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk ripped an MSNBC host on Monday after he made a highly disparaging remark about Republicans while claiming Musk himself is transforming Twitter into a platform for “the far-right.”
MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan, who has likened non-Muslims to “cattle,” attempted to codify the country’s far-Left faction by claiming that they only want to “give us free health care and free childcare” while going on to claim that the far-right “wants to give us white supremacy and no democracy.”
“And this asymmetrical polarization of U.S. politics would be laughable if it weren’t so horrifying,” Hasan said. “We are living through an unspeakably dangerous moment, the pro-QAnon, pro-neo Nazi faction of the Republican Party is poised to expand dramatically come the midterms.”
And like other far-left cable news hosts frequently do, Hasan tied his complaints to former President Donald Trump.
“We’re just two years away from Donald Trump very possibly reseizing executive power. If that happens, we may look back on this past week as a pivotal moment when a petulant and not so bright billionaire casually bought one of the world’s most influential messaging machines, and just handed it to the far right,” he continued, obsessing over Trump as per his normal.
Musk responded on Twitter: “NBC basically saying Republicans are Nazis. Same org that covered up Hunter Biden laptop story, had Harvey Weinstein story early & killed it & built Matt Lauer his rape office. Lovely people.”
Same org that covered up Hunter Biden laptop story, had Harvey Weinstein story early & killed it & built Matt Lauer his rape office. Lovely people.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2022
Hasan’s remarks about Musk come after Twitter’s board of directors unanimously approved an acquisition by Musk last week in a $44 billion sale valued at $54.20 per share. The deal has not gone through yet and there are a few ways it could still fall through, but as of now, it remains on track. There have not been any additional buyout offers from anyone else thus far.
Last week, Musk triggered the left again after he shared a meme aimed at showing how liberal Democrats have, over the course of years, moved to the extreme left while his political views have remained the same, along with conservatives. The meme indicates that circa 2008, Musk identified as center-left, but the dividing line has moved and now he finds himself more center-right.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 28, 2022
Although Twitter’s board agreed last week to accept Musk’s offer to acquire the company, there’s still a possibility that the deal doesn’t happen.
A Securities and Exchange Commission filing related to the purchase shows Musk is on the hook to pay a $1 billion termination fee should the deal fall through.
In one instance, the filing states that if the deal is not finalized on or before October 24, 2022, the SEC filing stipulates that Twitter “may terminate the Merger Agreement.”
Additionally, it could also fail if Twitter stockholders “fail to adopt the Merger Agreement.”
This could only happen under “limited circumstances,” including if a third party other than Musk decides to offer “a competing acquisition proposal that constitutes a Superior Proposal.”
“The board has to act as fiduciary, so if a higher price comes, they need to consider it,” an unnamed former investment banker told The Epoch Times regarding the deal.
“But if a higher price does come, Musk can always up his offer. Practically speaking though, there are no other potential buyers right now,” it states.
There are also some stipulations that are in Musk’s favor, such as Twitter is prevented from soliciting any additional offers.
A recent tweet from Musk suggests he’s willing to toe this line to get the deal finalized.
“By ‘free speech’, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law,” Musk wrote.
By “free speech”, I simply mean that which matches the law.
I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law.
If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect.
Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 26, 2022
