Now that Elon Musk has changed his mind, the richest man in the world is looking to close his purchase of Twitter for his original offer price of $44 billion or $54.20 a share. Originally, Musk wanted Twitter to prove that no more than 5% of its subscribers were bots and threatened to back out if they would not do this. ABC News spoke with some experts recently to discuss what changes to the social media platform Musk might make once he has completed the transaction.
If Musk buys Twitter, the platform could be unrecognizable in the long term
There are two ways of looking at the changes we could see made. In the short and intermediate term, Musk could institute some changes that some will like and that others will hate. In the long term, ABC News says that the experts believe that Twitter could be unrecognizable with subscription fees charged to users. New services will be available including one that would allow for the transfer of payments between subscribers, and another service that would allow Twitter members to make travel reservations via the platform. WeChat is one of the most popular apps in the world - Some experts believe Musk could mold Twitter in the image of WeChat. Musk has made comments that some believe reveal his intention to turn Twitter into another WeChat app. WeChat is extremely popular in China thanks to its ability to act as a messaging app, a platform where users can share media and make payments, and an app where users can purchase products and make reservations. During the fourth quarter of 2021, the app had 1.27 billion monthly active users. While Twitter currently bans hate speech, harassment, and graphic violence, Musk said back in May that "My preference is to hew close to the laws of countries in which Twitter operates. If the citizens want something banned, then pass a law to do so, otherwise it should be allowed." Motley Fool senior analyst Bill Mann says, "There are some big changes that would be in the offing," Bill Mann, a senior analyst at Motley Fool, told ABC News. "He wants to reduce their content moderation."